Womanhood isn’t a niche voice—or at least it shouldn’t be—because women are half the people that are. But portrayals of women in mainstream film are largely framed from a male perspective, and only seven percent of directors out there are women. The world is less interesting for Hollywood’s singular gaze, and audiences miss out on one of the great benefits cinema affords: the ability to see something from another person’s perspective.
Now in its 10th year, Portland Oregon Women’s Festival is still seeking to change all that. The films are strong, the panels are useful, and the festival’s inclusivity is reaching new and inspiring heights as POW Fest works to showcase even more diverse voices.
“We’re a women’s film festival, and if someone feels comfortable showing their work under that umbrella, then let’s make that happen,” said POW Fest Executive Director Tara Johnson-Medinger as we talked about the festival’s mission of inclusivity. “Over the past two years, we’ve been taking a deeper look at what stories we’re putting on screen and who’s making those stories. You can have an entire festival with people of color on screen, but if you look in the background, it may be all white people creating that. This made us go further into the conversation, which is needed right now. We’re still learning. We still have a lot of work to accomplish. Feminism and intersectionality are like a moving target right now.”
