Through Women’s Eyes to Present 19 Films in Partnership with Sarasota Film Festival

SARASOTA, Fla. - March 27, 2015 - PRLog -- The Gulf Coast Chapter and its Through Women's Eyes (TWE) International Film Festival are pleased to partner with the Sarasota Film Festival (SFF) for the sixth year. TWE will present 19 films – 10 shorts and 9 features, many of which are premieres – on April 11 and 12, 2015 at Regal Hollywood 20, 1993 Main Street in Sarasota. Directors who attend the film festival will lead post-film discussions following the first screenings on April 11 and 12, and celebrate with filmgoers at a special Filmmakers' Reception fundraiser supporting TWE at The Atrium of the Sarasota City Center, 1819 Main Street in Sarasota, on Saturday, April 11 beginning at 5:15 p.m.

Those attending the Filmmakers’ Reception will have the opportunity to meet filmmakers from this year’s festival and learn about their stories. Live music, a lovely assortment of wine and hors d’oeuvres by Morton’s Gourmet Catering will be provided. Tickets for the reception are $85.00 and are available for purchase at ThroughWomensEyes.com. All funds raised support the programs and projects of the US National Committee and UN Women.

Together, TWE and SFF have 33 years of experience presenting domestic and international films that entertain, inform, challenge and inspire. Through this partnership, the two non-profit groups hope to again broaden and enrich the film festival experience for both filmgoers and filmmakers. The 16th annual presentation of Through Women's Eyes will feature independent documentaries, narratives, and short films by women directors and/or producers that increase awareness of the lives of women throughout the world.

Included in the Through Women’s Eyes films to be shown at the SFF are:

Election Night

Directed by Tessa Blake and starring Peri Gilpin from TV’s Frasier, this film follows a politician's family as they wait in the green room on election eve - will the speech be a celebration or a concession? The last 350 votes have yet to come in, and the nerves rattle the family into a comic whirlwind of wild theories, long-held secrets, and a revelation that nobody saw coming.

The Surgery Ship

Written and directed by Australian director and producer Madeleine Hetherton, The Surgery Ship is a searing, complex journey for volunteer medics, as they deal with life and death cases - and balance the fates of these patients in their hands. TWE is the international premiere for this poignant film.

Look at Us Now, Mother!

Filmmaker Gayle Kirschenbaum presents a raw, fearless but funny portrait of both her childhood, fraught with shame and humiliation, and her adulthood scarred by its fallout. Woven together from decades of personal home movies, photos and videos, Look at Us Now, Mother! invites audiences to join her on her quest to love, understand and forgive her aging mother before it’s too late. As these two formidable women travel down the bumpy road of discovery, their relationship changes before our eyes, and teaches a universal lesson of family dynamics, empathy and the power of forgiveness.

The Emotional Dimensions of The James River

TWE is the international premiere for this extraordinary film. Written and directed by 15-year-old Michelle Marquez, this four-minute film breaks the barrier between art and science to create a unique visual and audio experience of time perceptions and emotional dimensions. Marquez recently completed a TEDx Youth Talk about the film.

About the US National Committee for UN Women & Through Women’s Eyes

The Gulf Coast Chapter is part of the US National Committee for UN Women, one of the 18 national committees worldwide working to create a world where women and girls live free from violence, poverty and inequality. The all volunteer GCC presents Through Women's Eyes and other events each year to help raise awareness and funds for issues and projects pertinent to UN Women, the women's fund at the United Nations which supports women's empowerment and gender equality programs in more than 100 developing nations. The annual Through Women’s Eyes Festival features independent films by women filmmakers that seek to expand awareness of the lives of women throughout the world. For more information, visit UNwomen-usnc.org or ThroughWomensEyes.com

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