To celebrate Woman’s History Month, YoFi Fest is presenting a free showcase of short narratives and documentaries on Saturday, April 1 at 2pm at its Digital Media Art Center in downtown Yonkers. The program celebrates the voices of women and non-binary filmmakers and represent the perspectives of women, encompassing all the complexities of identity and context.
There are six movies screening in the program, including BATH, a short film about a weekend away in Bath, England, made using entirely improvised dialogue, GREAT LISTENER, about an Asian-American actress who is forced to reckon with pervasive typecasting, JELLY BEAN, where a woman seeking romance on dating apps is only finding disappointment, LA COCINERA, a short documentary which captures the pressure facing Daniela Soto-Innes, a 25-year old James Beard Award-winning chef tasked with running Cosme, one of the hottest kitchens in New York City, REMOVABLE, in which an immigrant woman struggles with guilt after calling the police on her abusive husband resulting in his deportation, and THE WAY LIFE GOES, an animated short where three young children take a magical journey across life, death, and the universe after their goldfish dies.
The program is curated by Meredith Dobbs, an award-winning filmmaker who specializes in writing and directing improv dramas and works as an editor, director, and producer for MTV. “I think shorts programs are so important,” explains Dobbs, “They make watching a short into an event, so you get exposed to films you wouldn’t have seen otherwise, and shorts are often the way great filmmakers build their careers.”
Though she’s an experienced filmmaker, this was Dobbs’ first time trying her hand at curation. “It was great to reach out to my entire network of filmmakers, to be introduced to new filmmakers that way, and to watch so many great films. I knew how I wanted to structure the screening, so it was a matter of choosing from tons of great options.”
The shorts she chose include a wide range of styles and topics, including dramas, documentaries and animation, but they’re all tied together by a shared theme. “I think all the films depict an experience from a woman’s perspective. They’re experiences that have a subtlety to them, and nuance,” Dobbs said about the program, “Every film on the lineup is at such a high level of quality and made me think.”
A talkback with the curator and filmmakers will follow the screening. The program is free, but reservations are required and can be made at YoFiDMAC.com.
YoFi Fest continues to present independent cinema that audiences might not see anywhere else. Its new Digital Media Art Center is located next to the Lionsgate Studio complex at 28 Wells Avenue. Their DMAC offers films, lectures, events, workshops and job training throughout the year.
YoFi’s 11th annual international film festival will take place between November 10th and 19th and submissions are already open at YoFiFest.com. YoFiFest has received two “Best of Westchester” awards, for “Best Film Geek Event” and “Best New Film Festival”, and has been voted one of the “Top 100 Film Festivals” on FIlmFreeway multiple times. It was also named one of the “Top Ten Hippest Things about Yonkers” by lohud.com and The Journal News and one of the “Top Five Things To Do” by Westchester Magazine.
