Women Explorers of the Himalayas

Thursday, October 20th, 2005, 7-10pm
Rubin Museum of Art
150 West 17th St
New York, NY
$10 Admission — includes Museum's galleries before 7pm

Advance Tickets: http://www.rmanyc.org/

About the Films

She Wants To Talk To You
A film by Anita Chang
27 minutes, Color, 16mm, Beta exhibition format
courtesy Women Make Movies
Official Selection - Women in the Director's Chair

In October 1999 filmmaker Anita Chang befriended three 13-year-old girls - Monika Rasali, Sushma Sada and Vinita Shrestha - while living in Kathmandu, Nepal. Honestly presenting themselves in front of the camera, these girls share with the filmmaker their ideas on marriage, friendship and spirituality. Their recordings provide a complex and poignant framework for three Nepali women living in the U.S. to reflect on their own struggle, exile and quest for liberation. Through verite documentary, the film offers rare insight into the lives of girls and women from a society steeped in patriarchy, tradition and caste. "She Wants to Talk" to You speaks closely to young girls and women, as well as provokes universal introspection about the nature of happiness and oppression, and human relations and intimacy.

Daughters of Everest
Directors/Producers/Cinematographers: Sapana Sakya and Ramyata Limbu
Mini-DV, 56 minutes
courtesy NAATA

"While videotaped in simple style, Daughters of Everest intimately documents a momentous occasion for women athletes."  — Jim Provenzano, Bay Area Reporter

Daughters of Everest brings a unique flavor to a familiar story: the attempt to climb Mount Everest. In 2000, the first-ever expedition of Sherpa women to climb Everest was organized. This captivating documentary gives a close-up account of the expedition.

• Special Jury Prize - Mountain Film, Telluride, Colorado
• Grand Festival Award - Berkeley International Film & Video Festival
• San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival

To the Sherpa people, the ethnic group legendary for their unmatched skill in mountaineering, the mountain is a holy place. Mount Everest is Chomolongma, "Mother Goddess of the Universe." Ironically, Sherpa women have long been discouraged from climbing the powerful and daunting Everest, relegated instead to more traditional roles as homemakers or into support roles in the prestigious climbing industry of Nepal.

The documentary follows the five diverse, charismatic women chosen for this historic expedition. Told from a woman's perspective rarely seen on Everest or off, Daughters of Everest is both a dramatic, inspiring Everest story and an absorbing portrait of the Sherpa community.

About 3rd I. 3rd I New York's monthly film and music salon designed by local filmmakers and experimental DJs showcases the works of independent filmmakers of South Asian descent and local djs, musicians and electronica artists. Providing alternative forums for South Asian filmmakers who often have few venues to showcase their work not only increases their visibility, but also provides a social forum for peers and audiences to participate in an ongoing discussion. More info...