Women In Media (WIM), Outside the Box [Office], and Kino Lorber,
invite you and a guest to attend
 

A Special Theatrical Screening of

BRAINWASHED: SEX-CAMERA-POWER

Directed & Produced by Nina Menkes
Executive Produced by Tim Disney, Susan Disney Lord, and Abigail E. Disney

Followed by a Panel Discussion featuring:

NINA MENKES
Producer/Director: Brainwashed, Phantom Love, Queen of Diamonds

SANDRA VALDE-HANSEN, ASC
Cinematographer/Educator: The L Word: Generation Q, Now Apocalypse, Plan B

CATHERINE HARDWICKE
Director: Lords of Dogtown, 13, Twilight

SANDRA DE CASTRO BUFFINGTON
Co-Producer: Brainwashed, Executive Producer: #SHOUT,
Founder of UCLA’s Global Media Center for Social Impact

Moderated by TEMA L. STAIG
Women In Media Executive Director/Producer/Production Designer

7:00 P.M. on Tuesday, February 7th, 2023

Norris Cinema Theatre at the Frank Sinatra Hall
3507 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, CA 90007

FREE ADMISSION. OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. RSVP REQUIRED.
 

CLICK HERE TO RSVP
 

Pre-Screening Networking and Nibbles

4:00 P.M. – 6:15 P.M.
Greenleaf Restaurant
929 W Jefferson Blvd #1650
Los Angeles, CA 90089

Please join us before the screening to meet up with old friends and new colleagues over an early dinner and drinks at Greenleaf Restaurant. You do not need to be a WiM member to join us for networking and nibbles or the screening. 20% of your food and beverage purchases will be donated to Women In Media by the restaurant. Please mention us when you place your order, or present the digital flyer that we will be emailing you.

If you would like your contact information shared with the group for further networking outside of this event, please opt In on the RSVP form.

We will walk from the restaurant to the screening as a group (about 6 minutes). Women In Media Members will have VIP reserved seats at the theater.

RSVP FOR NETWORKING AND NIBBLES HERE. All are welcome – the more, the merrier!

About Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power

In this eye-opening documentary, celebrated independent filmmaker Nina Menkes explores the sexual politics of cinematic shot design. Using clips from hundreds of movies we all know and love – from Metropolis to Vertigo to Phantom Thread – Menkes convincingly makes the argument that shot design is gendered. Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power illuminates the patriarchal narrative codes that hide within supposedly “classic” set-ups and camera angles, and demonstrates how women are frequently displayed as objects for the use, support, and pleasure of male subjects. Building on the essential work of Laura Mulvey and other feminist writers, Menkes shows how these not-so-subtle embedded messages affect and intersect with the twin epidemics of sexual abuse and assault, as well as employment discrimination against women, especially in the film industry. The film features interviews with an all-star cast of women and non-binary industry professionals including Julie Dash, Penelope Spheeris, Charlyne Yi, Joey Soloway, Catherine Hardwicke, Eliza Hittman, and Rosanna Arquette. The result is an electrifying call-to-action that will fundamentally change the way you see, and watch, movies.

Running time: 107 minutes.

brainwashedmovie.com

About the Filmmaker

NINA MENKES (Director, Producer)

Considered a cinematic feminist pioneer and one of America’s foremost independent filmmakers, Menkes has shown widely in major international film festivals including multiple premieres at Sundance, the Berlinale, Cannes (ACID), Rotterdam, Locarno, Toronto, The New York Film Festival, La Cinematheque Francaise, British Film Institute, Whitney Museum of American Art, MOMA in New York, MOCA and LACMA in LA.

Menkes’s honors include a Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, an AFI Independent Filmmaker Award, a Creative Capital Award and an International Critic’s Award (FIPRESCI Prize) for the feature documentary Massaker which premiered at the Berlinale in 2005. In 2011, her feature film The Bloody Child (1996) was named one of the most important films of the past 50 years by the Viennale International Film Festival, Austria. In 2022 she was commissioned to create the official Viennale Trailer for the 60th Anniversary of the festival, along with other major directors including Claire Denis, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Albert Serra, and Sergei Loznitsa.

Most recently, she has been touring with her 2022 feature documentary BRAINWASHED: Sex- Camera-Power, made with support from Uncommon Productions, Susan Disney Lord, Abigail Disney, the EOS World Fund, and the CalArts Center for New Performance.

BRAINWASHED has been honored with screenings at major international film festivals including Sundance, the Berlinale, CPH:DOX, BFI-London, IDFA, Ambulante, Frameline, Karlovy Vary and the Viennale, among many others.

Two of Menkes’s early feature films, Queen of Diamonds and The Bloody Child, both starring Tinka Menkes, were selected for restoration by the Academy Film Archive and Scorsese’s Film Foundation, with funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation.

Queen of Diamonds was widely hailed as “a modern masterpiece” when it was re-released in 2019, and a box set of all her narrative features is due out in late 2022, by Arbelos Films.

Menkes holds an MFA in Film Production from UCLA (1989), is a directing member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and is a member of the faculty at California Institute of the Arts. 

For further information & filmography, visit ninamenkes.com

Praise for Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power

2022 FEMALE EMPOWERMENT SEAL — Critics Choice Association

“ONE OF THE TOP FIVE FILMS TO SEE THIS FALL!” — Bob Mondello, NPR

“Fierce and focused…Brainwashed is a bracing blast of critical rigour, taking a clear, cool look at the unexamined assumptions behind what we see on the screen.”
— Peter Bradshaw, THE GUARDIAN

“Nina Menkes’ eye-opening documentary will forever change how you look at films.”
— Kate Erbland, INDIEWIRE

“Menkes is a real no-bullshit breath of fresh air. With a torch. And with any luck, she’s heading your way to set fire to something, soon.” — Finn Halligan, SCREEN DAILY

“Explosive and compelling!” — James Kleinman, THE QUEER REVIEW

“Subversive!...Menkes is not afraid to take on the film canon, and the directors hailed as the gold standard.” — Ray Lobo, FILM THREAT

“[Menkes] calls for a radical reinvention of how shots and film grammar are formulated. Crucially, Menkes' documentary is not calling for cancelation. Viewers are meant to wrestle with this film, not passively consume a simple message — and they’ll leave invigorated.” — Violet Lucca, BUST

About Women In Media

Women In Media, a 501c3 nonprofit, promotes gender balance in the film and entertainment industries through networking, professional development,  and advocacy for filmmakers who work above and below the line.

Women In Media started in 2010 as an informal networking group of likeminded people of all genders who wanted to network with more women. We continuously outgrew our venues until it became undeniable in 2016 that more people felt as we did. It was time for the entertainment industry to change in a lasting and sustainable way. 

In 2017, we became a non profit, expanding our mission and services to include more networking events, education, and initiatives, propelling us closer to 40% – 60% women in every crew, every department, every show. Our goal is a more respectful, inclusive, and balanced workplace for all genders. 

Women in Media evolved into a membership-based organization, hosting professional development panels and screenings, with a presence at top tier film festivals and conferences around the world. 

The Crew List

The #WiMCrewList started as a simple open source Google Spread Sheet in 2016 for those in a position to hire to find women for their crews. In a matter of months, the spreadsheet featured thousands of women., making it impossible to say there were no qualified women to hire.

Due to the popularity of the SpreadSheet, and women getting hired from it, we decided to aim higher. We transitioned from the original list to a searchable, online database to make it easy to #HireTheseWomen. 

https://womennmedia.com/event/brainwashed-screening-and-town-hall/

About Outside the Box [Office]

Outside the Box [Office] is a weekly showcase for upcoming releases highlighting world cinema, documentary and independent film titles. The series draws from around the globe to present movies that may challenge, inspire or simply entertain.

To view the calendar of screenings, click here

To SUBSCRIBE to our MAILING LIST for upcoming free screenings and events, e-mail the word "Subscribe" to: aago@cinema.usc.edu

Join our Public Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/223769338060863/
 

Check-In & Reservations

This screening is free of charge and open to the public. A reservation confirmation will automatically be sent to your e-mail account upon successfully making an RSVP through this website. Doors will open at 6:30 P.M.

All SCA screenings are OVERBOOKED to ensure seating capacity in the theater, therefore seating is not guaranteed based on RSVPs. The RSVP list will be checked in on a first-come, first-served basis until the theater is full. Once the theater has reached capacity, we will no longer be able to admit guests, regardless of RSVP status.

Parking

On-campus parking at the University of Southern California is limited, and it is best to visit the USC Transportation Website for the most up-to-date information if you plan to drive and park on campus:

https://transnet.usc.edu/index.php/daily-and-hourly-parking/
https://transnet.usc.edu/index.php/about-us/entrance-hours/

Contact Information

Name: Alessandro Ago
Email: aago@cinema.usc.edu