The Contemporary Issues Film Festival,
dedicated in 2000 to The Feminine Look: Women in Literature and Cinema, took place in Loulé, Algarve, Portugal from 17 to 23 June, 2000.

We examined the role of women in contemporary society. Under the heading "Pioneers" we paid tribute to a few women directors such as Alice Guy, Ida Lupino and Maya Deren, showing a selections of their films, accompanied by conferences about their work, by such distinguished scholars as Alison McMahan, Shelley Rice, and Joao Benard da Costa, among others.

Close to 50 outstanding women directors, representing 27 countries, came to Portugal to show their work. Among them Margarethe von Trotta from Germany, Catherine Breillat from France, Alanis Obomsawin from Canada, Anne Makepeace from the USA, etc. International media coverage included journalists from Cahiers Du Cinema (France) and Cineaste Magazine (USA), as well as Portuguese press, radio and television.

Clockwise from left:

Lina Hoshino,
Director, USA;
Fernanda Rossi,
Director, USA/Argentina;
Claudia Ribeiro,
Film Scholar, USA/Portugal;
Lidia Franco,
Actress, Portugal;
Alison McMahan,
Univ. of Amsterdam, Holland;
Dalila Carmo,
Actress, Portugal;
Irina Bessarabova,
Director, Russia;
Margarethe von Trotta,
Director, Germany;
Debra Zimmerman,
President, Women Make Movies, USA;
Ingrid Scheib-Rothbart,
Curator, German Cinema, USA