Retrospective in Feminisms (2020)
Feminist Border Arts, invited by 516 ARTS, a non-collecting contemporary art museum in Albuquerque, in conjunction with their exhibition “Feminisms,” curated and programed this five-year retrospective of the film festival. This exhibition, as the 516 ARTS website notes, “coincides with a new initiative spearheaded by the Feminist Art Coalition, the national effort seeks to inspire a broad variety of exhibitions and programs across the country that will centralize feminist perspectives and concerns in the cultural consciousness.”
- Retrospective in Feminisms at 516 ARTS
- FBAFF Retrospective in Feminisms Program
- Press Release
- 516 ARTS “Feminisms” Press Release
- NMSU film festival takes aim at decolonization, oppression from feminist perspectives
Retrospective in Feminisms Promo Video
Pandemic Pop-Up (2020)
Feminist Border Arts Presents: Pandemic Pop Up! A Virtual Film Fest & Culture Work Exhibit seeks to bring some of the different aspects of this current reality together. The films and culture work here provide different aspects–snapshots, really–of the world before and the early days of this new reality. This pop-up virtual exhibit offers a chance for reflection, escape, some fun, and release.
- Pop-Up Virtual Film Festival Press Release
- FBAFF Pandemic Pop-Up Program
- Entrance Music (for a Pop-Up! Pandemic Film Fest and Culture Work Exhibit
Pandemic Pop-Up Promo Video
FBAFF 2020
In honor of International Women’s Day, the fifth annual Feminist Border Arts Film Festival will take place on Thursday & Friday, March 5 & 6, 2020 in the Sandy Zane and Ned Bennett Collection Study Room located in Devasthali Hall on the campus of New Mexico State University. The two-day festival, which is free and open to the public, features short films by U.S. and international filmmakers who utilize cinema as a creative tool to grapple with urgent social issues and questions of identity and representation.
This year’s Feminist Border Arts Film Festival is in collaboration with the NMSU Department of Interdisciplinary Studies and the inaugural exhibition to be mounted in the new University Art Museum: “ Labor: Motherhood and Art in 2020,” co-curated by Marisa Sage (Director, UAM) and Laurel Nakadate (NY based photographer and filmmaker).
2020 Promo Video
FBAFF 2019
The fourth year of FBAFF saw its largest expansion yet with grant funding from the New Mexico Humanities Council, the Devasthali Family Foundation Fund, and the Southwest and Border Cultures Institute. FBAFF 2019 spanned two days of programming including a showcase and conversation with invited filmmakers, a video art exhibit, and five screening programs.
- 2019 Press Release
- 2019 FBAFF Program
- 2019 FBAFF Schedule-at-a-Glance
- Interview with Robert Palacios on KRWG
- “Feminist Border Arts to be held this weekend” NMSU The Round Up
- News segment on KRWG News22, March 13, 2019
2019 Festival Award Winners
Audience Award Winners
- Best Animation: “Al Ghorba” directed by Alia Hijaab
- Best Live Action Narrative, Shorter: “Swêdî” directed by Sosi Chamoun
- Best Live Action Narrative, Longer: “Drum Wave” directed by Natalie Erika James
- Best Documentary: “Piraña” directed by Nainisha Dedhia
- Best in Show: “Piraña” directed by Nainisha Dedhia
Juried Award Winners
- Best Animation: “ Récit de Soi” directed by Géraldine Charpentier
- Best Live Action Narrative, Shorter: “Fuego en el Sótano” directed by Eva Vázquez de Reoyo
- Best Live Action Narrative, Longer: “Ashmina” directed by Dekel Berenson
- Best Documentary: “Piraña” directed by Nainisha Dedhia
- Best in Show: “ Récit de Soi” directed by Géraldine Charpentier
Festival Director’s Award
- “Sirens” directed by Juli Tudisco
2019 Promo Video
Video Art Exhibit (2018)
“Border Zones, Liminal Bodies: A Video Art Exhibit” was the first live screening event of the 2018 Feminist Border Arts Film Festival , in collaboration between NMSU Gender & Sexuality Studies, University Art Gallery, and the Interdisciplinary Studies Department. The exhibit took place on March 12 th from 10:00am to 6:00pm at the NMSU University Art Gallery, in collaboration with University Art Gallery director, Marisa Sage and the Department of Art. This screening featured short video art pieces by 12 U.S. and international artists that invited viewers to contemplate contemporary issues, such as migration and refugee crises, disability and the body in movement, feminicide in Ciudad Juárez , water insecurity, and other issues.
Border zones are contact zones and these are liminal spaces where the comfort of some bodies are built upon the violence and erasure of other bodies. These videos show the different ways art can engage with the most pressing social issues of our time.
Promo Video
FBAFF18: Because inclusive filmmaking is revolutionary art
2018 marks the third season of the festival and it continued to be one of growth. With over 2100 submissions from 103 countries, the 2018 season included the festival’s signature screening program on April 16 th at the CMI Digital Media Theater from 6:00pm-8:30pm; an online showcase; collections of films curated especially for students enrolled in Gender & Sexuality Studies courses at NMSU shown during the spring 2018 semester; and the video art exhibition “Border Zones, Liminal Bodies,” which premiered at the University Art Gallery on March 12th.
2018 Festival Award Winners
Audience Award Winners
- Best Animation: “”Malá/The Little One” directed by Diana Cam Van Nguyen
- Best Live Action Narrative: “Fee” directed by Guen Murroni
- Best Film Essay: “Mind(less) Body” directed by Ana Falcón
- Best Documentary: “The Pianist of Yarmoulk” directed by Vikram Ahluwalia
- Best in Festival: “Tailor” directed by Calí dos Anjos
Juried Award Winners
- Best Animation: “Irma” directed by Alejo Schettini & Germán Tejeira
- Best Live Action Narrative:
- Best Film Essay: “You’re Welcome” directed by Rebecca Panian
- Best Documentary: “The Pianist of Yarmoulk” directed by Vikram Ahluwalia
- Best in Festival: “The Pianist of Yarmoulk” directed by Vikram Ahluwalia
Festival Director’s Prize
- “The One You Were Born In” directed by Ella Bee Glendining
2018 Promo Video
FBAFF 2017
The call for entries for the inaugural festival received 273 entries in total. Now, in its second year, the festival has received over 3,000 entries from more than 50 countries. The films selected for the festival are determined through each film’s distinct contribution to the festival’s mission and the film’s artistic impact. Many films in this festival make their New Mexico, Southwestern, and even U.S. debut. Other films have been featured in prominent festivals like Sundance, Outfest, and more.
2017 Festival Award Winners
Audience Award Winners
Audience Awards were selected by attendees of the festival’s major screening event on April 24, 2017 at the CMI Digital Media Theater-Milton Hall 171 on the campus of New Mexico State University
- Best Animation: “I, Destini” by Nicholas Pilarski and Destini Riley
- Best Documentary: “The Fisherman of Lesbos” by Nikolia Apostolou
- Best Narrative: “New Neighbors” by E. G. Bailey
- Best in Festival:”I Say Dust” by Darine Hotait
Juried Award Winners
Established in 2016, the Juried Awards recognize outstanding films. This year’s jury was made up of NMSU faculty from Creative Media Institute, English, and Gender & Sexuality Studies.
- Best Animation: “The Bus Trip” by Sarah Gampel
- Best Documentary: “The Fisherman of Lesbos” by Nikolia Apostolou
- Best Live-Action Narrative: “I Say Dust” by Darine Hotait
- Best in Festival: “I Say Dust” by Darine Hotait
Festival Director’s Prize
- Best in Festival: “LostFound” by Shakti Bhagchandani
2017 Online Video Showcase:
- “Forward” (Director: Cole Sax) U.S.A.
- “The Confluence” (Director: Courtney Blackmer-Reynolds) U.S.A.
- “Clothes Cycle” (Director: Danielle Gibson) U.S.A.
- “At Home Manicure” (Director: Madison Manning) U.S.A.
- “Sonnet 23” (Director: Rebecca Shoptaw) U.S.A.
- “Mujeres Fuertes (Strong Women)” (Director: Angela Benavides) U.S.A.
- “Kosova Trans” (Director: Albrim Isufi) Kosovo
- “Ableism” (Director: Gema Ceron) U.S.A.
- “keeping an eye on Mexico” (Andrea Gohl) U.S.A.
- “Dalyla” (Director: Alexis Cerezo) U.S.A.
- “Anxeyety” (Director: Arden Barlow) U.S.A.
- “Red Line” (Director: Arfa Chowdhary) U.S.A.
2017 Jury
Cynthia Bejarano: Regent’s Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies
Manal Hamzeh: Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies
Amy Lanasa: Department Head of the Creative Media Institute, Writer/Filmmaker
Ilana Lapid: Assistant Professor of Creative Media, Filmmaker
Tony Stagliano: Assistant Professor of English, Creative Research Center Director, Filmmaker
Patti Wojahn: Department Head of Interdisciplinary Studies, Borderlands Writing Project Director
Laura Anh Williams: Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, Director: Gender & Sexuality Studies, Artist
2017 Promo Video
FBAFF 2016
2016 Festival Award Winners
Audience Award Winners
Our audience at the public screening on April 18, 2016, was responsible for selecting the best animated and best live action short films of the festival.
Juried Awards
