Posted on: Friday, July 20, 2001

The ARTS snaps up feminist film series

By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer

The day after the Honolulu Academy of Arts Theatre postponed indefinitely the showing of a frankly sexual feminist film series by Hau'ula resident Alice Anne Parker, an alternative arts performance house has snapped up the opportunity to show the controversial short subjects.

The ARTS at Marks Garage at 1150 Nu'uanu Ave. will present the six films at 8 p.m. Saturday.

"This is just perfect," said Kim Coffee-Isaak, executive director of Hawai'i Craftsman, the managing organization of The ARTS. "We wanted to be all about showcasing cutting-edge, potentially controversial work."

Parker's films, made more than 30 years ago, have been used in film classes and shown at film festivals around the country. And they spark discussion wherever they go. The most talked-about film consists of 17 minutes of straight-on shots of women's vaginas. Another shows a man and woman standing before the camera in brief alternating scenes wearing each other's clothes.

The Honolulu Academy of Arts had received at least one protest from a member about the films, but academy spokesmen denied that was the reason for the postponement. Director George Ellis said the academy preferred to show the films in context with other works that would provoke discussion of issues important to women.

Parker, who is also a writer and psychic counselor, is still amazed by the reaction to her films, which have never been shown in Hawai'i.

"What is driving this?" she asked with a laugh. "No one has seen these movies. People are really frightened by vaginas. There's something so mythic and profound about this."

She plans to discuss the controversies surrounding her films at the screening.

Proceeds from the $5 cover charge for the screening will support The ARTS and a domestic violence-related charity.