The Long Road to the Director's Chair

After the Forum, we will be screening the film at the International Women's Film Festival in Dortmund: THE LONG ROAD TO THE DIRECTOR'S CHAIR by Vibeke Løkkeberg. The “First International Women's Film Seminar” organized by Claudia von Alemann and Helke Sander in 1973 can be regarded as one of the very first feminist film festivals. Held in Berlin, it was hosted in the “old” Arsenal cinema in Welserstraße, and the elementary school opposite. Vibeke Løkkeberg was among the guests. She came to present her film Abort and to document the festival. Almost 50 years later, she transformed the raw material into a journey through time: Interviews with the participants sharing experiences as equals, patient listening, the crowds in the foyer, the comings and goings outside the cinema, the gatherings at the seminar. There was a sense of new beginnings in the air, as well as cigarette smoke, solidarity and openness, the determination and confidence of women who wanted change - against the dominance of men. Today, this retrospective confronts us with unfinished battles and possibly - lost hopes. (Gaby Babić/Stefanie Schulte Strathaus)