STRIKE AND RISE/Video for V-Day, by Nina Menkes from Nina Menkes on Vimeo.
On Feb. 18, CalArts School of Film/Video faculty member Nina Menkes‘ short film, Strike and Rise, will be featured in the OBR UK Arts Festival, screening at the The Whitechapel Gallery in London.
Menkes’ nearly 4-minute experimental film was created specifically for the event, which was spearheaded by Eve Ensler, Tony Award-winning author of the Vagina Monologues, in collaboration with One Billion Rising, an international movement comprising artists, performers, dancers, poets and playwrights, hoping to stop violence against women and girls.
This year marks the 15th anniversary of V-Day (V “for Victory, Valentine and Vagina”) on Feb. 14, a global day of activism, with events scheduled around the UK.
Menkes elaborates on her film on its Vimeo page:
Violence against women is a concrete reality in too many lives. For those of us who have not felt physical violence…the more insidious but perhaps no less destructive internalized persecutor who lurks, smashes and erodes…….that feeling of being less-than, and somehow deeply worthless…….has crippled our lives on multiple levels. It’s time to say No to Abuse and Yes to Love–Let everyday be Valentine’s Day, lets learn to love ourselves, just as we are and just for today~~and it’s always TODAY!
In addition to Menkes’ film, award-winning artist and filmmaker Lynn Hershman Leeson’s film, Women Art Revolution, screens on the program. The feature documentary reveals how the Feminist Art Revolution radically transformed modern art and culture.
Visit the One Billion Rising website for more information about the campaign.
Women Art Revolution & One Billion Rising Films
The Whitechapel Gallery
77-82 Whitechapel High St., London
Feb. 18, 1 pm