Works by Women: A Film and Video Festival

Works by Women was an annual Barnard film and video festival that ran from February 1977 to October 1990. The festival was begun by Barnard’s Women’s Center and received funding from the Barnard College library. Works by Women originally focused on showcasing films and videos containing feminist themes, such as Marie Ashton’s The Yellow Wallpaper and Lynda Benglis’ Female Sensibility. Each year a few of the filmmakers would visit Barnard to speak about their films in conjunction with the screenings. 1982 marked a shift in focus from explicitly feminist work to any films by women of artistic value. While many of the films shown were still largely feminist, others, such as Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay! and Maren Erskine’s Hell’s Kitchen Chronicle, focused on themes such as loss of childhood and urban redevelopment respectively. Some years advertised specific themes-- in 1979, the Works by Women had an international theme, and in 1988 the festival promoted itself as “a salute to the arts”, showcasing films related to the arts world. Most years, however, the festival simply celebrated women’s filmmaking. The final Works by Women festival took place in October 1990. Due to budget cuts, the library could no longer fund Works by Women in the years following, leading to cancellation of the festival.