Monday, November 13, 20237:00 PM - 8:30 PM
James Bridges Theater, Melnitz Hall
The Center for European and Russian Studies (CERS) in co-sponsorship with the South East European Film Festival (SEEfest) invite you to the screening of When I was a boy, I was a girl, a film by Ivana Todorović. The screening will be followed by discussion with the filmmaker. The event will take place in-person in James Bridges Theater on November 13, 2023 at 7:00 PM. RSVP required.
About the Film
In this intimate documentary from the Serbian auteur whose films focus on marginalized groups, the filmmaker brings us into the world of Belgrade transsexual Goca and her unorthodox family. Straddling the two worlds of socially accepted behavior and her own reality, Goca boldly steps on a public stage in a rousing finale.
The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, and had a successful international festival run winning multiple awards including Best Balkan Documentary. It was the first film that gave visibility to transgender and LGBTQ+ community in Belgrade, Serbia. The film was originally shown in Los Angeles Angeles at SEEfest in 2013. SEEfest is proud to present this special screening with guest filmmaker Ivana Todorović who will have Q&A with the audience and join post-screening discussion with local community members.
About the Panelists
Ivana Todorović is a writer/director of socially engaging films that explore trauma and recovery through empathy. Her most recent film, “End of the Road” world premiered at the 2022 Palm Springs International ShortFest, and is still on the festival circuit around the globe. The short fiction film “When I’m at Home” has played festivals worldwide winning multiple awards, and was invited to screen at “The Principle of Migration” exhibition at The New York Foundation for the Arts Gallery. Todorović’s films “Adem’s Island”, ” When I was a boy, I was a girl”, “A Harlem Mother”, “Rapresent”, “Everyday life of Roma children from Block 71” have been shown in over 200 international film festivals including Berlinale, Rotterdam IFF, Sarajevo Film Festival, Dokufest, and have collectively won over 40 awards. Her films have been acquired by The New York Times and Aeon Films, and have screened at The Anthology Film Archive in New York, and the Cultura de Contemporania de Barcelona, Spain. Ivana teaches master classes and practical seven-day documentary film workshops at universities, film festivals, and institutions worldwide.
Sylvan Oswald (he/him) creates text-based projects exploring trans identity, history, and nonviolent dramaturgy. Recent work includes High Winds (Fusebox Festival, PICA’s TBA Festival, X Artists’ Books); Trainers (Gate Theatre, London); and Outtakes, a web series. Plays include A Kind of Weather (Diversionary Theater), Vendetta Chrome (Clubbed Thumb), and Pony (About Face Theater). Sylvan is a recipient of a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship, a Soho Rep Dorothy Strelsin Fellowship, a Jerome Fellowship, and residencies at MacDowell, Yaddo, and Sundance/UCross. Sylvan is an alumnus of New Dramatists and heads the playwriting program at UCLA.
Dante Alencastre is a working artist/filmmaker/activist who makes his living from his artivist work. His imagination envisions projects and sees the potential in individuals and the importance of stories and combines this with the courage and conviction to tell them, often beginning before any organizational structure or financial assurance is in place, but with a trust that their inherent importance to the community will allow them to come into being. He directs and produces LGBTQ+ documentary films with a particular focus on the social justice and visibility of the Transgender community. Previous films include – in Peru, (‘En El Fuego’ (2008), ‘El Fuego Dentro’ (2011), and in Los Angeles, (‘Transvisible: Bamby Salcedo’s Story’ (2013), ’Raising Zoey’ (2016), and ‘AIDS DIVA: The Legend of Connie Norman’ (2021).
Venue
James Bridges Theater
235 Charles E Young Dr E
Los Angeles, CA 90095
Parking
Parking at UCLA requires a valid permit at all times. Campus parking is available 24-hours a day at varying prices. Parking Structure 3 (P3) is closest to the event venue. P3 rates: $4.00 - $15.00 (1 hour - all day). Visit UCLA Visitor Parking for information about where to park and how to pay.
Sponsor(s): Center for European and Russian Studies, South East European Film Festival (SEEfest)