Do This: Ladyfest’s Monthlong Film Series Starts Tonight

The four-part series includes a lineup of flicks that explore female and queer identities.

By Josh Middleton· 5/1/2013, 1:32 p.m.

With just a little more than a month until its kickoff day in June, Ladyfest Philly continues to crank out a lineup of damn-fun fundraising events.

Tonight they’re debuting a monthlong film series, at Vox Populi’s AUX Performance Space, with a collection of 16mm short films made by women prior to 1980. The rarely seen flicks consist of a work from Bell Labs artist-in-residence Lillian Schwartz, a handful of Pop Art shorts by Gunvor Nelson and Barbara Hammer’s Dyketactics — the first film made by an openly lesbian auteur.

Subsequent screenings — rotating back and forth throughout the month between AUX and International House — will continue to explore female and queer identities and “celebrate a history of intersections between feminism, art, and the moving image.” Notable entries include original riot grrl flick Ladies and Gentlemen … The Fabulous Stains, which will be presented by local rock critic and karaoke superwoman Sara Sherr, and Cheryl Dunye’s controversial race- and sexuality-tackling debut feature, The Watermelon Woman.

I’ve rounded up some of the trailers for you below. For date, time and ticket-price information: ladyfestphilly.com. Ladyfest Music and Arts Festival is June 7-9. For a full lineup of performers, go here.

Dyketactics (Screening Wed., May 1, 8 p.m.)