Let's Make Sister Waves!

YAMAGAMI Chieko

I went to Seoul Women's Film Festival for the first time in 2001. Long and short films were shown there: from two hours long to less than 2 minutes long. All the works were trying to make herstory through women's own words different from men's history and culture. In September of the same year I was one of the audience in Taipei Women's Film Festival with my friends. There, too, were films dealing with women's problems, sexuality, and gender. They were not always serious but sometimes funny and humorous. The audience often laughed and enjoyed. We said to each other, "It would be nice to have such kind of film festival in Japan". It was just after September 11 when a part of the world order was broken down.

After I came back home, I told about my dream to some women but they all said, "Nowadays feminism and women's point of view are not well received. Before that we don't have enough money for it." "It's only a dream after all," I thought. Then one woman who has long been active in the women's movement said to me, "If we say it is because of money that we can't do anything we want, there hadn't been any women's movement because women never had enough money to do anything. But they did what they wanted, didn't they? If we want to do it, why don't we do it?" This made the first wave. And the wave made other waves.

Women all over sent us a set-up fund, which was not easy for them to do. Many women helped us in various ways. Waves came from abroad, too: we got the encouragement and support of Sisterhood from Women's Film Festival in Seoul and Women Make Waves Film/Video Festival in Taipei, suggesting that through these Festivals let Asian women take hand in hand.

We are proud that this festival was made possible by the help of many women and we thank them from the bottom of our hearts. Our object is not just to show films. We hope that women meet and talk each other, change our history to herstory and thus make women's culture through this festival.

Today our little wave has become a big wave and we are able to hold the first Women Make Sister Waves International Film and Video Festival in Osaka. We hope you all enjoy this festival with us.


November 29, 2002