MORNING AFTER, March 23, 2009 by Joyce Marcel

The films have been shown. The cards have been filled out. With slightly blurry vision and yet elevated consciousness, we await word on which movie will be chosen "Best of The Fest."

Remember, there's a closing party and a final screening of your top choice, along with the closing of the "Visions" silent art auction, at the Hooker-Dunham on Saturday, March 28 at 5:30 p.m.

Here's my personal summary:

Number of films seen: 15 out of 27. I thought I had seen almost all of them, so this final count surprises me.

Personal choice for "Best of the Fest": "La Corona." I've been thinking about why I loved this film, and I've decided that part of it is because, for the time being, victimization is over for the women in the film. There are few men in their lives. There is little violence. We get to see them moving on, even if it's in a desperate pit of a place like a maximum security female prison in Bogota, Colombia. We see their joy and their striving for something better, even if it's only a crown in a prison beauty pageant. The film really centers on the women's personalities, and some of them are unforgettable.

Second choice: "Rain," just because it was so beautifully shot, so wonderfully acted, so honest, and because it tells us something we may not have wanted to know about the underbelly of life in the Bahamas.

Third choice: "Pray the Devil Back to Hell." Even though we have to endure war, rape, theft, brutal dictators and all the rest in the first half of this film, it has a happy ending. So far.

Heroines I had never known about but whom I now adore: Patsy Mink, who brought us Title IX, and the women of "Pray the Devil Back to Hell."

Most unforgettable film: "20 Seconds of Joy." Just because of the amazing footage of Karina Hollekim flying off of one cliff after another. No matter what I might think of adrenaline junkies, the footage makes me feel like I'm flying, and that's thrilling. I'll never understand Hollekim and her friends, but I'll never forget them, either. And I'll probably never stop screaming whenever she jumps off a cliff.

Best historical story: "Passion & Power: The Technology of Orgasm." This film, with its strange camera angles and unfortunate reenactments, is not a good film. But I love the story. Here's to the female orgasm, whenever and wherever you find it. (Hint: usually somewhere around the clitoris.)

Film genre I appreciated the most: The documentaries about artists. Alice Neel, Kay Ryan, Patti Smith, the creative women of "Who Does She Think She Is" -- It was important for me, as a writer, to watch other artists and their struggles.

Film I wish I had been strong enough to see: "The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo." It wasn't just me. I was in the New England Youth Theater on Wednesday, and after "To See If I'm Smiling," which is brutal enough, almost the entire audience walked out before this film. It's just too much pain, I think. Does that make me a coward? Yes.

Film I enjoyed least: "'Bama Girl." Who cares who becomes homecoming queen at the University of Alabama? Not worth 75 minutes of my time.

Ripped from the headlines: "To See If I'm Smiling," the film about female Israeli soldiers coming to terms with their own inhumanity, anger and cruelty. I saw it just days before the men of the Israeli army publicly did the same thing.

And that's it. It's time to thank the Women's Film Festival once again for giving me the chance to write this blog, to thank Jacqueline Gens for her complete excellence in running the site, to thank you all for reading, and a special thanks to those of you who commented.

Say goodbye, Joyce.

Goodbye, Joyce.