Just as I thought the damage was done and the much-repudiated Donald Trump had exited the stage we find his ghost still haunts the halls, at least for a little while longer.  

The democratic process in the United States said a resounding “NO” to Donald of the orange hair in the ballot box for control of the House, the Senate, and the Presidency, yet we are not out from under his dark shadow.

The United States and the world really were shocked last week by the Supreme Court striking down a court decision half a century old. It was the court decision that had recognized the right of a woman to access an abortion, that decision was the monumental decision that’s known commonly as Roe V. Wade, and it has prevailed as law in the U.S. since 1973. Now, an ultra conservative panel of mostly Trump appointed Supreme Court judges has changed the law. That’s despite the fact 70 per cent of Americans favoured retaining it.  

Roe V. Wade

The decision by the Supreme Court had not been printed before the protests started. Overturning Roe V. Wade was seen around the world as a backward step since it’s completely at odds with how most of the world is thinking and reflected, not the will of the people, but the will of the ultra right Trump wing of the Republican Party. What’s truly frightening is that Roe V. Wade and what it already has done to the social fabric of society may well be the thin edge of the wedge. 

Who knows what’s next? The target might be sexual orientations or the legality of some activities between consenting adults. 

In Canada we have some protection and I am forever grateful to Pierre Elliott Trudeau who changed our lives in Canada when he said, “the State has no business in the bedrooms of the nation.” That was Canada, but who knows what might be on the horizon in the United States. 

The political coffin

You know the real irony in this is that it might be a final nail in the political coffin of Donald Trump. He still is a major influence on who wins Republican nominations, but that influence is within the party. The Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe V. Wade will not help them at the polls. I expect that realization will roll across the Republicans. Trump himself has referenced it. I find comfort in the fact that “the people” will speak and the will of those people will prevail. 

A look at the polls in the United States show a ten-point swing toward the Democrats in the past four months. 

A woman will still be able to have options in the U.S., but only if she has access to resources. Not everybody does. That is an aspect of the Roe V. Wade decision that’s so sad.      

NTV’s Jim Furlong can be reached by emailing: jfurlong@ntv.ca

Following a successful 2020 installment that saw the celebrated, three-decade-plus festival go virtual, the St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival (SJIWFF) – Canada’s longest-running women’s film festival since its inception in 1989 – is back for its 32nd year, with their most diverse and fan friendly lineup ever.

Streaming online from October 13-17, and with a record-setting 950 film submissions, the SJIWFF has built a can’t miss program of feature films and shorts made by women from Newfoundland and Labrador, and both nationally and internationally. 

“We had to be quite reactionary, as everyone had to be. Things are changing so quickly,” shared Executive Director Jenn Brown on the festival’s efforts in 2020 and again in 2021 to stay mailable during the pandemic.

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“One thing I can say about the SJIWFF is that we know ourselves. We’ve been around for over three decades and we know our community. And we always look to our local community and our audience, our filmmakers. What do they need and how can we serve that? And with that in mind, we took a really different approach than other international film festivals across the country last year. We decided, well, what’s the point of having a festival if people can’t attend? So we tried to remove as many barriers to access as possible. We cut our ticket fees almost half and increased access. We almost doubled the amount of films that we were screening. We doubled the amount of foreign panels that we were looking at. We tried to figure out how to put as much money in local artists pockets as possible. 

‘Celebrate Our Province’

“Even though we were home, how to celebrate our city, how to celebrate our province, from local businesses to just the landscape, how can we really just promote and celebrate and show off how amazing our arts community is here in our province,” Brown adds. 

“We’ve always been trying to think of ways of how do we share our work beyond St. John’s? Newfoundland and Labrador is so huge, we were so excited for the first time to be able to share our lineup beyond the Avalon. That was massive for us.”

Featuring  54 films to stream on demand for film enthusiasts across Atlantic Canada, Quebec and Ontario (some provincial restrictions apply), with feature films curated from some of the globe’s most acclaimed festivals, 11 local short films and the jam-packed industry forum, the slate for the 32nd instalment of the SJIWFF boasts a dynamic and diverse host of films to appeal to the die hard cinephile, or those just looking for a break from the ordinary.

 “Just sharing local talent in such a big way is truly an honour. It’s a privilege of ours. We’re so proud to do it, and the audience loved it. People are just blown away with the caliber of talent of storytellers and artists from Newfoundland and Labrador. And we were able to share that in a really big way. We ended up being really successful last year,” Brown explained. “Hey, no surprise that last year people really liked staying at home watching movies, so we leaned into that. We encouraged like, ‘stay home, stay safe, stay on your couch, keep watching movies, but watch our movies.’ So we want to curate a really special lineup that would entertain you, challenge you and also offer that sense of community. Offer that distraction. Offer that way to kind of escape and see something new, which was really successful.”

For Brown, who has occupied spaces in numerous avenues of the film industry locally, the SJIWFF represents a peak time in both her career, and in that of a body of hungry, driven local filmmakers. 

The growing profile and international reputation of the festival only serves to underscore that very same talent and work ethic that those in the know of our local film landscape have been in on for so long.”

‘Rich History’

“I was working as a crew member in the film industry when I decided to leave a big production in order to work with a feminist, not-for-profit film festival, which was a bit of a risk for me at that time, and one that was the greatest decision I ever made,” Brown shared proudly. 

“You know, I find it very easy to brag about this festival because it has over 30 years of the fingerprints of thousands of people all over it. It’s so community focused. The community in this province and its people have shaped it to be what it is today. It’s not a solo organization, you know? So it’s such an honour to look at the rich history where it came from. 

“We’re one of the longest running women’s film festivals in the world. And the fact that this isn’t a big city like Toronto or Paris or London, you can say that it’s St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. That says so much about our province and our people and the women here who created it. To be able to have a small part in supporting that culture and that history is an honour.”

‘A Great Medium’

Brown closes by toasting Newfoundland’s interdisciplinary arts, which has allowed the medium of film to flourish for decades. Capturing and sharing magic for a lifetime of viewers is the juice that keeps the SJIWFF thriving for 30 years and counting. “I think everyone can remember the first time they went and saw a movie on the big screen or their favourite movie and what it does to them,” she shared. 

“Being a part of an organization where we see that happen to thousands and thousands of people every year because of the work that we’re sharing, especially local work, is profound. It’s a magical thing that really shows how important art is, how much it connects us, and being able to see people connect and talk about the work after, to be inspired or work on their own or have really important conversations to attack the bigger subjects? It’s the whole reason why we’re here. And I think being around, this is our 32nd year, the power of that can’t be understated.”

For the full slate of films, ticket info., including festival and accessibility passes and much more visit womensfilmfestival.com

While there’s much political debate to be had over the announcement made by Justin Trudeau and Premier Andrew Furey over the $5.2-Billion deal to get “Muskrat off our back,” I’ll leave that banter for others.

Good? Bad? A solid deal or a disaster dollar for dollar; whatever those who love to crunch the numbers to infinity and beyond come up with – often depending on what side of the political spectrum they stand – will be left by the wayside by me, at least for now.

BOONDOGGLES & BOTTOMS

It’s not that I don’t care about boondoggles and bottom lines. It’s just that, right now, I care more about other things; like actual bottoms.

The fact that Norway’s women’s beach handball team were fined for picking shorts over bikini bottoms just boggles my mind. Really, would it matter if the lot of them, or any athlete for that matter, wore matching moomoos? As long as hemlines don’t hinder performance, who cares? I’m raising a 13-year-old daughter who’s as confident wearing a bikini as she is donning 80s-styled high-waisted acid-washed mom jeans, and I don’t ever want that to change.

While she, like her mother (what comes by nature costs no money, folks) has ‘junk in the trunk’ she’s proud as a peacock to wear whatever in the heck she feels like wearing, and I’m delighted. Though, I admit that, as her mother, and with a sometimes skeptical granny residing occasionally in the basement below, I may view my kid with a more critical lens than I’d like to admit. Too short shorts? Too croppy of a crop top? From exposed muffin tops to behind-spillovers, it’s not always easy to zip my cakehole.

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A CRITICAL LENS

I’ve managed to bite my tongue for the most part, however, and have steered mostly clear of offering opinions that might be shaped more by stereotypical sexualized views others may hold or ones that might be considered body shaming. As I hauled the biggest pair of spanks I owned over my generous thighs and belly before yanking my figure-forgiving dress over my 51 year-old menopausal, two kid-birthed body in 30 degree-plus humidity temps before heading off to Confederation

Building for the Muskrat and then some announcement, I paused.

My hair, which I had curled moments before, fell flat in the hot, damp air. What wasn’t flat was my tummy as roundness rose in defiance of those damn choke off any potential yoga-breath spanks.

My arms, more suited for lugging lumber than lounging in a sleeveless, I covered with a jacket that also somewhat hid my heaving cleavage.

MAINSTREAM MEDIA

On my way, I dropped the youngsters off at Manuels River for a swim and I watched as they walked away. The thinnest and tallest, a figure I would have died for, covered her bathing suit in the biggest, baggiest sweatshirt I’ve ever seen. The most petite wore a demure one piece and biking shorts. My kid bounced away from the car with meat and muscle and legs built to not be knocked over in a tsunami exposed in her rather tiny yellow bikini.

B’ys oh b’ys. I wisely shut my mouth. As I stood in the lobby of Confederation Building a short time later and listened to the two men at the podium talk freeing us from Muskrat, I noticed that NTV’s Kelly-Anne Roberts was the only female reporter covering this event for mainstream media.

In heals and wearing a dress I coveted, and with her hair and makeup just so, she was not just pretty, she was prepared. Days before participating in the Regatta and hours after an exhausting practice row, she was every bit the professional. And then I spied Siobhan Coady in the crowd.

POWER POSE

As an award-winning businesswoman, as a former Minister of Natural Resources and federal MP, and now as Deputy Premier, I had no doubt that she had played a huge role in making this day a reality. Then I spied Lisa Dempster, who had started out in a party filled with men, surrounded by the hardworking and always re-electable Pam Parsons and newbies Krista Lynn Howell and Sarah Stoodley. Instantly, I wished I had brought my daughter and her gal pals along.

I asked the power posse of women to pose for our cameraman, and Coady proudly gathered her female colleagues and invited the premier to join them.
While there might be an ongoing debate over Muskrat and money, what wasn’t in question was that I was among a group of women who, no matter what they wore, or what size clothing they slipped into that morning, we’re pretty damn awesome and b’ys-oh-b’ys, let me tell you, there’s no debating that.

Managing Editor Pam Pardy can be reached at pghent@nfldherald.com