The first ever Women Under the Influence film festival (WUTI) is set to take place over three days in the mountains of Idyllwild, California from September 20-22. Its focus is on female-directed films, both past and present. Women Under the Influence is a community founded in 2015 by Tabitha Denholm that is “committed to raising awareness of female directors and their stories,” as described in a press release.
Special guests will include Yeah Yeah Yeah’s frontwoman Karen O, who’ll be discussing the music she’s done for films like Her and Where the Wild Things Are; documentary filmmaker Barbara Kopple; actress Emma Roberts, in attendance for a live discussion about her book Belletrist; and a twentieth anniversary screening of Boys Don’t Cry with director Kimberly Peirce.
Other fest highlights: a screening of Wayne’s World with director Penelope Spheeris and Tia Carrere; a conversation with Hailey Gates and Alia Shawkat and the screening of their film, Shoko Moko; a tribute to Agnes Varda’s California years with Lions, Love (…and Lies) with the star of the film, Viva Hoffman; and a screening of LA Rebellion, a retrospective of the African-American film movement that flourished in UCLA from the ’60s through to the ’90s with directors including Barbara McCullough.
You can buy tickets at wutigoesidyllwild.com.
