PORTLAND

Women’s stories will finally get the screen time they deserve at the University of New England beginning 7 p.m. Thursday, April 2, as the Women and Gender Studies program along with the Maine Women Writers Collection present The Best of the Bluestocking Film Series. The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place simultaneously at both the Portland and Biddeford campuses of University of New England. In Portland, it will be held in the WCHP Lecture Hall in Parker Pavilion at 716 Stevens Ave., and in Biddeford in the Alfond Center, Room 205 at 11 Hills Beach Road.

The Best of the Bluestocking Film Series is a curated selection of films screened at Maine’s only women’s film event, the annual Bluestocking Film Series. Provocative and edgy, sometimes dramatic, often funny and featuring complicated, flawed female protagonists, these awardwinning films explode stereotypes and shake off viewer expectations about what kinds of stories women tell about themselves.

The event will feature four exemplary short films from the series. In addition, Bluestocking founder Kate Kaminski — who is also a screenwriter, director, and filmmaker herself — will talk about the current state of women in film and will take questions following the screenings.

The films in the Best of the Bluestocking Film Series are:

“Slashed”

Directed by Rebecca Thomson

Synopsis: As Renata, medical receptionist and Star Police TV show enthusiast, writes an alternative ending to a dramatic showdown between tired space cop, Draker and his nemesis Thrax, a real life showdown is happening between her and Frieda, a dubious patient in the doctor’s office.

“Gretchen”

Directed by Carin Bräck

Synopsis: Gretchen is a retired lady on a pension who, after seeing an ex-con on TV extolling the quality of food in prison, decides she wants to go to jail. But first she has to become a prisoner.

“Crystal”

Directed by Chell Stephen

Synopsis: Cursed with a real crumby attitude and a boring-ass hometown, 17- year-old Crystal relies on her passion for dance to escape the mundane life of rural Ontario and pursue her outsized dream of being a pop superstar.

“Kimbap”

Directed by Alex Kyo Won Lee

Synopsis: A clash of cultures shatters the fragile existence of an isolated Korean immigrant and her daughter living in Auckland, New Zealand.

The Bluestocking Film Series is an exclusive showcase for provocative, well-produced films that feature complex female protagonists driving the narrative and leading the action. To learn more about Bluestocking Film Series mission and to see trailers of past events, please visit http://bluestockingfilms.com.

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