Whilst it is not possible to generalise about the role of African women in cinema, there is, nonetheless, evidence that a growing number of women from all parts of the continent are becoming engaged in the various mediums of film, video and television. This book looks at the diverse experiences of both female film pioneers and women film students; through a series of interviews the author discovers what motivated these women to take up film and discusses both the creative aspects of their work and their broader political concerns.

Perhaps the most vital, emotionally complex, and lasting attachments between women occur between sisters. Whether as best friends or antagonists, "sisters remain entangled in a common tapestry of mutual experience and remembrance, family and history," according to author Eva Rueschmann. Although many of the women-centered films in the last three decades depict the relationship between sisters as a pivotal aspect of a character's psychological development, the now substantial body of feminist film criticism has not taken up this theme in any sustained way. InSisters on Screen, Eva Rueschmann explores the sister bond in a wide range of modernist feature films that depart from the conventional cinematic rendering of women's lives. Drawing on the psychoanalytic concept of intersubjectivity, this book emphasizes the role of a woman's relationship and inner world in her continual quest for self-knowledge. Offering an original and absorbing perspective on women's filmic images,Sisters on Screenreveals how post-1960s cinema has articulated the ways in which biological sisters negotiate mutuality and difference, co-author family histories, and profoundly shape each other's political and personal identities. The films in focus question standards of femininity as they probe into memory, fantasy, and desire, bringing women's realities into view in the process. Structuring her discussion in terms of life-cycle stages—adolescence and adulthood—Rueschmann offers an in-depth discussion of such films asAn Angel at My Table,Double Happiness,Eve's Bayou,Gas Food Lodging,Heavenly Creatures,Little Women,Marianne and Julianne,Paura e amore,Peppermint Soda,The Silence,Sweetie, andWelcome to the Dollhouse. Rueschmann draws upon the works of filmmakers from the 1970s to the 1990s. Some of the directors included in her study are Allison Anders, Gillian Armstrong, Ingmar Bergman, Jane Campion, Peter Jackson, Mina Shum, Diane Kurys, Kasi Lemmons, Todd Solondz, and Margarethe von Trotta.Sisters on Screenwill appeal to anyone interested in women's studies, film studies, psychology, psychoanalytic readings of cinema, women directors, and international modern film. Author note:Eva Rueschmannis Assistant Professor of Cultural Studies at Hampshire College.

This timely study breaks new ground in exploring how recent film and television horror texts articulate a female rite of passage, updating the cautionary concerns found in fairy tales of the past, particularly in warning against predatory men, treacherous females and unhappy family situations.

One hundred great folk tales and fairy tales from all over the world about strong, smart, brave heroines. Dismayed by the predominance of male protagonists in her daughters' books, Kathleen Ragan set out to collect the stories of our forgotten heroines. Gathered from around the world, from regions as diverse as sub-Saharan Africa and Western Europe, from North and South American Indian cultures and New World settlers, from Asia and the Middle East, these 100 folktales celebrate strong female heroines. Fearless Girls, Wise Women, and Beloved Sisters is for all women who are searching to define who they are, to redefine the world and shape their collective sensibility. It is for men who want to know more about what it means to be a woman. It is for our daughters and our sons, so that they can learn to value all kinds of courage, courage in battle and the courage of love. It is for all of us to help build a more just vision of woman.

Diagnosed with terminal cancer, 42-year-old McKenzie Arnold, spending one last summer with her three best friends, realizes that with the love and support of Aurora, Janine and Lilly, she can face her death with courage, but nothing has prepared her for how the summer will end. Original.

David R. Mastbergen is the author of The Marvels of the Healer series. He was born in the Heartland in the city of Worthington, Minnesota. He was raised in Worthington until he enlisted into the United States Navy and spent the next twenty-plus years servicing his country. Upon retiring from the navy as a chief warrant officer, he spent nine-plus years working for the state of Minnesota. David has a Master of Arts degree in management from the College of St. Scholastica and a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from Coleman College.