Waterloo - Whether it’s a cellphone video, web-cam footage or a creative movie, students at Laurier are encouraging dialogue on the topic of gender and violence through film shorts. The Imagyn Film Festival (IFF), supported by Wilfrid Laurier University and taking place March 6 to 8 in Waterloo, will explore the many aspects of “gendered violence,” including its various definitions, ways in which race, class and ability relate to it, the effects of it at school, and ways to challenge it.

“First and foremost, we seek to provide a forum for student engagement," says Laurier film studies professor Dr. Katherine Spring. “We are not interested in telling students what we think gendered violence means, we would like students to tell us what they think about gendered violence, and perhaps what connections they make between gendered violence and broader societal and institutional prejudices, like racism and homophobia.”

“We are hesitant to provide a definition because we want to encourage student filmmakers and videographers to define it for themselves,” says Laurier student Sara Conrad, one of the founders of the IFF. She was first inspired by the course “Women and Violence,” taught by Laurier women’s studies professor Dr. Helen Ramirez. She began to plan the film festival with graduate student Sasha Cocarla and Kate Klein, co-coordinator of Laurier’s Women’s Centre.

The IFF will run March 6 to 8, 2009, and is one event in Laurier’s week-long celebration of International Women’s Day (March 8, 2009).