Lfff2017: Aspire / Inspire + panel discussion

ASPIRE / INSPIRE SESSION + panel discussion with Terry Wragg (Leeds Animation Workshop), Chi Onwurah MP (Women's Engineering Society), and Anne-Marie Imafidon (CEO and co-founder, Stemettes). Chaired by Yasmin Ali (award-winning chartered engineer).

Inspirational women forging a way in male-dominated professions.

DID I SAY HAIRDRESSING? I MEANT ASTROPHYSICS
Leeds Animation Workshop (a women’s collective) / 1998 / 14 mins
A modernised fairytale animation, investigating why women are under-represented in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM). The film uses humour to counter the subtle and not-so-subtle gender typecasting that often prevails, from babyhood right up to professional level.

OUAGA GIRLS
Theresa Traore Dahlberg / 2017 / 83 mins
We follow a group of young women who are training to be car mechanics in Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou, in this highly enjoyable film about life choices, sisterhood and the endeavour to find your own way. The young women are at a crucial point in life when their hopes, dreams and courage are confronted against society’s expectations of what a woman should be. Dahlberg’s short Taxi Sister was a big hit at LFFF2012, and it’s great to welcome her back to LFFF with her debut feature film. This is a coming-of-age story with much warmth, laughs, heartbreak and depth.