A BOOK celebrating the voices of women from Australia and beyond will be launched in Mildura on Sunday, just in time for International Women’s Day on March 8.
Stories from the Inside is the first publication by Ascolta Women, a collective of multi-generational Italian-Australian and Italian-affiliated women, as they share their unique perspectives of their experiences in lockdown and throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
From stories and photographs to multimedia artworks and poetry, the book explores 16 women’s literary and creative responses to the prompt “from the inside”.
Writers Victoria regional ambassador Maree Jones will launch the book, followed by a talk by Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health executive director Dr Adele Murdolo.
Named after the Italian word for “listen”, Ascolta Women was formed by participants of a writing workshop held at the Italian assistance association CO.AS.IT. in Melbourne last year.
Local member and book contributor Elena Callipari-Nemtsas said although the women were already linked through “mutual touchstones” it was the first time they had come together.
“We were all different levels of writers; there were professionals, like Elisa Valmorbida, who travelled from the UK to hold the workshop, and some were new to it but had an interest in telling their stories,” she said.
Although separated by distance, the women continued to meet virtually every few weeks to share their experiences navigating a COVID-19 infused world and to discuss, document and creatively express their shared and varied Italian migration legacies.
“We were also just getting together to really support and listen to each other and from there we realised that the thing we had in common was that we wanted to write,” local member and contributor Luci Callipari-Marcuzzo said.
“We would approach different prompts for short stories every fortnight and then Teresa Capetola, one of the writers, came up with the idea of the book because we had been writing so often.
“So the idea was that we would be inspired by, and interpret, this theme of ‘from the inside’ in whichever way we wanted.
“I just hope readers will realise that everyone’s story is important, because sometimes I think we can feel that our stories aren’t worth sharing, but they are and people should feel like they are able to.”
The launch kicks off at 2pm outside Collins Booksellers in Langtree Mall and virtually over Zoom at bit.ly/3qm7dvd.
Proceeds from book sales will be donated to women’s charities and organisations.
“What better way of showing our support for the women who paved the way than by listening to the stories of women, past, present and emerging?” Ms Callipari-Nemtsas said.
Film aims at essence of feminism
INTERNATIONAL Women’s Day will be celebrated at a one-off film screening this Sunday.
Presented by Mildura Writers Festival, the documentary Brazen Hussies will show at Wallis Cinemas as an important reminder of how far the fight for women’s rights has come and how far there is to go.
Directed by Catherine Dwyer, the award-winning film tracks the women’s liberation movement in Australia between 1965 and 1975, and some of the writers integral to the movement, such as Kate Jennings, who was a guest at the Mildura Writers Festival in the 1990s.
Festival chair Donata Carazza said the film was an opportunity to reflect on the importance of feminism in society.
“It’s just another way to help us to remember the fight that has been fought by women, on behalf of women, by women and men,” she said.
“Also I think, like many things in our capitalist system, anything that is valuable and embraced is sometimes commercialised and monetised, and I feel like that is something that has happened to this movement.
“There’s this push to create a false sense of sisterhood by tapping into some way of empowering women, like printing a logo on a T-shirt, when it’s just another way of making money.
“So this film is a good way for us to remember what it is we’re fighting for and to continue to fight the good fight.”
Tickets are $10 and can be bought online or at the Wallis Cinemas ticket office.
The film will screen at 5pm after a personalised, pre-recorded, message from Dwyer.
