Gretchen Stoeltje went into a movie theater, fell in love, and never looked back. She chased the dream of making films that centered women’s experiences and produced three independent documentaries before rethinking the math and the relevance of independent feminist filmmaking. After a quick break to earn a juris doctorate and land a secure state job, Stoeltje noticed that her home state was rolling back the human rights of people with uteruses and got back up on the filmmaking horse to make a fourth. Curious, empathic and wry, these films tell the stories of being female, from West Texas rattlesnake queen to post-cold war, mail order bride to turn-of-the-century “every teen” and to pro-choice state legislator. All strive to recast women in their own images and provide authentic dialogue about what it means to grow up female and become the heroine of one’s own story. Does this make them feminist films? Do we need feminist films? Or do we need something more?

*Join us on Tuesday, October 8 from 6:00–8:00 p.m. in Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library for showing of Gretchen’s film Shouting Down Midnight (2022). Gretchen will be discussing this film in her presentation during our Speaker Series the following day.