In its third year, BEV presents its 2007 programme of innovative and original events including international feature films, shorts, documentaries, master classes, 'bring a baby' screenings and director Q&As. BEV aims to push the boundaries with innovative multimedia ideas including live music and silent films and exploration of the intersection between fine art and film.

International Womens Day (8 March) marks the opening night gala, introduced by Jerry Hall, which includes a selection of shorts from the best new talent around the world and a live performance from Mercury Prize Nominee, Zoe Rahman of her original composition to short film She Falls, followed by a party in the NFT Filmcafé with Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac. The closing night Gala film, Sherrybaby + Q&A with director Laurie Collyer, stars Golden Globe nominee, Maggie Gyllenhaal as a mother who struggles to rekindle her relationship with her daughter.

The festival boasts a wealth of international features including Stephanie Daley (followed by a Q&A with director Hilary Brougher), starring the brilliant Tilda Swinton as a forensic psychologist whose patient is in denial over the death of her baby; Prinzessin, a hard hitting debut feature from Birgit Grosskopf, about a violent West German girl gang; the award-winning In Between Days, which follows a young Korean immigrant who navigates her way through the challenges of living in a new country; and I am (+ Q&A with Polish director Dorota Kediersawska), the beautiful tale of a young boy who escapes from a children's home.

UK premieres in the festival include Sarah Polley's debut feature Away from Her, starring Julie Christie as a woman with alzheimers whose marriage is jeopardised when she falls for another man; Christina Commencini's Oscar nominated drama, Don't Tell explores sexuality and personal grief; Molly's Way, the story of an unassuming young Irish woman who follows her one night stand to Poland; and Ecoute Le Temps, a rare thriller about a young woman who rediscovers her past after her mother's murder.

Music related feature films are prominent this year with 2 time Oscar winner Barbara Kopple's Shut Up And Sing: Dixie Chicks, a controversial film which explores singer Natalie Maines' anti-Bush statement. The London Premiere of East of Havana (+ Q&A with director Jauretsi Saizarbitoria), tracks the bubbling hip-hop music scene in Cuba and follows the band 'El Cartel'. Both of these features complement the music & film strand of the festival which hosts music videos from the likes of CSS video filmmaker Cat Solens among others, VJ'ing workshops and panel discussions from the best women in the industry.

Sound and Silents is the perfect programme for new music & film lovers, as musicians such as composer Errolyn Wallen and Japanese opera trained a cappella singer Seaming To perform live at the Barbican to silent films from our early women filmmaking pioneers including the avant-garde feminist melodrama, The Smiling Madame Beudet and Maya Deren's seminal trance film, Meshes in the Afternoon. Internationally renowned pianist Joanna MacGregor will perform with DJ Rita Ray to a variety of short silent films as part of Optronica festival on Mother's day (18 March) at the NFT.

The BEV and ActionAid partnership brings a fresh new angle to the festival, with a selection of features and short films by women from developing countries. Highlights include Goodbye Life a beautifully composed debut feature about the only Iranian female reporter on the war front and 6 Yards to Democracy, which revisits a gruesome stampede that took place during an election rally in North India. (see below)

Other UK and International Shorts range from experimenta to animation and from documentary to drama. Highlights include the award-winning The Other Man, about a husband's reaction to some shocking news (starring BAFTA winning Anna Maxwell Martin - Bleak House) and Vika, which follows a 12 year olds discovery of a new baby sister and which received a special mention at Berlin Film Festival 2006.

Fine Art to Film will spark discussions over the crossovers of visual art into film with Turner Prize winner Gillian Wearing, Clio Barnard and emerging artists Carol Morley and Daria Martin.

Workshops in screenwriting, 'pitching' and 'Networking in a digital age', plus a 'Shooting people' pub quiz will all take place, and special 'bring a baby' screenings will encourage mothers to take part in the week long celebration of women filmmakers that is BIRDS EYE VIEW.

For further information, please visit http://www.birds-eye-view.co.uk

ActionAid. Empower Women. End Poverty.

To mark International Women's Day, 8 March 2007, ActionAid will highlight global abuses of women's rights. Women around the world are more likely to live in poverty than men. Women have less money, less protection from violence, less education and less power, simply because they are women. But, women also drive change. Supporting women to realise their rights is essential in the fight against poverty.

ActionAid supports projects around the world to empower women and girls to recognise and claim their rights. Throughout March, as well as highlighting the struggles that women face, ActionAid will also be celebrating the contribution that women make to creating a fairer and more just world.

ActionAid is delighted to work with Birds Eye View on this innovative series of films made by women from the developing world.

http://www.actionaid.org.uk

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