WOMEN WITHOUT BORDERS: A VISUAL EXHIBIT OF WOMEN’S LIVES IN PAKISTAN
“…this really means a lot because you know no matter if there’s a girl or woman in the state of California or if she’s in Islamabad we are facing the same problems but with different magnitudes.” - Traditional Pakistan dancer at the exhibit
Exhibitions
See more about the Pakistan Project here https://www.jenniferhalllee.com/globalwork
2024 Pasadena, TBD
2023 November 2-3, Pakistan National Council on the Arts
In October of 2023 I worked with women from the International Islamic University, Islamabad on a project about women’s lives in Pakistan. The exhibit of photos, interviews and videos opened at the Pakistan National Council on the Arts on 2 November by Minister Jamal Shah, Pakistan Minister of Arts and Culture.
The aim of "Women Without Borders: A Visual Study of Lives of Women in Pakistan" is to identify the differences and, more importantly, the commonalities between the status of women in Pakistan and the United States.
Cross-cultural studies carried out by Western feminists often depict women in developing nations as oppressed without any agency. The representation of women in a one-dimensional manner has had a detrimental impact on the advancement of women's rights, widening the gap between Western women and those residing in developing countries. In the present circumstances, it is imperative to foster collaborative efforts that facilitate the building of meaningful relationships between women from the United States and Pakistan.
These connections would serve as platforms for discussing and projecting alternative narratives with regard to their struggles and resilience. Rather than serving as counterproductive saviors of Pakistani women, American women must challenge restrictive patriarchal norms as equal partners and create powerful networks of women who can overcome a variety of challenges and collaborate to build more equitable social structures.
Press: https://www.urdupoint.com/en/pakistan/renowned-us-filmmaker-jennifer-hall-lees-wo-1764441.html
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1125290-pnca-unveils-women-without-borders-exhibition
Feminist: Stories From Women’s Liberation Film
"...your film was, to me, a cinematic ray of light..." - Fran Luck, WBAI, New York
Distributed by Women Make Movies, Feminist: Stories won Best of the Fest for Documentary at the Women's International Film Festival. It has been shown around the world including Islamabad, Pakistan. In 2019 clips from the film were a part of the John & Yoko exhibit at the Museum of Liverpool
"...it felt like watching something documentary and experimental… Great stuff! Looking forward to hearing more of your thoughts." - Becky Sharpe, UK
"I really know nothing about feminism but three quarters of the way through the film I found myself in tears to see so many clear-sighted, clear-speaking women comfortable in their ‘self’ and all speaking on the theme of standing up for women." - Joanne Woolger, UK
Website for purchase: https://www.wmm.com/catalog/film/feminist-stories-from-womens-liberation/
Women’s Liberation Movement exhibits
“She…told me how cool it was to get to explore the history of the women's liberation movement on a whim while studying” - Mel Aldama, Adult Services Library Assistant
This is a quick clip of the Women’s History Month 2020 exhibit I curated for the Altadena Library District. This is based on an extensive collection of original ephemera from the second wave of the women’s liberation movement.
Los Angeles Public Library, 2023
Lamanda Park Library in Pasadena, 2023
Altadena Public Library 2020
This art exhibit is really incredible, especially to get to see in a small library. -Altadena Main Library patron
Your collection drew a lot of interest and was appreciated by library visitors and staff. -Maida Lin Wong, Public Services Manager
A young female college student was studying in the reading court for a while. She noticed the exhibit behind her, got up and walked around and explored it, she later came up to the desk and told me how cool it was to get to explore the history of the women's liberation movement on a whim while studying. People took selfies with the poster of Shirley Chisholm and a large number of people took photos and selfies with the "Sex Objects in the Sky" book. -Mel Aldama, Adult Services Library Assistant
Atlanta Press Club interview with Boyd Lewis
Boyd Lewis in Altadena, California
Shot in Altadena this interview with photographer Boyd Lewis was created for the Atlanta Press Club in 2021. Lewis was a photographer in Mississippi, Alabama and then in Atlanta, Georgia during the Civil Rights Movement. He worked for black owned newspapers.
https://www.facebook.com/TheAtlantaPressClub/videos/254299074599430
COTTONWOOD CANYON
“The finished product is priceless” - Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy 2016
Documentary short, 3 minutes 45 seconds
"The Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy is tremendously grateful to Jennifer Lee for her vision and execution of the project to promote awareness of our campaign to preserveCottonwood Canyon. She came up with a wonderful idea for a girl scout troop to create awareness by filming the beauty of the canyon and having the girls articulate the need to conserve it's natural open space as part of a wildlife corridor. She then guided them, and us, through the process of the film's creation - streamlining the process with great efficiency. The finished product is priceless, and will be the cornerstone of our fundraising campaign going forward." - Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy 2016
MARY JANE COLTER: THE DESERT VIEW
Documentary feature, 57minutes
This film was my first full length documentary. The archival footage of Mary Jane Colter was identified by me while searching for archival documents at the Grand Canyon offices.
Directed by Jennifer Hall Lee, Edited by Carol Brzezinski, Music composition by Robert Wait, Narrated by Ellen Burstyn
For an interview with Susan Stamberg of NPR where we discuss Colter's work in Winslow, AZ click here: http://www.npr.org/programs/specials/architecture/0011.colter.html
Premiered at Santa Barbara Film Festival 1998
Award winner from National Media Educational Network