All About My Mother DVD jacket

The Feminine has been imagined in film by screenwriters, directors, actors/actresses and the film audience since the beginning of the cinema. These 15 feature films — originally presented together during a seven-day seminar — evoke aspects of the Feminine: heroine, caregiver, waif, lover, anima among others. The Feminine is revealed in the play of consciousness seen in film, theater, country singing, radio and television shows among other settings. These films explore female relationships with men and women, gender roles, and gender identity through active imagination stimulated by the films and discussion.

Films shown in this order:

  1. Queen Christina (1933)
  2. King of Masks (1996)
  3. Beauty and the Beast (1946)
  4. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
  5. Vivre Sa Vie (1962)
  6. The Red Shoes (1948)
  7. Charulata (1964)
  8. Love and the Goddess (1988) From Joseph Campbell and The Power of Myth: Joseph Campbell in conversation with Bill Moyers on the Goddess (30’ from Episode 5)
  9. Monsoon Wedding (2001)
  10. The Joy Luck Club (1993)
  11. Children of Paradise (1945)
  12. All About Eve (1950)
  13. All About My Mother (1999)
  14. Volver (2006)
  15. A Prairie Home Companion (2006)
  16. Tootsie (1982)
  17. The African Queen (1951)

See also: Twenty Favorite Films

Photo by Houcine Ncib


Francis G. Lu, M.D.
Francis G. Lu, M.D.

Francis G. Lu, M.D., is the Luke & Grace Kim Endowed Professor Emeritus in Cultural Psychiatry at the University of California, Davis. He co-led more than 20 film seminars at Esalen with Brother David Steindl-Rast from 1990 - 2016.

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Br. David Steindl-Rast, OSB
Br. David Steindl-Rast, OSB

Brother David Steindl-Rast — author, scholar, and Benedictine monk — is beloved the world over for his enduring message about gratefulness as the true source of lasting happiness. Known to many as the “grandfather of gratitude,” Br. David has been a source of inspiration and spiritual friendship to countless leaders and luminaries around the world including Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh, Thomas Merton, and more. He has been one of the most important figures in the modern interfaith dialogue movement, and has taught with thought-leaders such as Eckhart Tolle, Jack Kornfield, and Roshi Joan Halifax. His wisdom has been featured in recent interviews with Oprah Winfrey, Krista Tippett, and Tami Simon and his TED talk has been viewed almost 10,000,000 times. Learn more about Br. David here.

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Br. David Steindl-Rast
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