‘There’s a moment while watching one clip entitled, Nobel Peace Prize: Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan (1977), on the Digital Film Archive when you realise two things: the significance of two Northern Irish women receiving the Nobel Peace Prize during the Troubles in 1976, and the absurd way they are repeatedly called ‘girls’. It brings to mind the crusty, alcoholic Father Jack from 1990s sitcom Father Ted, with his interchangeable monosyllabic catchphrases, ‘Drink! Feck! Arse! Girls!’, as simple as his pinhole worldview. Of course it’s possible to laugh at the use of ‘girls’ in this context as an awkward relic of television history, but it’s also a reminder of how sexist language works, and how it distracts from the achievement of Williams and Corrigan by reducing them to a lesser stature in the eyes of the viewing audience. The short video Girls, is a playful look at how sexist language can dominate through casual, repetitive use.’ 

Rose Baker and Laura O'Connor of WANDA 

To read the full essay GIRLS: The language of the archive visit http://www.wandabelfast.com/girls.html

WANDA is a feminist film festival that takes place annually in Belfast. It was created in 2016 to bring new and archive films by female-identifying filmmakers to a diverse audience, to support women working in the film industry and to raise awareness of women's rights issues in Ireland, north and south. Since then, WANDA has had three editions and welcomed guest filmmakers from across Ireland and around the world. Its two directors are Rose Baker, film programmer at Belfast Film Festival and Docs Ireland, and artist and academic Laura O'Connor whose work exhibits internationally and is currently resident at the Science Gallery, Dublin.

Fiona McDonnell is a Belfast-based freelance illustrator with a distinct and colourful style of work. Often accompanied by commentary and self-reflection on social issues, music, film, or whatever else she may be interested in at the time. You can see her full portfolio at www.fionamcdonnell.co.uk 

Video and essay by Laura O'Connor and Rose Baker of WANDA. 

Artwork by Fiona McDonnell. 

Commissioned by Northern Ireland Screen’s Digital Film Archive.

Archive Credits:

Counterpoint: Abortion (1979) copyright ITV

Ulster At Arms (1944) copyright IWM

Nobel Peace Prize: Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan (1977) copyright ITV

• Fiona McDonnell website
• WANDA website