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The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence promote social activism and awareness while raising funds for

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The Vitas Film Festival, featuring original art, film and dance to support its theme of “Ch

When he came to speak at UCLA several months ago, performance artist Guillermo Gómez-Peña probably never realized his words would fuel an elaborate film festival.

World arts and cultures students listening to his lecture were struck by a single, much-debated question Gómez-Peña posed to them: “Is the classroom an activist space?”

JoAnn Staten, a culture and performance graduate student, used Gómez-Peña’s question as inspiration for the theme of this year’s Vitas Film Festival.

The festival responds to his query with a definitive “yes,” as it blends activism with artistic expression on campus and tackles contemporary issues of race, gender, homosexuality, religion, immigration and cultural expression. It takes place from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. today in Glorya Kaufman Hall.

With the theme “Choreographing the Margins,” the festival aims to bring many art disciplines to the forefront in the form of video, art and dance. UCLA and Otis College of Art and Design students and alumni, prominent professional artists and art critics are all scheduled to participate. The festival will also offer attendees the rare opportunity to examine a wealth of issues presented through exhibitions, performances, screenings and discussions.

Organized by the Department of World Arts and Cultures – with sponsorship from Otis College, the Center for Student Programming and the UCLA Folklore Society – the festival is much larger than last year’s event. Today also marks Vitas’ first collaboration with Otis College.

“It’s more of an extravaganza this year,” said Scott Edmondson, technical chair of the festival and a culture and performance graduate student at UCLA.

The festival originally ran as part of the now-dismantled Folklore and Mythology Program.

The department has incorporated this folklore element, while redefining its role, with some of the festival’s dance pieces and ethnographic videos.

“It’s not really your father’s or your grandfather’s folklore,” Edmondson said.

As chair of the festival, Staten also emphasized its modern folklore component.

“We’re trying to reshape it into something more contemporary, more fluid. Since our department is cultural studies and performance, we’re trying to incorporate a lot of different things,” Staten said.

Beyond just film or folklore, the event includes an art exhibition in the department’s lobby, showcasing both UCLA and Otis College student work.

“We thought, ‘If we’re all sitting here creating things, what would happen if we all got together in the same room? If people who were writing and painting and drawing started to talk about it, what would come out of that?’ (The festival) will serve to break down boundaries,” Staten said.

Vitas stresses artistic expression, with activism as a key component.

“Activism is just something that seems to continue to come up in the department, and we wanted to acknowledge that as well as the creativity,” Staten said.

The morning installment of the festival is scheduled to feature dance, video and visual art followed by a discussion and conference, with an opening dance performance by world arts and cultures graduate alumna, Sri Susilowati.

“(Susilowati’s) dance piece deals with violence against women and some of the ways women are constrained through clothing and controlled movements,” Staten said. “She has a philosophy about artistry and social statement, and it comes out in this dance.”

Lunchtime will spark more awareness and conversation, as the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a group of self-described “queer nuns,” will be featured in the Garden Theater. With its members serving as social activists, the group raises funds for charities, promoting awareness and understanding.

Student films will run through the evening, focusing on a variety of issues.

“Muslim Women” will explore the hijab in Islamic cultures. Another piece, “Throwing Stones,” presents a dance centered on the issue of racial politics. “Commodifying Lolita” exposes the sexual marketing of girls at increasingly younger ages.

More ethnographic works will also be presented, dealing with subjects that include making tamales and confronting racism on campus.

Those organizing the festival hope visitors will not only gain an appreciation of culture and an understanding of the issues, but will also be motivated to act.

“There may be people who never thought about taking a political media course or using a camera or a computer to edit, and (with) how easy the technology is getting, anyone can take something they’re passionate about and make a piece on it and get it out there. I would hope this would inspire people to do that – inspire some sense of excitement,” Edmondson said.

“It would be nice to bring a lot of that energy to the department, just to open people from other realms up who might not have done it otherwise.”