An essay film, a memoir, a post-colonial reckoning, Terra Femme is a work of live cinema that takes the form of a narrated travelogue, with Courtney Stephens leading the viewer through errant cinematic scrapbooks, seeking out the stories behind the images, and wondering after the women who captured and witnessed them.
About Courtney Stephens
Courtney Stephens is a writer/director. Her essay feature, Terra Femme, composed of amateur travel footage shot by women in the early 20th century, was a New York Times critic’s pick and has toured widely as a live performance. The American Sector, co-directed with Pacho Velez, questions the legacy of the Cold War on American self-understanding, following dozens of fragments of the Berlin Wall installed around the U.S. Invention, an experimental fiction feature, premiered in 2024 at the Locarno Film Festival. Her films have been exhibited at MoMA, The National Gallery of Art, The Barbican, Bozar in Brussels, the Walker Art Center, the Thailand Biennale, and in film festivals including the Berlinale, Viennale, IDFA in The Netherlands, RIDM in Montreal, Mumbai, Hong Kong, SXSW, and the New York Film Festival. Stephens is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Fulbright Scholarship, fellowships from MacDowell, Yaddo, Union Docs, and the Wexner Center, and grants from California Humanities, the Sloan Foundation, and the Foundation for Contemporary Art.
Admission & Details
The event is free and open to Princeton University students, faculty, and staff. No advance registration required.
Directions
Get directions to the James Stewart Film Theater, located on the first floor at 185 Nassau Street.
Accessibility
The James Stewart Film Theater is an accessible venue. Visit our Venues and Studios section for accessibility information at our various locations. Guests in need of access accommodations are invited to contact the Lewis Center at 609-258-5262 or email LewisCenter@princeton.edu at least one week in advance of the event date.
