The second surprise is a five film DVD that is included in the book.  The DVD is worth the price of the book alone because most of these films are not seen very often.  The films are:

•     Le Chapeau/The Hat – Michele Cournoyer (Canada)
•     Flawed – Andrea Dorfman (Canada)
•     Blind Justice:  Some Protection – Marjut Rimminnen (Great Britain)
•     Pleasures of War – Ruth Lingford  (Great Britain)
•     Ostorozhno, Dveri Otkryvajutsia!/Caution, The Doors Are Opening (Mind the Gap) –Anastasia Zhuravleva (Russia)

All five films show life from distinctly different feminine perspectives.  I was especially pleased that Anastasia Zhuravleva’s delightful film was included in the collection.  Anastasia used buttons, pins, thimbles, and zippers, materials usually associated with women, to tell her story of rush hour on the Moscow underground.

Tricky Women: Women In Animation is full of information on subjects ranging from the work of female pioneers in the animation industry to the gaming industry and museum installations.  The book is academically oriented and I wouldn’t recommend it for readers who just have a casual interest in animation, but for anyone wanting analysis of women and their history and involvement it is an excellent reference work.  It is also a book that should be in art, animation and film schools.

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Nancy Phelps has produced music for animation for the past 16 years. She has written about animation and animation festivals for such publications as Animatoons, Film/Tape World, Reel World and the ASIFA/San Francisco news magazine and is a member of the ASIFA International Board. In 2006, Nancy and her composer/musician husband Nik Phelps moved from San Francisco to Gent, Belgium, where they now have their home. Check out her blog here.