Entertainment

Irish premiere for female conductors doc Maestra to be held in Belfast this weekend

The poster for Maestra
Filmmaker Maggie Contreras’ directorial debut will premiere in Belfast this weekend

BELFAST’S Women’s Work festival will be hosting the Irish premiere of Maggie Contreras’ documentary Maestra this weekend.

The director will be in Belfast for the special Q&A screening at Queen’s Film Theatre on Saturday January 27 at 6pm, as will the editing team from Holywood-based Red Wolf Films. They will be on-hand to answer questions about Contreras’ directorial debut, which centres on five women boldly breaking glass ceilings in the male-dominated world of orchestral conducting.

They gathered in Paris for ‘La Maestra’, the only competition in the world for female conductors, to show the world the singular talent that unites them and which, for far too long, has been considered the pursuit of only men.

Personal stories of survival, passion and perseverance are woven together with the drama and excitement of this one-of-a-kind event. Mothers, daughters, rebels, leaders: over four days, each takes to the stage to compete.

The struggles and triumphs of the gifted artists in Maestra offer a microcosm for the challenges faced by women in every industry and in every walk of life today, while also providing valuable insights into how we may conduct ourselves as we create a new movement for a more equitable future.

Tickets are available now via QFT.