Author: Su Friedrich in Conversation with Jill Dolan

Filmmaker and artist Su Friedrich discusses her memoir "I Still Am," drawn from her journals, letters and photographs from a transformative 1976 solo trip through Africa, with Jill Dolan.

About the books (from the publisher):

In 1976, at age 21, experimental filmmaker and visual artist Su Friedrich embarked on a five-month solo journey through nine countries in North and West Africa. Traveling from Algeria to Nigeria and from Ghana to Morocco, Friedrich documented her experiences through letters, diary entries and photographs taken with her 35mm camera.

Nearly four decades later, Friedrich returned to these journals, photographs and letters to create "I Still Am," an intimate and visually rich account of a young woman finding her way through an unfamiliar world. Her story captures the people she encountered, the places she visited and the discoveries, challenges and adventures that shaped her journey. Featuring more than 100 photographs, drawings and other images, the book offers both a vivid portrait of Africa in the 1970s and a deeply personal reflection on freedom, identity, curiosity and independence.

About the Speakers:

Su Friedrich is an experimental filmmaker and visual artist whose work explores identity, gender, sexuality and personal narrative. She has made more than 40 films and videos, many of which have been screened and exhibited internationally. Her work has received numerous awards and honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Fulbright Fellowship. Friedrich is a professor of film and video at Princeton University.

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Jill Dolan is professor emerita of English and the Annan Professor Emerita in English and Theater at Princeton University. A scholar of theater and performance, she is the author of numerous books, including "The Feminist Spectator as Critic," "Utopia in Performance: Finding Hope at the Theater" and "Theatre & Sexuality." Dolan served as dean of the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton from 2011 to 2023.

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