The simultaneous emergence since the 1970s of a generation of feminist filmmakers who pioneered alternative, radical cinematic projects, of the portable video technology to realize such projects in new ways, and of the theoretical critique of cinematic discourses and practices up to that point can be said to go hand in hand. This issue illuminates these confluences of that historical moment, as well as more recent work in feminist film and performance art that is driven by similar concerns, extending also to cross-cultural exchange and contestation.

The issue was conceived and edited by Sonja Boos, who succumbed to cancer during the final stages of the editing process. In Sonja the Department of German and Scandinavian at the University of Oregon and the editorial team of Konturen have lost an invaluable scholar, colleague, and friend. From the moment she joined the department in 2013, Sonja became an active member of the editorial board, contributing ideas, initiative, and several published pieces to the journal over the years. The present issue stands a fitting example of her expansive research engagement and thinking that we know would have continued to shape Konturen and enrich all of us. It has its origins in the conference “Feminism/Theory/Film: Critical Intersections in the Practice and Theorization of Experimental Filmmaker since the 1970s” that Sonja organized at the University of Oregon in late February 2019, and we are publishing the contributions included here in memory of her uniquely generous and vital spirit.

ISSN: 1947-3796