Wordsmiths

Regarding Susan Sontag(en)

An intimate study of one of the most influential and provocative thinkers of the 20th century tracking feminist icon Susan Sontag’s seminal, life-changing moments through archival materials, accounts from friends, family, colleagues, and lovers, as well as her own words, as read by Patricia Clarkson.

Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing(en)

Shut Up and Sing is a documentary about the country band from Texas called the Dixie Chicks and how one tiny comment against President Bush dropped their number one hit off the charts and caused fans to hate them, destroy their CD’s, and protest at their concerts. A film about freedom of speech gone out of control and the three girls lives that were forever changed by a small anti-Bush comment

My Name is Clitoris(fr)

This documentary film is a dialogue between young women about female sexuality. Addressing the subject with freedom, courage and humor, they share their stories and experiences with the desire to change the world around them and to assert their right as women to an informed sexual education, free of constraints and taboos.

I Am FEMEN(ru)

Oxana is a woman, a fighter, an artist. As a teenager, her passion for iconography almost inspires her to join a convent, but in the end she decides to devote her talents to the Femen movement. With Anna, Inna and Sasha, she founds the famous feminist group which protests against the regime and which will see her leave her homeland, Ukraine, and travel all over Europe. Driven by a creative zeal and a desire to change the world, Oxana allows us a glimpse into her world and her personality, which is as unassuming, mesmerising and vibrant as her passionate artworks.

T'Ain't Nobody's Bizness: Queer Blues Divas of the 1920s(en)

The 1920s saw a revolution in technology, the advent of the recording industry, that created the first class of African-American women to sing their way to fame and fortune. Blues divas such as Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, and Alberta Hunter created and promoted a working-class vision of blues life that provided an alternative to the Victorian gentility of middle-class manners. In their lives and music, blues women presented themselves as strong, independent women who lived hard lives and were unapologetic about their unconventional choices in clothes, recreational activities, and bed partners. Blues singers disseminated a Black feminism that celebrated emotional resilience and sexual pleasure, no matter the source.

Chantal Akerman: An Interview(en)

Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché(en)

The death of punk icon and X-Ray Spex front-woman Poly Styrene sends her daughter on a journey through her mother's archives in this intimate documentary.

Jane: An Abortion Service(en)

This fascinating political look at a little-known chapter in women's history tells the story of "Jane", the Chicago-based women's health group who performed nearly 12,000 safe illegal abortions between 1969 and 1973 with no formal medical training. As Jane members describe finding feminism and clients describe finding Jane, archival footage and recreations mingle to depict how the repression of the early sixties and social movements of the late sixties influenced this unique group. Both vital knowledge and meditation on the process of empowerment, Jane: An Abortion Service showcases the importance of preserving women's knowledge in the face of revisionist history. JANE: AN ABORTION SERVICE was funded by the Independent Television Service (ITVS) with funds provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Stormé: Lady of the Jewel Box(en)

“It ain’t easy…being green” is the favorite expression of Stormé DeLarverie, a woman whose life flouted prescriptions of gender and race. During the 1950s and '60s she toured the black theater circuit as a mistress of ceremonies and the sole male impersonator of the legendary Jewel Box Revue, America’s first integrated female impersonation show and forerunner of La Cage aux Folles.

In France with Madonna(fr)

France is at the heart of Madonna's life. She is inspired by French culture and its values and has surrounded herself with French artists for many years. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Queen of Pop's career, this film revisits the close and unique bond between Madonna and France and features testimonials from close collaborators and French friends who have helped create her unique artistic universe: Maripol, Jean Paul Gaultier, Julien d'Ys, Nicolas Huchard, and Marion Motin. Today's artists such as Florence Foresti, Leïla Slimani, Victor Weinsanto and HollySiz talk about the influence of this emancipating figure, which extends far beyond music.

A Film for Discussion(en)

A docu-drama shot in 1970, but not completed until 1973, the film sought to encapsulate in an experimental form issues that were under discussion within the Women’s Liberation Movement at this time and to thus contribute to action for change. In its numerous community screenings, active debate was encouraged as part of the viewing experience.

Silvana(sv)

A documentary about the Swedish rapper and artist Silvana Imam.

Play Your Gender(en)

Juno Award-winning musician Kinnie Starr is on a quest to find out why only 5% of music producers are women even though many of the most bankable pop stars are female. What does it take for a woman to make it in music?

Radical Harmonies(en)

Interviews and performance footage are used to provide an overview of the women's music scene.

Kim Kardashian Theory(fr)

Kim Kardashian is the embodiment of our times. She's a total social figure. To analyze her is to talk about ourselves, our relationship with social networks, capitalism and aesthetic standards. Through the eyes of journalists Nesrine Slaoui and Guillaume Erner, this film proposes a theory in the zeitgeist, crossed by questions of race and gender. Journalist and sociologist Guillaume Erner wonders why Kim Kardashian is the most followed woman in the world on social networks "when she does nothing". With the help of journalist and director Nesrine Slaoui, he paints a portrait of this "total social character", who is famous because of... her fame. Fashion icon, star of a never-ending reality TV family saga, savvy businesswoman, future lawyer and activist outraged by the state of American prisons, the beautiful Kim, who is said to be tempted by a political destiny, is in fact not idle at all...

L7: Pretend We're Dead(en)

A real time journey witnessing the rise, fall, and ultimate redemption of the fierce feminist pioneers of American grunge punk: L7.

Golden Gate Girls(en)

The film traces the life and times of Esther Eng, a San Francisco native known as Hong Kong’s first “directress.” She directed 10 Cantonese talkies.

Fashion As A Social Control(en)

A look at the ways fashion has been used to socially control women in Canada, both historically and in the 20th century.

Beyond Borders: Arab Feminists Talk About Their Lives... East and West(en)

In the Arab world, women are fighting a two-front war against repressive internal constraints and intrusive Western interference. In this program, a feminist delegation composed of author Nawal Saadawi and other renowned activists from the Middle East and North Africa gathers at the UN, on college campuses, and in church basements to speak out about deterioration of women's rights in the Arab states in an effort to heighten awareness of the Arab feminist struggle for equality--and the effects of U.S. foreign policy on their efforts.

She's Nobody's Baby: American Women in the 20th Century(en)

This documentary goes back to the turn of the century to show how women shaped the nation’s history.