Letters Live from the Archive: International Women’s Day

Two Syrian refugee girls document each others' attempts at making their first films.

After their mother's femicide, three siblings are separated and forced to live in different places. Years later they gather to raise their voices and fight to be made visible in a country where orphans for femicide are ignored by the state and invisible to society. It's up to them to tell their story.

The film accompanies two women who have left the Jewish ultra-orthdox community. While Sara is still struggling with the consequences of her pullout, Heidi is already fighting for the rights of women who have the courage to take this step.

Fragments

"Die Unbeugsamen" ("The Indomitable") is the story of women's struggle against sexual discrimination and for inclusion in the democratic process in (West) Germany after WW II.

75e, elles se souviennent

In the early 1970s, a group of secretaries in Boston decided that they had suffered in silence long enough. They started fighting back, creating a movement to force changes in their workplaces. This movement became national, and is a largely forgotten story of U.S. twentieth century history. It encapsulates a unique intersection of the women’s movement with the labor movement. The awareness these secretaries brought to bear on women’s work reverberates even today. Clericals were the low-wage workers of their era. America now confronts the growing reality of deep income inequality. The stories and strategies of these bold, creative women resonates in contemporary America.

Four women are given into the custody of the Magdalene sisterhood asylum to correct their sinful behavior: Crispina and Rose have given birth to a premarital child, Margaret got raped by her cousin and the orphan Bernadette had been repeatedly caught flirting with the boys. All have to work in a laundry under the strict supervision of the nuns, who break their wills through sadistic punishment.

Women talk about the circumstances that drove them to seek illegal abortions and the often traumatic result. Interwoven with historical photographs and newsreel footage, the stories expose how the reality of women's lives were counterposed to what was socially and morally expected of them.

Diana, Ilana, Rona, Shelly, Rucha and Liat openly speak about their life in prostitution: from the initial lure, through learning the rules, to survival strategies. They present stories of independence, resourcefulness, pain and trauma, expressing an extreme feminine and human experience. Michaela (pseudonym) – a young woman currently engaged in prostitution, sounds off on the struggle to survive, turning her cellphone camera into a weapon. The women challenge what is expected of them – to be ashamed and conceal themselves.

In a mountainous but extremely green landscape goats jump over the rocks and laughing children run after them. In this paradise on earth, nomadic families have found their temporary home. From one of these families comes a teenage girl, Shahnaz. The girl should be getting married soon, but her thoughts are focused on the world of literature.

Examines the 40-year evolution of gender inequality and discrimination in the workplace since the 1980 release of the comedy film “9 to 5” starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, and Dabney Coleman.

María and Isabel are two women in their fifties who, like many others, recycle in Quito, where there is no recycling system. María leads a collective fight for basic labor rights; while Isabel transmits her knowledge of environmental care while she raises her daughters.

You Have Struck A Rock! commemorates the special contribution of South African women to the success of the anti-apartheid struggle. It recovers the remarkable "women's campaigns" of the 1950s against the hated pass system. This massive, non-violent civil disobedience movement was only finally crushed by the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre and the banning of anti-apartheid organizations. Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Dora Tamana and other leaders recall this struggle and their imprisonment and banning. Yet they remain undaunted, demonstrating the South African proverb: "When you have touched a woman, you have struck a rock."

Annita Malavasi was just 22 when the Germans occupied Italy, their former allies, in 1943. As a partisan in the Italian resistance named “Laila”, she moved throughout the Apennines with and between fighting units, delivering information, transporting weapons, and taking part in battles. She spent over a year in the Apennines, fighting against the German occupation. At the same time, she had to assert herself against the men of the mountain villages. By the end of the war, Laila had risen among the ranks to become one of the few female commanders in the Italian resistance. This film chronicles the story of a lifelong struggle for emancipation that began with the battle for Italy’s liberation from fascism. Laila and her two comrades, Gina “Sonia” Moncigoli and Pierina “Iva” Bonilauri talk about their time in the Resistenza and what it meant to them and many other women.

Quand les pouvoirs s'emmêlent

Filmmaker Anand Patwardhan looks to history and psychology as he delves into the possible reasons behind the demolition of the Babri Mosque.

The words of the women and the rhythm of their lives in the seclusion of family compounds suggests both the satisfying and the limiting aspects of a woman's role in a rural Afghan community. Filmed in the Balkh Province, an area inhabited by Tajik and other Central Asian peoples. The town of Aq Kupruk is approximately 320 miles northwest of Kabul. The theme of the film focuses on women. The film and accompanying instructor notes examine the economic, political, religious, and educational status of women, their legal and customary rights, and the degree of change in their actual and perceived roles.

Motherhood: a subject so deeply ingrained in our society, we take it for granted as part of the natural order. It's assumed all women want children, that motherhood is not only a biological imperative but the defining measure of womanhood. Titled after one of the myths it challenges, this film draws upon a heady mix of culture, science, and history–revealing the rich and diverse lives of people who said no to children, and the forces that have marginalized them in society.

Four stories set between the 60s and the 70s in Italy. Four personal female adventures crossing the path of Italian history, the struggle for women rights, the liberation of the body, in a country without memory.