Programs
Films
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"Afghanistan Unveiled"
Filmed by the first-ever team of women video journalists trained in Afghanistan, this rare and uncompromising film explores the effects of the Taliban’s repressive rule and recent U.S.-sponsored bombing campaign on Afghan women. None of the 14 journalist trainees had ever traveled outside Kabul. Except for one, none had been able to study or pursue careers while the Taliban controlled their country. Leaving Kabul behind for the more rural regions of the country, the filmmakers present heartbreaking footage of Hazara women whose lives have been decimated by recent events. With little food and no water or electricity, these women have been left to live in caves and fend for themselves, abandoned in the wake of the U.S. invasion. While committed to revealing such tragedies to the world, the filmmakers also manage to find moving examples of hope for the future. A poetic journey of self-discovery, "Afghanistan Unveiled" is a revelatory and profound reminder of independent media’s power to bear witness and reveal truth. Awards, Festivals and Screenings
Photo courtesy of Women Make Movies, www.wmm.com. |
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"Calling the Ghosts"
An extraordinarily powerful documentary, CALLING THE GHOSTS is the first-person account of two women caught in a war where rape was as much an everyday weapon as bullets or bombs. Jadranka Cigelj and Nusreta Sivac, childhood friends and lawyers, enjoyed the lives of "ordinary modern women" in Bosnia-Herzegovina until one day former neighbors became tormentors. Taken to the notorious Serb concentration camp of Omarska, the two women, like other Muslim and Croat women interned there, were systematically tortured and humiliated by their Serb captors. Photo courtesy of Women Make Movies, www.wmm.com. |
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"Enemies of Happiness"
"In September 2005, Afghanistan held its first parliamentary elections in 35 years. Among the candidates for 249 assembly seats was Malalai Joya, a courageous, controversial 27-year-old woman who had ignited outrage among hard-liners when she spoke out against corrupt warlords at the Grand Council of tribal elders in 2003. ENEMIES OF HAPPINESS is a revelatory portrait of this extraordinary freedom fighter and the way she won the hearts of voters, as well as a snapshot of life and politics in war-torn Afghanistan. Photo courtesy of Women Make Movies, www.wmm.com. |
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"Finding Face" An unflinching portrayal of a family's search for justice following a brutal attack, "Finding Face" provides a carefully contextualized picture of acid attacks* in Cambodia, a study of the country’s criminal justice system and the complex challenges faced by acid survivors in the U.S. The film addresses the scarcity of attention devoted to acid violence against women in Cambodia, and through the stories of women who have survived attacks, the film unveils the physical, psychological, social and economic consequences of acid attacks as well as the social, medical, legal and humanitarian responses to such violence. *The deliberate throwing of nitric or sulphuric acid into the face of another person. |
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"Forging Peace in Guatemala"
A 36-year civil war has left over 150,000 dead and more than 1 million displaced in Guatemala. This program presents stirring portraits of three Mayan women and their efforts on behalf of peace. Adela, a widow, bravely sustains her refugee family. Justina tirelessly travels the countryside explaining the human rights movement to fellow villagers. Francesca, a Mayan priestess, reaffirms the cultural identity of her people. Stunning photography evokes the Mayan Popol Vuh creation story and punctuates the women’s courageous struggle. |
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"God Sleeps in Rwanda"
Uncovering amazing stories of hope in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide, Academy Award-Nominee GOD SLEEPS IN RWANDA captures the spirit of five courageous women as they rebuild their lives, redefine women’s roles in Rwandan society and bring hope to a wounded nation. Awards, Festivals and Screenings
Photo courtesy of Women Make Movies, www.wmm.com. |
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"Leading the Way to Peace"
History is recorded from women’s perspectives in this inspiring documentary film. The film features women from the conflict affected countries of Sierra Leone, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Guatemala, tracing their personal stories of peacemaking, courage and hope. The stories are those of four seemingly ordinary women of different ages, different religions and different cultural backgrounds, who rise up and take daring, non-violent stands and action in times of war and post-conflict resolution. In one way or another, they are all working toward the same goals: peaceful communities, gender equality and human dignity - so that we all benefit. |
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"Many Voices from Many Faces"
Since its first meeting in 1881, The American Association of University Women (AAUW) has been a catalyst for change. Today, with more than 100,000 members, 1,000 branches, and 500 college and university partners, AAUW contributes to a more promising future and provides a powerful voice for women and girls—a voice that cannot and will not be ignored.
The film incorporates highlights from the international panel at the 88th AAUW Conference, which took place in San Diego on April 26, 2009. The panel focused on efforts to promote the welfare of women and girls around the world. |
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"My Daughter the Terrorist" Photo courtesy of Women Make Movies, www.wmm.com. |
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"My Terrorist"
In 1978, filmmaker Yulie Cohen was wounded in a terrorist attack by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. A stewardess for the Israeli airline El Al, she was attacked along with other crew members when getting off the bus to the hotel in London. In a remarkable twist of faith, 23 years later Cohen began questioning the causes of violence between Israelis and Palestinians and started to consider helping release the man who almost killed her, Fahad Mihyi. From the time she was a young girl, Cohen considered herself a staunch Israeli nationalist. Growing up in an upper middle class neighborhood in Israel (where her neighbors included future Prime Ministers Yitzhak Rabin and Arik Sharon, and military hero Moshe Dayan), she patriotically served in the military. After working as an Israel coordinator on a film shoot and visiting the occupied territories, Cohen came to realize that both Israelis and Palestinians played a role in perpetuating the cycle of hostility and bloodshed. It was her goal to stand up as a survivor and call for reconciliation on each side. An inspiring story of forgiveness, Cohen’s poignant documentary is a moving testimony of human compassion and a call for peace. Photo courtesy of Women Make Movies, www.wmm.com. |
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"PeaceXPeace: Women on the Frontlines"
Women are more likely than professional soldiers to be the casualties of war. From genocide and rape to displacement and starvation, they bear more than their fair share of the suffering. But amongst all this hardship, women around the world are standing up for peace. By advocating justice and educating future generations that war is not the answer, they are at the forefront of reconciling their communities. This high-quality documentary made for PBS follows women peacemakers from four different conflict zones – from Afghanistan to Argentina. Narrated by Academy-Award winning actress Jessica Lange, this film redefines the role of women in war. |
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"Pray the Devil Back to Hell"
"Pray the Devil Back to Hell" chronicles the remarkable story of the courageous Liberian women who came together to end a bloody civil war and bring peace to their shattered country. |
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"Reversing the Ripples of War" An unflinching fusion of poetry, spoken word, soulful music and personal testimony that exposes the cruelty of armed conflict and showcases the undeniable heroism of women peacemakers who are reversing the ripples of war. This documentary is the second installment in the Women PeaceMakers Documentary Series and features four women peacemakers: Sister Pauline Acayo of Uganda, Thavory Huot of Cambodia, Emmaculeta Chiseya of Zimbabwe and Mary Ann Arnado from the Phillippines. |
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"Rhythms to Peace"
The third installment in the Women PeaceMakers Documentary Series, "Rhythms to Peace: The Way of a Woman PeaceMaker," chronicles the life of Susan Tenjoh-Okwen of Cameroon.
Susan is a teacher, community peace mediator, facilitator promoting social and economic empowerment and a respected gender activist who has peacebuilding experience in two provinces of Cameroon. She has been working to address causes of long-standing, intertribal conflict that seldom makes international news, but that has resulted in division, displacement and trauma for many people in several regions. In uniting and educating women from different villages, she was able to overcome the hostilities of men against men at the peak of a crisis when families were being torn apart. |
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"TAPOLOGO"
TAPOLOGO tells a local story with global relevance. It’s an up-beat narrative, that moves from squalor and degradation to dignity and hope. HIV infected women are portrayed as protagonists of their own healing process, not as victims. In Tapologo, the fight against AIDS unfolds as a community project mobilizing a network of retired nurses, social workers, doctors, religious leaders ostracized by the official church, alongside ex-sex workers and the patients themselves. In sub-Saharan Africa the Catholic Church’s official doctrine on the use of condoms has had a huge negative impact. Aware of the problem, Bishop Kevin Dowling questions the Church’s official stance and is a co-founder of the Tapologo. The directors have used a language that allowed them to follow the daily life of some of the women from the Tapologo network, and at the same time contextualize the situation of thousands of black women in South Africa. |
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"The Sari Soldiers"
Filmed over three years during the most historic and pivotal time in Nepal’s modern history, The Sari Soldiers is an extraordinary story of six women’s courageous efforts to shape Nepal’s future in the midst of an escalating civil war against Maoist insurgents, and the King’s crackdown on civil liberties. Photo courtesy of Women Make Movies, www.wmm.com. |
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"The Women Next Door"
"The Women Next Door" is a thoughtful and emotive documentary about women in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Israeli director Michal Aviad was living in the United States when the Intifada broke out in the West Bank and Gaza. Filled with questions about how the Occupation affected women on both sides of the conflict, she set off in a journey through Israel and the Occupied Territories with two other women - a Palestinian assistant director and an Israeli cinematographer. The film explores the roles that the Occupation designated for women on both sides and the questions it raises. In a world of occupation, what is the meaning of femininity, motherhood, birth, violence, compassion and solidarity between women? Can the womanhood of Israelis and Palestinians be separated from their political reality? The women next door are the women on either side of the border, as well as, those who face the camera and those who stand behind it. "The Women Next Door" provides a unique perspective on women’s lives in the Middle East and the critical part they play in rebuilding societies ravaged by war. Photo courtesy of Women Make Movies, www.wmm.com. |
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Wan’ni: Murdered Marriages" A film by 2009 Woman PeaceMaker Rubina Bhatti 28 minutes
A presentation of Taangh Wasaib Organization (T.W.O.), Wan’ni: Murdered Marriages weaves threads from the lives of Pakistani women suffering under misogynistic customs, such as Wan’ni, the practice of a murderer’s family offering one or more of their women to be married into the victim’s family as compensation for the crime. Van'ni is a harmful tradition where Pakistani women are traded between families in resolution of a dispute.
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"Women and War"
Interwoven with footage from recent conflicts in the Middle East, Bosnia, northern Uganda and South Africa, this program captures women's personal experiences of military violence, explains how they survived and reflects on their growing resistance to war. The women's feelings of loss, uncertainty and anguish are expressed through stories of cruelty, degradation and psychological trauma, while their attempts to achieve reconciliation and rebuild shattered communities demonstrate their positive efforts to create a more peaceful future for everyone. |
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"Women in Struggle"
WOMEN IN STRUGGLE presents rare testimony from four female Palestinian ex-detainees who disclose their experiences during their years of imprisonment in Israeli jails and the effect it has had on their present lives and future outlooks. Once content in their lives as sisters, wives and mothers, each of the women became active members for the national fight for Palestinian independence, but their “crimes” differed markedly–one woman was detained in a peaceful protest while another was arrested for her participation in a bombing. Photo courtesy of Women Make Movies, www.wmm.com. |
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"Wounds of the Heart: An Artist and Her Nation"
Born and raised in the village of Tarsheha in the Galilee, Rana Bishara is a Palestinian visual artist whose creative practice includes sculpture, installation work and performance art. Her artwork functions simultaneously as an elegy to the Palestinian Nakba (the Arabic term for The Great Disaster that began in 1948), an unmasking of the brutality of the Israeli occupation of Palestine and a critique of the biased Western media’s depiction of the Palestinians’ struggle against their occupiers. The objects employed in her artwork perform as surrogates for the body and spirit of Palestine and its people. Her work, in both its physical and conceptual manifestations, is an expression of the inseparable blending of the personal and political experiences that define the identity of every Palestinian. |
Updated on 9/27/2009