WUNRN
16 Films About
Violence Against Women – Pixel 2014 Selection
One of the most
useful awareness-raising and educational tools at our disposal is the craft of
film. To portray the real experiences and lives of individuals—particularly
women who suffer tragedy, abuse, and revival—is something not to be taken for
granted. It is just one way to open public consciousness and heighten awareness
to the breadth of the issue of violence against women worldwide.
However,
it is common for filmmakers to use violence against women as shock value or to
be gratuitous, implying that such violence is either blithe or exemplary. Such
portrayals further perpetuate the notion that sexual assault and other forms of
gender-based violence are a non-issue when in reality, they affect 1 in 3
women worldwide. Films that depict the violence girls and women experience in
their daily lives are a great step towards building a better tomorrow
simply by recognising the reality of today.
Many
of the following films can be found online, which is yet another reason why
video is a vital avenue for discussing worldwide and community issues like
violence. Video-streaming sites like YouTube and Vimeo allow people to upload
their own work or that of others, thus reaching a broader audience and bringing
the conversation home. We hope that our 2014 selection of 16
documentaries show just how important film can be in advocating for
the truth of these issues, enlightening audiences, and hopefully enabling
others to join the fight to end violence against women.
Written by Ashley Sapp.
Selection Number 1:
Casablanca Calling
Casablanca Calling is a 2014
documentary that showcases the social revolution slowly occurring in Morocco
where approximately 60% of women have never been to school. Despite political
conflict, Moroccan women are being trained for the first time to be leaders.
The film follows these women as they circulate in schools and other sites,
speaking on marriage, education, and employment. In doing so, the film
highlights the promise of change and indicates the importance of empowerment
among girls and women.
Selection Number 2:
Defending Our Lives
The Oscar-winning
documentary Defending Our Lives emphasises
the seriousness and prevalence of domestic violence in the United States. The
video features the testimonies of battered women who have been imprisoned for
killing their husbands. The women in the film are members of ‘Battered
Women Fighting Back,’ an organisation formed initially as a prison support
group but expanded into a community-based task force. Each woman who
appears in this video has experienced domestic violence firsthand via stalking,
harassment, and abuse by their husbands and partners. The video focuses on how
these women defended their lives and were subsequently put behind bars for it.
Note: Please go here to watch the trailer for this documentary as
the video is unavailable on YouTube or Vimeo. TRIGGER WARNING: There
are images that may be distressing for survivors of domestic violence.
Duma was a
controversial documentary about the abuse women face in Palestinian and Arab
societies. It is regarded as the first film to fully document and shed light
upon the sexual abuse women face in Arab society. The documentary features
women and the experiences they have endured at the hands of friends and family
as well as the resulting silence imposed upon them. By giving voice to these
perspectives, the film not only reveals the abuse but gives hope to survivors
that they will no longer be silenced.
Selection Number 4: Heaven
on Earth
In the 2008
film Heaven On Earth, a young Indian Punjab woman moves to
Ontario, Canada, for an arranged marriage to an Indo-Canadian man. However, her
husband is an abuser who continues to isolate her after she has already left
behind her community in India. The film explores a real problem for immigrants
who are victims of domestic violence as they struggle not only to find resources
but also ways to communicate what is occurring in their home lives.
Selection Number 5: I Am a Girl
Simply by being
female, girls are more likely to be subjected to poverty, violence, disease,
and other disadvantages. The 2013 film I Am A Girl follows
the lives and stories of various young girls and teens as they face forced
marriage, pregnancy, and threats against their lives if they seek education.
These girls live in places like Cambodia, Australia, New York, and New Guinea,
signaling the fact that these issues are faced worldwide.
The 2010 film Jazz Mama focuses on the sexualised violence of
Congolese women and also how they remain pillars of strength, as
survivors, within their community after their experiences. This film has
also become a movement inspired by the strength and resilience of
these very women from the Congo. It was given the Zanzibar International Film
Festival award in 2010.
Selection Number 7:
Maria in Nobody’s Land
A film by Marcela
Zamora Chamorro, Maria in Nobody’s Land takes
an intimate look at the journey of three women from El Salvador as they travel
to the US. The decision is not a light one, but they each decide to leave
behind their abusive husbands and seek a better life outside of poverty. In
doing so, they face prostitution, rape, kidnapping, and death, which is similar
to many other immigrants’ stories. This 2010 film highlights the dangers many
women endure.
Selection Number 8:
Mrs. Goundo’s Daughter
Mrs. Goundo’s Daughter is a film
featuring a woman originally from Mali now living in the United States.
However, if deported back to Mali, her two-year-old daughter would be under the
threat of female genital mutilation. The movie follows Mrs. Goundo as she seeks
political asylum and works on convincing an immigration judge of the danger her
daughter faces. This film demonstrates the struggles women often face when it
comes to immigration laws and human rights.
Selection Number 9: No Burqas Behind Bars
The 2013 film No Burqas Behind Bars showcases the experiences
and life of women in Afghanistan prisons. For example, in the Takhar
Prison, 40 women and their 34 children were locked behind bars together within
four cells. The film investigates how imprisonment is used to control women in
Afghanistan, with some even facing longer punishments for fleeing their
husbands than others who have commited murder.
Selection
Number 10: Private Violence
Premiering at the
2014 Sundance Film Festival, Private Violence won
the Candescent Award, which was created to support socially conscious
documentary films. The feature-length documentary narrates the stories of
domestic violence survivors while breaking down the knee-jerk reactions of
asking why victims stay with their abusers. In doing so, the film works to
change the conversation and build a different future for women.
Selection Number 11: Silent
Voices
The film Silent Voices is a docudrama that discusses the
issue of domestic violence in the United Kingdom. It was later released as a
DVD in 2008 in order to raise funds for the charity National Centre for
Domestic Violence. The film features fictitious characters ranging from the
ages of 10 to 40 performing monologues based on real events and experiences.
Selection Number 12: Six Days:
Three Activists, Three Wars, One Dream
By following three
human rights defenders as they move through Iraq, Liberia, Georgia, and
Abkhazia, Six Daysoffers insight into the
everyday plight of women worldwide. Education, honour killings, and health
issues are just a few examples explored in the 2013 documentary which
enlightens audiences to the challenges women face but also the changes, the
empowerment, and the differences they are making in order to create a better
tomorrow.
Selection Number 13: Telling Amy’s Story
Telling Amy’s Story is a film that
recalls the timeline of a domestic violence homicide that occurred in 2001
through interviews with the victims’ parents, co-workers, law enforcement, and
others. The actress and activist Mariska Hargitay hosts while Detective Deirdri
Fishel narrates. Through this film, further awareness is raised on the issue of
abuse against women.
Selection Number
14: The Conspiracy of Silence
This
PBS documentary focuses on the silence that follows domestic violence, as
victims feel they cannot come forward about the abuse they have experienced
whether by fear of their abusers or the stigma surrounding such abuse. Often
the victims believe their silence will prevent further violence from occurring.
The film goes beyond economic and racial lines in order to demonstrate that
domestic violence does not discriminate and can happen to anyone.
Selection Number 15: V-Day: Until the Violence Stops
Until the Violence Stops documents the
way in which The Vagina Monologues developed into the international movement
V-Day, geared toward ending violence against women and girls. The film features
women from around the world who each share their stories and experiences of
abuse and rape as well as circumcision. In doing so, both the film and the
resulting movement have aided in raising awareness of the prominence of
violence within global societies and breaking the silence surrounding abuse.
Though there are
multiple forms of assault and abuse, one that often goes unnoticed since it is
considered the norm is street harassment. The 1998 documentary War Zone engages men in order to seek answers as
to why they catcall, whistle, or otherwise make comments at women. As director
Maggie Hadleigh-West explores this issue within the United States, some men
apologize or converse while others yell or even attempt to hit her. Through
this film, the very real experience of women is put into the spotlight to be
analyzed and discussed.