Documentaries
Below is a list of some great documentaries out there concerning gender and women's issues. Check them out!
After
Tiller
“After Tiller is a deeply humanizing
and probing portrait of the only four doctors in the United States still openly
performing third-trimester abortions in the wake of the 2009 assassination of
Dr. George Tiller in Wichita, Kansas — and in the face of intense protest from
abortion opponents. It is also an examination of the desperate reasons women
seek late abortions. Rather than offering solutions, After Tiller presents the
complexities of these women's difficult decisions and the compassion and ethical
dilemmas of the doctors and staff who fear for their own lives as they treat
their patients. Official Selection of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.”
Girl
Rising
“The format of Girl Rising is unique:
it’s a film about the stories of nine girls from nine countries written by nine
writers and performed by nine actresses. The equivalent of a short story
collection, each segment features the real girl acting out an episode of her
own life, giving us an intimate view of what girls around the world are up
against.”
Half
the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide
“A four-hour series shot in 10
countries: Cambodia, Kenya, India, Sierra Leone, Somaliland, Vietnam,
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Liberia and the U.S. Inspired by Nicholas Kristof and
Sheryl WuDunn's book, the documentary series introduces women and girls who are
living under some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable — and fighting
bravely to change them. Traveling with intrepid reporter Nicholas Kristof and
A-list celebrity advocates America Ferrera, Diane Lane, Eva Mendes, Meg Ryan,
Gabrielle Union and Olivia Wilde, the film reflects viable and sustainable
options for empowerment and offers an actionable blueprint for transformation.
It’s a
Girl
“In India, China and many other parts
of the world today, girls are killed, aborted and abandoned simply because they
are girls. The United Nations estimates as many as 200 million girls(1) are
missing in the world today because of this so-called “gendercide”.
The film tells the stories of
abandoned and trafficked girls, of women who suffer extreme dowry-related
violence, of brave mothers fighting to save their daughters’ lives, and of
other mothers who would kill for a son. Global experts and grassroots activists
put the stories in context and advocate different paths towards change, while
collectively lamenting the lack of any truly effective action against this
injustice.”
Kate
Bornstein is a Queer and Pleasant Danger
“Performance artist and writer Kate
Bornstein explodes binaries while deconstructing gender—and her own identity.
Trans-dyke. Reluctant polyamorist. Sadomasochist. Recovering Scientologist.
Pioneering gender outlaw. Sam Feder’s playful and meditative portrait on
Bornstein, captures rollicking public performances and painful personal
revelations as it bears witness to Kate as a trailblazing
artist-theorist-activist who inhabits a space between male and female with wit,
style and astonishing candor.”
MAKERS:
Women Who Make America
“Makers: Women Who Make America will
tell the remarkable story of the Women's Movement for the first time. Built on
an extraordinary archive of interviews already completed for the website
Makers.com, the film will feature the stories of those who led the fight, those
who opposed it, and those – both the famous and unknown – caught up in its
wake.”
Miss
Representation
“Like drawing back a curtain to let
bright light stream in, Miss Representation (87 min; TV-14 DL) uncovers a
glaring reality we live with every day but fail to see. Written and directed by
Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the film exposes how mainstream media contribute to the
under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America.
The film challenges the media’s limited and often disparaging portrayals of
women and girls, which make it difficult for women to achieve leadership
positions and for the average woman to feel powerful herself.
My
Prairie Home
“A darling at Sundance, My Prairie
Home is a musical documentary about Rae Spoon, a transgender singer who embarks
on a tour in Canada via a Greyhound bus. Throughout the movie, striking
landscapes, nightclub venues, and Spoon’s own songs help illustrate the
artist’s journey of self-discovery, from a conservative religious upbringing to
present-day musings on life and love. Directed by Chelsea McMullan, My Prairie Home
is a valentine to the power of song and memory, and a must-see glimpse into the
life of an artist.”
No
Woman No Cry
“For too many women, pregnancy is a
death sentence. One thousand women die each day from complications during
pregnancy or childbirth. Shockingly, nearly all maternal deaths and
disabilities can be prevented. In her gripping directorial debut, Christy Turlington
Burns shares the powerful stories of at-risk pregnant women in four parts of
the world, including a remote Maasai tribe in Tanzania, a slum of Bangladesh, a
post-abortion care ward in Guatemala, and a prenatal clinic in the United
States.”
Out in
the Night
“In 2006 a group of African-American
lesbians were arrested after an encounter in downtown Manhattan with a straight
man who made unwanted sexual advances that resulted in the man’s
hospitalization for a minor injury. The sensationalized media coverage of the
incident painted the group as a vicious gang, and several of the women received
prison sentences that were disproportionate to the nature of the incident.
Directed by Blair Doroshwalther, Out in the Night is an important documentary
that tells the story from the point of view of these women. Through interviews,
Doroshwalther demonstrates how sexism, racism, and homophobia resulted in
failures by both the government and media in serving justice.”
The
Case Against 8
“A behind-the-scenes look inside the
historic case to overturn California's ban on same-sex marriage. The
high-profile trial first makes headlines with the unlikely pairing of Ted Olson
and David Boies, political foes who last faced off as opposing attorneys in
Bush v. Gore. The film also follows the plaintiffs, two gay couples who find
their families at the center of the same-sex marriage controversy. Five years
in the making, this is the story of how they took the first federal marriage
equality lawsuit to the U.S. Supreme Court.”
The
Invisible War
“Soldiers in the military are up
against a lot, their everyday jobs often being physically and emotionally
taxing. But for some it’s even worse than that. In fact, a female U.S. soldier
in a combat zone is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by
enemy fire. Invisible War is an investigative documentary about the epidemic of
rape of soldiers within the U.S. military, a difficult topic, but one that’s
necessary to talk about.”
The
Mask you Live In
“The Mask You Live In follows boys and
young men as they struggle to stay true to themselves while negotiating
America’s narrow definition of masculinity.
Pressured by the media, their peer
group, and even the adults in their lives, our protagonists confront messages
encouraging them to disconnect from their emotions, devalue authentic
friendships, objectify and degrade women, and resolve conflicts through
violence. These gender stereotypes interconnect with race, class, and
circumstance, creating a maze of identity issues boys and young men must
navigate to become “real” men.
Experts in neuroscience, psychology,
sociology, sports, education, and media also weigh in, offering empirical
evidence of the “boy crisis” and tactics to combat it.
The Mask You Live In ultimately
illustrates how we, as a society, can raise a healthier generation of boys and
young men.”
To
Educate a Girl
“In 2000, 110 million children in the
world were not in school—two thirds of them were girls. Moved by this
statistic, two filmmakers Frederick Rendina and Oren Rudavsky traveled to Nepal
and Uganda to find out what it actually takes to educate a girl. To Educate a
Girl is a look at the lives of young women who are working hard to achieve
their dreams despite living in situations of conflict and poverty.”
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