Films Directed by Women

In this feature-length documentary, Indigenous filmmaker and artist Alanis Obomsawin chronicles the determination and tenacity of the Listuguj Mi'kmaq people to use and manage the natural resources of their traditional lands. The film provides a contemporary perspective on the Mi'kmaq people's ongoing struggle and ultimate success, culminating in the community receiving an award for Best Managed River from the same government that had denied their traditional rights.

This documentary by acclaimed filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin introduces us to Randy Horne, a high steel worker from the Mohawk community of Kahnawake, near Montreal. As a defender of his people's culture and traditions, he was known as "Spudwrench" during the 1990 Oka crisis. Offering a unique look behind the barricades at one man's impassioned defence of sacred territory, the film is both a portrait of Horne and the generations of daring Mohawk construction workers that have preceded him.

A stop-motion advertisement for shoe company Baťa. Depicts shoe repair as surgery.

A young groom and his best man lost on the road trip to the wedding, run into a young English doctor. Set against South Africa's breathtaking landscapes, White Wedding is a high-spirited modern-day road comedy about love, commitment, intimacy, friendship, and the unbelievable obstacles that can get in the way of a fairy-tale ending.

Set against the vibrant backdrop of contemporary North Africa, this drama follows three women as they navigate the complex interplay between tradition and modernity. Each woman, driven by her own desires for success and meaningful relationships, faces societal pressures and cultural constraints that test their resolve. As their lives unexpectedly intersect, they reveal the shared struggles and resilience needed to overcome the obstacles placed in their path.

Documentary about Cuban's involvement in African politics.

Behind the Rainbow explores the transition of the African National Congress (ANC) from its role as a liberation organization to its position as South Africa's ruling party, by means of the evolution of the relationship between two of its most prominent leaders, Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma. Exiled under Apartheid, brothers in arms following Mandela's leadership, they loyally labored to build a non-racial state. Now they are bitter rivals. Their confrontation threatens to tear apart the ANC and the country, mean while the poor desperately seek hope in change and the elite fight for the spoils of victory.

From Gamal Abdel Nasser to Anwar Sadat, to Hosni Mubarak, “The Pharaohs of Modern Egypt” follows the path of the successive regimes in power, and reveals their common goal to carefully lay the basis of a solid independence, but which, on the other hand, led to the revolution on Tahrir Square in 2011. President Anwar Sadat led the country down the diametrically opposite path. He forged an alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood, the regime’s life-long enemy, and rerouted the country onto the road of capitalism. By ignoring increasing wealth gaps and insisting on peace with Israel at all political costs, the “pious” president opened up the Pandora’s Box of radical Islam, a decision that cost him his life, and which has since had repercussions on the entire world.

In 1997, six African women pledged that in the first year of the new millennium they would tell their stories, stories by African women. They called their series "Mama Africa" and drew their tales from the depths of their hearts. The result is a groundbreaking initiative bringing together the incredibly fresh talents of six female directors from the vast and diverse continent of Africa.

There is certainly some pressure to procreate in Western societies, but in some countries, it’s not even a question of choice. Married but childless, director Aicha Macky’s circumstance is judged unacceptable in her native Niger. Doctors haven’t been able to determine why she can’t conceive, but in her conservative Muslim society, women are always getting blamed for infertility, while men are rarely diagnosed. Speaking to her departed mother who died in childbirth, she expresses her deep sadness: “By giving life, you lost yours, whereas I’m dying a slow death by not being able to give life.” Drawing from her personal experience, Macky bravely addresses the taboo of childlessness and the stigma Nigerien women like her must endure. Through delicate, exquisitely shot portraits, and sensitive observation of other women’s secret suffering, she finds a way to affirm herself as a fulfilled individual among mothers.

A film-crew in the early twentieth century, the cabaret known as ‘Le Fol Espoir’ has been transformed into an amateur soundstage. The motion picture tells the story of a ship and its passengers – from the famous opera singer down to the petty criminal. The film is an optimistic political fable intended to educate the masses. There’s comedy aplenty – slapstick punches, custard pies and gags reminiscent of Buster Keaton and Fatty Arbuckle; there’s adventure, high drama moments of great bravura , and passionate love stories. The filming begins on June 28th 1914, the day of the Archiduke Franz Ferdinand’s assassination in Sarajevo, the gunpowder that sets Europe alight. It ends with news of another assassination – that of Jean Jaures on July 31st followed by the general conscription of August 1st, heralded by church bells across France. The allegory of the shipwreck is filmed at breakneck pace during the last five weeks before war breaks out.

ARIANE MNOUCHKINE’S FILM Tambours sur la Digue is a cinematographic transposition of her production performed by the Théâtre du Soleil troupe at the Cartoucherie theatre complex. This transition from theatre to film creates an additional story within a story, especially since it is about a dramatic work itself performed using a juxtaposition of theatrical forms and different levels of meaning and perception. The political and philosophical tale conjured up by Hélène Cixous takes place in a legendary, ancient China. The inhabitants are faced with a massive threat, a devastating flood that could wash away the city’s protective dykes. From prince to beggar, the imminent disaster brings out in everyone a moment of truth where the nature and character of human beings is revealed, where, in the face of doom, a pell-mell of sacrifice, wisdom, courage and cowardice, selfless commitment to saving the community, megalomania and personal interests all jostle and collide.
These comic and poetic “living dolls” create a striking break with reality, intensifying the impact as the audience is plunged into a disturbingly strange world.
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影片《堤霸上的鼓手》是亞里安娜．穆西金把她導演的同名劇作轉成電影。 戲劇是由太陽劇場演出。
這個有關政治和哲學的故事由 Hélène Cixous 創作，是發生在古代傳說中的中國。居民將面對一個嚴重的災難：一場大水將會衝破保護整個城市的堤霸。而因為這場即將來臨的災難，每一個人，由王子到乞丐都要面對人性真實的一面。
在這齣劇作中，導演亞里安娜．穆西金選擇由真人模仿日本人形淨琉璃。每個人偶背後有一名穿黑衣的操偶師控制。這些活生生的 “ 人形公仔 ” 為戲劇營造了一種脫離現實的感覺，加強了故事的震撼性，觀眾被帶進一個奇異的世界中。

1974 film directed by Ariane Mnouchkine

2006 film directed by Ariane Mnouchkine

Şehnaz, a young female psychiatrist from Istanbul, starts mandatory duty in a provincial town. Back in the city, she maintains a marriage that looks flawless on the outside. Elmas, a young woman on the verge of breakdown, opens a new path in her.

When an aging matriarch starts showing signs of dementia, her dysfunctional family in Istanbul must navigate a minefield of unresolved issues to care for her.

Araf is the story of Zehra and Olgun whose lives are caught in a vacuum. The world in which they live and work is a place of throwaway culture and constant change. They too are waiting for a chance to change and escape from their empty, monotonous lives.

Ayse/Eleni who is a member of a Greek family in Turkey is forced to immigrate from Trabzon to Mersin in her early ages. However, the events that happen cause her to face her own past.

Commissioner Kemal, who is nearing retirement, investigates a suicide case. Cezmi Kara, whose face has become unrecognizable, has been found dead in her home. Kemal suspects that this is a murder and obsesses over the dead man's face.

Doctors say that Veronika, a woman in her 20s, is schizophrenic. She is compliant, which makes her an easy target for men. She's religious, believing she is God's favorite child; she searches for Jesus. She has sent a letter to a filmmaker suggesting her life as the subject for a movie. We see her raped than take up with a series of men she believes are Jesus, each willing or insistent on sex. A young man with his own crisis of faith invites her to join a cult. We see her involuntarily committed to an asylum from time to time where medication and constraints await. Her wealthy parents are helpless. Will a medical professional ever talk to her? If one did, would it help?