Category: Women’s Studies
25KM
This documentary follows sisters María Dolores and María de los Ángeles Domínguez as they walk 25 kilometers each week from their remote village of El Brujo to Candelaria to attend mass. Part of a trilogy by Jeffrey Puente García (72 Hrs, Para subir al cielo), it reflects the perseverance of rural Catholic communities in Cuba. At its core is Father Yvan Bergeron, a Quebec missionary who served in Candelaria for decades. More than a simple pilgrimage, 25 KM portrays faith, dignity, and resilience in the Domínguez-Martínez family, especially their mother Milagros Díaz, who strives to preserve tradition and spirituality amid hardship and isolation.
Cuba, Drama, Economics/Development, Religion, Social Issues, Women's StudiesAborto sin pena
In Mexico, the voices of the woman who have chosen to have an abortion are virtually absent from public debate. Aborto Sin Pena will introduce you to three of these women, from distinct cultural backgrounds. What they say will surprise you.
Health, Mexico, Women's StudiesAbsences
Lulu's husband and 8-year-old son Brandon disappeared from Monterrey Mexico five years ago when a group of armed men hijacked their car. Though she has heard nothing since that time, Lulu, who now lives alone with her daughter, continues to hope for their return. This short documentary gives her platform to narrate her family's experience, one shared by many in a region plagued by violence.
El Salvador, Mexico, Migration/Immigration, Politics/Human Rights, Social Issues, Women's StudiesAmericas: Part 5
"In Women's Hands" This program set in Chile, examines the changes women of every social class made when they organized during the Pinochet years to create better living conditions for their families.
Chile, History, Latin America, Politics/Human Rights, Women's StudiesAngel de Fuego
A tragic urban story about the unfortunate life of a 13-year old circus girl in Mexico City. She is expelled from her job when the official of the circus finds out she is pregnant. She meets a troupe of traveling puppeteers preaching the word of God and joins them, eventually entrusting her son to God.
Drama, Mexico, Social Issues, Women's StudiesAntonia
From the Producers of City of God and acclaimed writer/director/producer Tata Amaral comes Antônia, a moving soulfoul look into the lives of four women living on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Determined to escape their poveryy stricken lives, the talented younf women form an all=female rap group but find their road to success is riddled with sexism, racism and violence. One by one, they succumb to their frim realitiews, putting the group's future, and their lifelong friendships, in jeopardy. Until they learn that out of struggle comes strength, and out of strength, the courage to continue on.
Subject: Music/Dance, Social Issues, Drama, Women's Studies
Antonia Pantoja: ¡Presente!
Antonia Pantoja (1922-2002), a black Puerto Rican activist and educator, worked tirelessly on behalf of the youth of her generation. Promoting causes like bilingual education and founding organizations such as ASPIRA and Boricua College, she left an indelible mark on the US educational landscape. This documentary tribute reviews her work and its impact through interviews and archival footage.
Biography, History, Politics/Human Rights, Social Movements/Resistance, USA, Women's StudiesApproach of Dawn
An informative and sensitive documentary that tells the story of Mayan women activists and their courageous fight for indigenous rights in Guatemala. Featuring several outstanding women that are playing an important role in this struggle, including 1992 Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchú.
Anthropology/Archaeology, Guatemala, Indigenous Peoples, Women's StudiesBajo El Tacaná
Bajo el Tecaná is a short documentary about a group of women migrants, who are interviewed by a group of researchers, before heading to the north. The film takes place in the village of Soconusco, Chiapas on the border between Guatemala and Mexico. Made with the support from Mexican Commission on Human Rights and the OIM ( International Organization for Migration), this film combines text, testimonials and images.
Subject: Border, Migration/Immigration
Benedita da Silva
A profile of the first black woman ever to be elected city councilor and member of the Brazilian Parliament from the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. Bene, as she prefers to be called, has lived her entire life in the favelas and worked for twenty-five years as a domestic servant before beginning her public life in 1982, when she won a post as city councilor and was elected a federal MP in 1986. She now devotes her efforts to fighting the racism and discrimination faced by Rio's slum dwellers, and comments from community leaders and residents show the love and respect she has earned.
Brazil, History, Women's StudiesBlossoms of Fire
This documentary introduces us to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico, home to an indigenous Zapotec society where gender and sexual preference are a fluid concept. The women dominate the home and businesses, while the men do much of the heavy hauling and seem happy to let women rule. The matriarchy also fosters the area's progressive politics, which include standing up to the PRI and warding off the global market.
Gender/Sexuality, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico, Women's StudiesChicana
Made by Sylvia Morales. Chicana traces the history of Chicana and Mexican women from pre-Columbian times to the present. It covers women's role in Aztec society, their participation in the 1810 struggle for Mexican independence, their involvement in the US labor strikes in 1872, their contributions to the 1910 Mexican revolution and their leadership in contemporary civil rights causes. A classic film by a leading Latina filmmaker.
Latinos/Chicanos, Mexico, USA, Women's StudiesColección De Cortometrajes Mexicanos: Vol. 1
This collection of short films is part of the series Corto metraje, más que un instante from IMCINE and CinemaFilms. This original series showcases 51 short films by up and coming Mexican directors, cinematographers and actors. The films touch on a variety of subjects, people, and lifestyles. Some are comical, some are sad, and some are thought provoking. All of these films are very useful for Spanish Language classes. This specific volume contains the following films: La suerte de la fea a la bonita no le importa; Benjamín; Adiós mama; Noche de bodas; Espías en la ciudad; Sr. X; Hombre que no escucha boleros; Pasajera; Ligerita.
History, Mexico, Social Issues, Women's StudiesColección De Cortometrajes Mexicanos: Vol. 2
This collection of short films is part of the series Corto metraje, más que un instante from IMCINE and CinemaFilms. This original series showcases 51 short films by up and coming Mexican directors, cinematographers and actors. The films touch on a variety of subjects, people, and lifestyles. Some are comical, some are sad, and some are thought provoking. All of these films are very useful for Spanish Language classes. This specific volume contains the following films: De mesmer, con amor ó té para dos; Sístole diástole; El agujero negro del sol; ¿Que hora es?; El milagro; De jasmín en flor.
Gender/Sexuality, Mexico, Social Issues, Women's StudiesColección De Cortometrajes Mexicanos: Vol. 3
This collection of short films is part of the series Corto metraje, más que un instante from IMCINE and CinemaFilms. This original series showcases 51 short films by up and coming Mexican directors, cinematographers and actors. The films touch on a variety of subjects, people, and lifestyles. Some are comical, some are sad, and some are thought provoking. All of these films are very useful for Spanish Language classes. This specific volume contains the following films: La maceta; La historia de I y O; Sus demonios; A la otra; Circuito interior; El columpio del diablo; Gertrudis Blues.
Gender/Sexuality, Mexico, Social Issues, Women's StudiesColección De Cortometrajes Mexicanos: Vol. 4
This collection of short films is part of the series Corto metraje, más que un instante from IMCINE and CinemaFilms. This original series showcases 51 short films by up and coming Mexican directors, cinematographers and actors. The films touch on a variety of subjects, people, and lifestyles. Some are comical, some are sad, and some are thought provoking. All of these films are very useful for Spanish Language classes. This specific volume contains the following films: Azar; Rogelio; Ponchada; E pur si muove; Me voy a escapar; Una bala; Malos presagios; Peor es nada; El pez dorado; Juego de niños.
Gender/Sexuality, Mexico, Social Issues, Women's StudiesColección De Cortometrajes Mexicanos: Vol. 5
This collection of short films is part of the series Cortometraje, más que un instante from IMCINE and CinemaFilms. This original series showcases 51 short films by up and coming Mexican directors, cinematographers and actors. The films touch on a variety of subjects, people, and lifestyles. Some are comical, some are sad, and some are thought provoking. All of these films are very useful for Spanish Language classes. This specific volume contains the following films: ¿Qué me va a hacer?; Cita en el paraíso; Otoñal; Malos hábitos; El árbol de la música; El valor de la amistad; Brusco despertar; La cumbre; Mantis religiosa.
Gender/Sexuality, Mexico, Social Issues, Women's StudiesColección De Cortometrajes Mexicanos: Vol. 6
This collection of short films is part of the series Corto metraje, más que un instante from IMCINE and CinemaFilms. This original series showcases 51 short films by up and coming Mexican directors, cinematographers and actors. The films touch on a variety of subjects, people, and lifestyles. Some are comical, some are sad, and some are thought provoking. All of these films are very useful for Spanish Language classes. This specific volume contains the following films: Veneno; La tarde de un matrimonio de clase media; Lávelo y úselo; Un arreglo civilizado para el divorcio; Día de suerte; Encrucijada; El héroe; Contratiempo; El excusado; Pronto saldremos del problema.
Gender/Sexuality, Mexico, Social Issues, Women's StudiesComo Agua Para Chocolate
From the literary world of magic realism, this award-winning film adapted from the book by the same title chronicles life in Mexico near the Texas border in the early twentieth century. Unrequited passions, changing political situations and even madness emerge in this highly entertaining and endearing story. The cooking scenes and the portraits of food are spectacular, as are the romantic scenes.
Drama, Gender/Sexuality, Mexico, Social Life and Customs, Women's StudiesCorazon Sangrante / Cuerpos De Papel
Corazon Sangrante is a short film that uses various mythic elements of gender - the sacred heart, saints, la china poblana - all set to the music of an old Mexican ballad. Cuerpos de Papel, also set to music, explores the relationship between two lesbians.
Gender/Sexuality, Mexico, Music/Dance, Religion, Women's StudiesCuba Mia: Portrait of an all Woman Orchestra
This documentary introduces a most unusual and talented musical group, the Camerata Romeu, an extraordinary all-female classical musical ensemble from Havana, Cuba. The video combines performance, interviews, and documentary footage of the musicians' personal lives.
Cuba, Music/Dance, Women's StudiesDance of Hope
To call attention to the absence of their loved ones, "disappeared" during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, Chilean women perform the cueca, Chile's national dance of passion and courtship, poignantly and without partners.
Chile, History, Music/Dance, Politics/Human Rights, Women's StudiesDanzon
Julia, played by María Rojo, works by day as a telephone operator in Mexico City and at night turns to her real passion, which is dancing. Once a week she goes to a ballroom to dance with Carmelo, a fifty-year-old, well-groomed man and excellent dancer of danzón. One day Carmelo disappears and Julia's search for him is transformed into a search for her own self-identity.
Drama, Mexico, Music/Dance, Women's StudiesDomésticas: O Filme
Five maids in São Paulo are observed in this episodic, impressionistic film. The women interact with each other, ride busses, work, and have longings: Rai for a husband, Créo for her lost daughter, Roxane for a career in modeling. Quitéria is naive, a gull for thieves. Cida has a husband and also a lover. While each woman gets what she wishes for (more or less), it doesn't always make things better. As Roxane says, no child sets out to become a maid. But once there, are all other doors closed?
Brazil, Gender/Sexuality, Social Issues, Women's StudiesDust And Lipstick In The Central Plateau / Poeira & batom no Planalto Central
This documentary interviews 50 Brazilian women from varying socio-economic statuses and professions who moved to the area between 1956 and 1960 – a transformative time in the region where most structures and life was in the process of being built. This is a good film for those interested in women studies and the role women played in building Brasilia.
Anthropology/Archaeology, Biography, Brazil, Social Issues, Women's StudiesFrida
Taymor recreates the tactile passion and beauty of Frida Kahlo’s art as a backdrop for her life of romance and revolution. Frida chronicles the life of artist Frida Kahlo (Salma Hayek), from her upbringing to her worldwide fame. The film shows the turbulence and controversy that surrounded both Frida and her husband, Diego Rivera, throughout their lives as political activists, artists, and lovers. Frida received a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe and two Oscars.
Art, Biography, Drama, Mexico, USA, Women's StudiesFrida: Naturaleza Viva
On her deathbed artist Frida Kahlo (played by Ofelia Medina) conjures up images and memories of her life as a painter, revolutionary and woman of the world. Her stormy relationship with muralist Diego Rivera, her tender hospitality for exiled Leon Trotsky, her struggle for acceptance as an artist, and the travail of her illnesses and injuries are all recalled in a style reminiscent of her own work, simultaneously sophisticated and primitive, flamboyant and delicate.
Art, Biography, Drama, Mexico, Women's StudiesJogo De Cena
In this film, ordinary Brazilian women who have responded to a newspaper ad tell part of their life stories to director Eduardo Coutinho. In September of the same year, actresses interpret, in their own way, the stories told by those chosen. There are three levels of representation in the film. First, real people tell of their real lives. Second, these characters serve as a challenge to the actors. And third, some of these actors then act out or speak about their own real lives. This film was donated by Duke University Visiting Instructor Aaron Lorenz.
Brazil, Country/Region, Gender/Sexuality, Subject, Women's StudiesJOGO DE CENA
Brazil, Country/Region, Gender/Sexuality, Social Issues, Social Life and Customs, Subject, Women's StudiesLucia
A classic of Cuban cinema, which looks at the lives of three women, an upper class Lucía in the 1890s, a middle class Lucía in the 1930s, and a working class Lucía in the 1960s.
Classic, Cuba, Drama, History, Social Movements/Resistance, Women's StudiesPoto Mitan: Haitian Women, Pillars Of The Global Economy
An exploration of the effects of globalization and neo-liberal policies in Haiti as reflected in the lives and daily struggles of five Haitian women living in Port-Au-Prince. These women tell compelling stories about their experiences working in factories producing items for export for wages that are far from sufficient to meet the cost of living, highlighting the ways in which Haiti has come to serve as a reserve pool of cheap labor for the global marketplace. The film explores themes such as the contraction of the agricultural sector and increased urbanization spawned by neo-liberal policies, the lack of basic services such as healthcare and education, and the gendered dimensions of the violence spawned by widespread poverty in Port-Au-Prince.
Economics/Development, Haiti, Social Issues, Women's StudiesSituacao Das Mulheres Afrodescedentes Na América Latina, A
"The Situation of Afro-descendant Women in Latin America" examines the correlation between race and poverty across the Americas with particular focus on the experiences of Latin American women. This UNIFEM-produced documentary features interviews with experts and activists from Brazil, Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia, all of whom highlight discrimination against women of color throughout the region. Part of 4-DVD collection, "Coletânea Gênero, Raça e Etnia."
Costa Rica, Economics/Development, Gender/Sexuality, Social Issues, Women's StudiesTrabalho Domestico, Trabalho Decente
"Domestic Work, Decent Work" portrays the reality of African descendants and indigenous women domestic workers in Bolivia, Brazil, Guatemala, and Paraguay in their quest for rights, respect, and dignity. The documentary highlights opportunities and challenges for these countries in promoting women's economic rights and empowerment. Produced by TV Brasil International, this documentary series was funded and technically assisted by UNIFEM Brazil and Southern Cone through its Regional Gender, Race, Ethnicity, and Poverty Program. Part of 4-DVD collection, "Coletânea Gênero, Raça e Etnia."
Brazil, Economics/Development, Gender/Sexuality, Social Issues, Women's StudiesUma Mãe Como Eu
This film records the testimonies of mothers in Brazil whose sons have been the victims of police brutality and who have united to fight this systemic problem in their nation.
Brazil, Gender/Sexuality, Politics/Human Rights, Social Issues, Social Movements/Resistance, Women's StudiesVera (1987)
After having spent part of her life in an orphanage/reform school (where she learned that this is a man's world), Vera attempts assimilation into polite Brazilian society. However, by the time she leaves the orphanage she is convinced that she is a man inhabiting a woman's body. A movie about gender formation and deformation.
Brazil, Gender/Sexuality, Women's StudiesWomen’s Construction Collective Of Jamaica
Explains how a group of about fifty-five black women from the poor neighborhoods of Kingston, Jamaica have broken tradition by establishing their own carpentry and construction business. Shows how they are trained and how the business has prospered, resulting in contracts with commercial businesses.
Jamaica, Women's StudiesYou And Me / Tu y Yo
You and Me is a feature film focusing on the relationship of a widowed older woman and her maid. The film features undertones of racial and class inequality in Santo Domingo while simultaneously depicting the day-to-day obstacles of both women.
Dominican Republic, Drama, Women's Studies