Tag Archives: woman

Martha: A Picture Story

Martha Cooper is an unexpected icon of the street art movement – a tiny, grey-haired figure running alongside crews of masked graffiti artists.

In the 1970’s, as the boroughs of New York City burned, she worked as a photographer for the New York Post, seeking images of creativity and play where others saw crime and poverty. As a result, she captured some of the first images of New York graffiti, at a time when the city had declared war on this new culture. Martha and her co-author Henry Chalfant compiled these images into the book Subway Art. However, the commercial failure of the book forced Martha to leave graffiti behind, moving on to document many other hidden cultures of New York.

20 years later Martha discovers she has become a legend of the graffiti world – a culture that has now exploded into a global movement. Subway Art became one of the most sold – and stolen – art books of all time, photocopied and shared by graffiti artists for decades.

At 75 years of age, Martha finds herself navigating a culture vastly changed.The small community born from struggle and adversity, has grown into a commercial industry fuelled by the rise of social media. Now every new piece of street art is immediately uploaded, and crowds line up for selfies in front of popular works. Martha struggles to find her place in this new world, driven by a passion for capturing the creativity that helps people rise above their environment.

A Stone in Our Heart

A Mother and Daughter – Lillian and Jette –  are climbing up a mountain in Switzerland. A mountain that brings back a lot of memories.

They hike from cabin to cabin while they dig into a past which Lillian has spent many years trying to suppress: Jette was sexually abused by her stepfather throughout her childhood and youth. A part of the abuse took place in the same cabins that Jette and Lillian are now revisiting.

Jette has invited her mother to go on this trip because she needs to talk about what happened, and especially about Lillian’s role in it all. Jette loves her mother, but at the same time she can’t stand being close to her. Over the years Jette has begun to question whether her mother knew about the abuse or not. Naturally Jette feels a deep frustration. But she has a strong hope that if Lillian admits she knew about the abuse, Jette can find an opportunity to forgive her mother and reestablish a healthy relationship.

The mountain trip puts the two women’s relationship to the test. When Jette gets the conversation started, she doesn’t get the answer that she expected: Lillian denies that she saw or knew anything.

This is the starting point of a physically and emotionally life-changing journey, which forces the two women to face their own inner demons and to embrace the pain and the guilt, but also to have faith. The conversations intensify as the two women move up the mountain.

At one point it seems like this trip might be the last thing they will ever do together.

Taboo: Season 4 – Machismo

Episode 1 – And God created the Man…

At the heart of Latin cultures is a disease called Machismo, that gives men power over women. In extreme circumstances it can lead to murder, but even amongst the attitudes of men, who are completely unaware, we reveal attitudes that demonstrate there is a long way to go before we achieve equality.

Episode 2 – Once Upon a Time

How is it to be a young girl in Latin societies today? We delve in to the world of children and young adults – are they embracing the stereotypes of generations gone by, or forging a new path? The answer is both.

Episode 3 – Survivors

In this third episode we hear the stories of the older generation, women who have suffered – for the most part in silence – at the hands of men, and with the complicity of the culture and the state.

Episode 4 – Till death separates us

And now we hear from the men. Introspective men reflecting on what masculinity means to them, others trying to create a more equal society and those with regrets. Men with violent pasts – both physical and psychological – exploring how they became what they are.

A Revolution in Four Seasons

This seminal film tells the story of two women with opposing political views fighting for their different versions of a democratic future for Tunisia, the country that sparked the Arab Spring.

Over the course of Tunisia’s critical post-revolution years, we follow journalist Emna Ben Jemaa, who envisions a country governed by free speech and without the corruption of the former regime. In contrast, Jawhara Ettis of the Islamist party Ennahda works towards a Tunisia guided by Islamic principles.

On a public level, both women must navigate how females are treated in their society, while in their own homes they must make difficult choices to balance their public political roles with marriage and motherhood.

Both know the stakes are high and the ever-present threat of Islamic extremists means their fragile political process could break down at any moment and all they’ve worked for could be lost.

Through the intertwined stories of Emna and Jawhara, the unresolved tensions of the Arab spring are laid bare. A Revolution in Four Seasons gives both a comprehensive review of this crucial period as well as an intimate look at what these sometimes painful compromises mean for those living in a country struggling to define itself.

A Revolution in Four Seasons from Sideways Film on Vimeo.

The Abortion Hotline

In Chile, where abortion remains illegal and punishable by imprisonment, we follow a group of young activists who run an underground abortion hotline. Our protagonist Mafe is backed by a group of trusted volunteers who dedicate their evenings to answering calls and advising pregnant women in distress. Their goal: to inform callers about Misoprostol, a pill used to treat ulcers that can also induce abortion.

But change is in the air. After a heated election campaign, new President Michelle Bachelet has promised to loosen certain laws related to abortion. As the debate intensifies we witness first hand the trials and tribulations of the hotline as they find themselves taking centre stage. Election promises become diluted, allegiances are formed and broken with opportunists profiting from illegal abortions and the countries deep divisions are laid bare.

Can the hotline survive personal differences, will they remain safe from the authorities or will progressive reforms render the abortion hotline obsolete? 

The Abortion Hotline from Sideways Film on Vimeo.

Call Me Dad

Can violent men change? Call Me Dad is a film that takes its audience to the most delicate and painful place inside a parent’s heart. A place where good intentions and hope are pitted against entrenched and tormenting cycles of violence.

For some of these fathers, their fists are their weapons. For others, words and manipulation are most potent, used as part of a sustained pattern of intimidation, threats, and abuse intended to isolate, diminish and control the people they love. Now these men are seeking change. They have come together to talk, share information, challenge and support each other to be better men, partners and fathers to their children.

The group’s founder and facilitator David Nugent believes that women and children have the right to live their lives free from violence, and that men can change if they have the will and opportunity to do so. He challenges men to take ownership of their abusive and violent behaviours, and shows them that they can make different choices, and in doing so, can stop the cycle of violence.

David draws these men deep into conversation about the underbelly of patriarchal forms of masculinity, and the ways in which sexism can harm and diminish women, and constrict and isolate men.

Together the participants in David’s program are reaching for the courage and knowledge they need to be good partners, and good fathers. These men have taken the brave and difficult decision to confront their behaviours and histories head-on. These Dads are fighting to change the story for the next generation. Can these men re-establish ‘family’?

Love Me

Can people find love through the modern “mail-order bride” industry? Or is the international romance business just a scam? Sincere and unflinching, Love Me follows Western men and Ukrainian women as they embark on an unpredictable and riveting journey in search of love.

Each character’s experience exposes the myths and realities of this unique industry, while also exploring the much deeper, human story that is too often overlooked.

Forget everything you think you know about “mail-order” brides and get ready for an outrageously funny, touching and unforgettable look at the extreme lengths people travel for love.

 

Private Violence

Private Violence explores a simple, but deeply disturbing fact of life: the most dangerous place for a woman is her own home. Every day in the US, at least four women are murdered by abusive (and often, ex) partners. The knee-jerk response is to ask: ‘why doesn’t she just leave?’.

Private Violence shatters the brutality of this logic. Through the eyes of two survivors – Deanna Walters, a mother who seeks justice for the crimes committed against her at the hands of her estranged husband, and Kit Gruelle, an advocate who seeks justice for all women – we bear witness to the complicated and complex realities of intimate partner violence. Their experiences challenge entrenched and misleading assumptions, providing a lens into a world that is largely invisible; a world we have locked behind closed doors with our silence, our laws, and our lack of understanding. Kit’s work immerses us in the lives of several other women as they attempt to leave their abusers, setting them on a collision course with institutions that continuously and systematically fail them, often blaming victims for the violence they hope to flee. The same society that encourages women to seek true love shows them no mercy when that love turns dangerous. As Deanna transforms from victim to survivor, Private Violence begins to shape powerful, new questions that hold the potential to change our society: ‘Why does he abuse?’, ‘Why do we turn away?’ and ‘How do we begin to build a future without domestic violence?’

“The obstacles against effectively protecting battered women and prosecuting their abusers are vividly illustrated in ‘Private Violence’.. This potent documentary is a natural for public broadcast tube slots” Variety, Dennis Harvey

“‘Private Violence’, a documentary on Monday night on HBO, shows with shocking clarity that the worst of such cases rarely involve just a single punch, and that the problem is far more entrenched than a trending-on-Twitter moment makes it seem.” New York Times, Neil Genzlinger

“Hill managed powerful and intimate access to women who suffered with the realities.” Huffington Post, Rob Feld

“Domestic violence is a door marked ‘Do Not Open’, and here is Private Violence, opening it, and saying, ‘Step inside, have a look.'” Vulture, Matt Zoller

“Private Violence does not, as some social-issue documentaries do, continuously slam us in the face with these statistics. Instead, the film takes us inside, takes us behind closed doors, to come face-to-face with victims, families, and advocates” Bitch Flicks, Leigh Kolb

“Private Violence, an HBO documentary that follows the stories of several domestic violence survivors, is challenging the stigmas and stereotypes that surround the topic of domestic violence and, through intimate and often disturbing storytelling, details the intricacies of an issue that most people don’t fully understand.” Popsugar, Hilary White