Documentary
CHRONIC CLOWN is a raw, visually striking documentary that follows Evie, a performer living with stage 4 Endometriosis, as she uses the practice of clowning to meet chronic pain with vulnerability, resilience, and humour. Through performance, the film reframes what it means to…
Cast
In recent years, the number of diagnoses of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder has skyrocketed. What are the reasons? Does a society geared towards efficiency use the label ADHS to weed out anyone who does not fit its frames? What are the consequences of the fact that medication treatment has become almost ubiquitous? Could Ritalin and the like have become the doping of the performance society?
At a public hospital in Nicaragua, Ob/Gyn Dr. Carla Cerrato must choose between following a law that bans all abortions and endangers her patients or taking a risk and providing the care that she knows can save a woman's life. In 2007, Dr. Cerrato’s daily routine took a detour. The newly elected government of Daniel Ortega, a former Marxist revolutionary who converted to Catholicism to win votes, overturned a 130-year-old law protecting therapeutic abortion. The new law entirely prohibits abortion, even in cases of rape, incest, or when a woman’s life is at stake. As Carla and her colleagues navigate this dangerous dilemma, the impact of this law emerges—illuminating the tangible reality of prohibition against the backdrop of a political, religious, and historically complex national identity. The emotional core of the story—the experiences and situations of the young women and girls who are seeking care—illustrate the ethical implications of one doctor's response.
This fascinating political look at a little-known chapter in women's history tells the story of "Jane", the Chicago-based women's health group who performed nearly 12,000 safe illegal abortions between 1969 and 1973 with no formal medical training. As Jane members describe finding feminism and clients describe finding Jane, archival footage and recreations mingle to depict how the repression of the early sixties and social movements of the late sixties influenced this unique group. Both vital knowledge and meditation on the process of empowerment, Jane: An Abortion Service showcases the importance of preserving women's knowledge in the face of revisionist history. JANE: AN ABORTION SERVICE was funded by the Independent Television Service (ITVS) with funds provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Inside the dramatic search for a cure to ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). 17 million people around the world suffer from what ME/CFS has been known as a mystery illness, delegated to the psychological realm, until now. A scientist in the only neuro immune institute in the world may have come up with the answer. An important human drama, plays out on the quest for the truth.
What causes women all over the world to be told that they are hysteric or overreacting when seeking for medical help? Why are so many women diagnosed: Overdramatic? The female body has only recently started to be researched, which lead to a big lack of information on women's physical and mental health. This documentary relies on the knowledge of Dorte Rytter (researcher) and Stine Sophie (medicine student) to tell us how this issue affects women everyday and in what ways.
Afghani-American filmmaker Sedika Mojadidi shadows her father, a women's health specialist working to rebuild hospitals in war-torn Afghanistan, in this thought-provoking documentary filmed in the wake of the United States' invasion of the region. In a country where one in seven women dies during childbirth, many women are willing to travel for days to receive adequate care from a trained professional.
Gloria Allred overcame trauma and personal setbacks to become one of the nation’s most famous women’s rights attorneys. Now the feminist firebrand takes on two of the biggest adversaries of her career, Bill Cosby and Donald Trump, as sexual violence allegations grip the nation and keep her in the spotlight.
Emma Barnett shares her life-long struggle with endometriosis – a disease affecting one in ten women of reproductive age, which causes excruciating, often debilitating, pain. Inside Emma’s body, rogue cells similar to the lining of the womb mysteriously appear on other organs, creating lesions which bleed, scar and cause inflammation. There is no cure. Endometriosis is as common as diabetes but receives a fraction of the research funding. Emma travels across the UK to meet a few of the millions of women who, like her, are suffering. Through candid conversations, they reveal the extent to which endometriosis is devastating the lives of women – affecting fertility, work and loved ones.
Endolife is a short, hybrid documentary that combines the experiences of over 120 people with endometriosis into a single, scripted narrative. Instead of focusing on the medical aspects of the disease, the film illustrates how it affects daily life. Isolation, depression, and grief, but also transformation and hope, are key themes.
