Emma Barnett: Fighting Endometriosis

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.

In a squat in Nantes, Mat and her friends organise a self-gynaecology workshop to “look at oneself and know oneself”. A lively and intimate portrait of a young woman, filmed through her personal and collective questioning of the relationship with oneself, love, sex and the links that they all maintain between each other.

Nine years and nine months: that's how long it took Cécile Togni and her partner Benjamin to finally fulfill their dream of having a child. During all those years, she endured intense physical suffering, put up with medical abuse, fought against the ineffectiveness of misdiagnoses about her infertility, collapsed and got back up again and again in the face of repeated failures, without ever losing her determination.

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.

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 live and create alongside an invisible illness.

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.

As four patients urgently search for answers to mysterious symptoms, Below the Belt exposes widespread problems in our healthcare systems that disproportionately affect women. From societal taboos and gender bias to misinformed doctors and barriers to care, the film reveals how millions are suffering in silence and how, by fighting back, we can improve healthcare for everyone.

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.