Films

Achtzehn
by Cornelia Grünberg

Germany 2014, 96 min., documentary, German version

It is not easy to be a teenager. And it is even harder when you have your own child at just fourteen years old. “18” is the follow-up film to the documentary “14”. It shows the lives of four young women as they grow and become adults while having to take care of a child. Steffi, Lisa, Laura and Fabienne – absolutely close and real. Their worries, their fights, and their happy and lovely moments with their children.
Director and protagonist present.

Africa Rising
by Paula Heredia

USA 2009, 62 min., documentary, OV, English subtitles

Agnes travels from village to village, visiting schools, institutions and homes, raising awareness against female genital mutilation (FGM). Though inflicted upon about 140 million girls worldwide, the cutting is still a taboo topic in African society. But activists in five African countries have joined to fight this 5000-year-old cruel tradition.

Ana Ana
by Petr Lom

Egypt/Netherlands 2014, 75 min., documentary, OV, English subtitles

„I am a soul and a body. And a self, moving between the two.“ This is how one of the young Egyptian women featured in this film describes herself. Four extraordinary women are introduced: a filmmaker, a journalist and actor, a dancer and an unmarried 24­year­old. They lead the viewer into their world and show in a very creative, personal and artistic way what it means to be a woman living in post-revolution Egypt.

Aufstand der Putzfrauen
Kein Job, kein Geld, aber Power!
by Monika Schäfer

Germany 2005, 28 min., documentary, German version

When their company crashes and salaries don’t get paid, 30 cleaning women are fed up. Running out of money and feeling utterly disrespected, they take unusual measures to fight against this injustice: they hide the company vans and decide to start their own business.
Juliane-Bartels Award a.o.
Director present.

Baba Film Darad – Daddy’s School
by Hassan Solhjoo

Iran/UK 2014, 72 min., documentary, OV, English subtitles

At age 15, Samira decides to leave school. She is fed up with being told what to think and wants to learn filmmaking from her father, the famous Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf. He accepts her decision and turns his house into an unconventional Film School, where he shares his experience and knowledge with his children. It’s just the beginning of the careers of three famous Iranian female filmmakers.
Mohsen Makhmalbaf present.

Bajari – Gypsy Barcelona
by Eva Vila

Spain 2013, 94 min., documentary, OV, English version

The art of flamenco is passed down in the family in the Gypsy community. Karime, the grand­niece of famous flamenco dancer Carmen Amaya, comes to Barcelona to pick up her aunt's trail. Her mother joins her from Mexico in order to prepare a dance event with some of the city's greatest musicians. Together they will discover the spirit of Bajarí, the city of Barcelona's name in Caló, the language of the Gypsies.
Two Film Awards.

Die Hüter der Tundra
by René Harder

Russia/Norway/Germany 2013, 85 min., documentary, OV, German Subtitles

The village of Krasnoschchelye lies way up in the far northwest of the Russian Tundra. Its citizens, the indigenous Sámi people, live from the ancient tradition of reindeer husbandry. Now the government wants to sell the land to international companies for mining. Sasha, a young mother and member of the newly founded Sámi parliament in Russia, begins to fight for the survival of her culture and her village.
Director present.

Drei Kriegerinnen
by Alexander Preuss and Cletus Gregor Barié

Columbia/Germany 2014, 53 min., documentary, OV, German subtitles

Everyday life in Columbia is still shaped by ubiquitous violence and social injustice. Three brave women want to change that: Teresa founds an organisation for victims of violence, Yamili teaches deprived youths to read, and Diana, Columbia’s most popular female rap artist, provokes in her relentless way – standing up against the dominance of men and violence in order to live in a peaceful country.

Flowers of Freedom
by Mirjam Leuze

Kirgistan/Germany 2014, 96 min, documentary, OV, German subtitles

A terrible accident rocks the people of Barskoon in 1998, when a truck loaded with cyanide crashes into the river near their village, on its way to the nearby gold mines. Hundreds of people became ill and many died. Afterwards, a group of woman fights for the victims to receive compensation, starting with small demonstrations and ultimately going into politics. In a country of almost unlimited corruption, they achieve the totally improbable.
Filmmakers present.

Geschenkt wurde uns nichts
by Eric Esser

Italy/Germany 2014, 58 min., documentary, OV, German subtitles

Annita Malavasi was 22 when the German troups occupied Italy in 1943. She joined the Italian resistance movement as a partisan, and spent over a year in the Apennines fighting against the German occupation. At the same time, she had to assert herself against the machismo of the male-dominated Italian society. It’s the story of a lifelong struggle for emancipation, that began with the battle for Italy’s liberation from fascism.

Halbmondwahrheiten
by Bettina Blümner

Germany 2014, 90 min., documentary, German version (OV german/turkish with subtitles)

At the beginning there were only two members – today, more than 20 men attend Berlin's first Turkish self­help group, started by psychologist Kazim Erdogan. They discuss issues of cultural conflict, and fight problems like honor killings and violence in the family. A look at an extraordinary group of men, who want to bring change to themselves and to society.

Ich war eine Schleckerfrau
by Jule Sommer and Udo Kilimann

Germany 2013, 44 min., documentary, German version

In 2012 the drugstore chain „Schlecker“ went bankrupt and as a result tens of thousands of women lost their jobs. Unemployed, mostly at the age of 50, they found themselves in a dreadful situation. Rosina, Marina and Birgit dare to do the unthinkable, becoming self­employed by establishing their own store. An impressive story about solidarity, courage and ambition in face of the almost impossible.

Kein Zickenfox
documentary by Dagmar Jäger und Kerstin Polte

Germany 2014, 69 min., documentary, German version

“With men it is easier, because the one in front decides. With us women everything gets discussed!“ . This is the biggest and only women’s wind orchestra in the world. The humorous documentation tells the story not only of the ensemble but also conveys very personal insights into the 66 extraordinary, very different women who meet each other through the same passion: The love of making music.
Audience Award Zürich.

La mort du dieu sepent – Death of the Serpent God
by Damien Froidevaux

France/Senegal 2014, 91 min., documentary, OV, English subtitles

The 20-year-old Koumba from Paris is a real ghetto-girl: She’s self-confident, cheeky and aggressive. After a street fight goes wrong she is expelled to Senegal, her country of origin which she left at the age of two. Arriving in the little village she has to deal with unknown family members and living conditions she despises profoundly. When it becomes clear that returning to Paris isn’t possible for the time being, she has to adapt, even seems happy…
Two awards Locarno.

Ma Na Sapna – Geliehenes Mutterglück
by Valerie Gudenus

India/Swiss 2013, 86 min., documentary, OV, German subtitles

The desire for a child of mostly western couples leads to a new dimension of surrogate motherhood: The world’s biggest fertility clinic is situated in northwest India, housing around 70 surrogate mothers. Six of them are accompanied through different states of their pregnancy. They have to pay a high price – physically and psychologically – for their dream of a way out of poverty.
Three awards.

Mama Illegal
by Ed Moschitz

Austria 2011, 94 min., documentary, OV, German subtitles

Three mothers from Moldavia have decided to work illegaly in Western Europe to support their families back home. But the price is very high: Living in the new country as „invisible people“, they are fighting for a better life, separated from their husbands and separated from their children who grow up without them.
Five Awards.

Miss Representation
by Jennifer Siebel Newsom

USA 2011, 85 min., documentary, English version/German Voice Over

We are overwhelmed daily with films, advertisements and music clips in which sexual stereotypes of women carry the message: only your looks count. Young teenage girls develop strong feelings of self-doubt and depression or even practice self-mutilation because of their dissatisfaction with their bodies. A group of women, sick of being treated like sex objects, starts a campaign against this evil.
Two audience awards.

My Stolen Revolution
by Nahid Persson Sarvestani

Sweden/Iran 2013, 75 min., documentary, OV, English subtitles

Nahid was a left-wing activist when she managed to flee from Iran with her little daughter after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Her fellow activist friends were imprisoned and her brother Rostam was executed by the Ayatollah’s regime. Haunted by survivor’s guilt, Nahid begins an emotional quest to find her surviving friends. She finds extraordinary women, who have survived horrors but have not lost their laughter.
Three awards.
Protagonist present.

No Burqas Behind Bars
by Nima Sarvestani

Afghanistan/Sweden 2012, 77 min., documentary, OV, English subtitles

„Inside of the prison I feel I have more freedom than outside“. Sima and Nadjibeh have been jailed – for fleeing from their arranged marriages, violent husbands and other ‚moral crimes’. Now they are in the female section of Takhar Prison in Afghanistan. Like 40 fellow inmates, they have been deprived of their freedom, but paradoxically prison becomes perhaps the only place where the women are safe...
Seven Film awards.
Expert present.

Private Revolutions
Private Revolutions
by Alexandra Schneider

Egypt/Austria 2014, 98 min., documentary, OV, English subtitles

Four young Egyptian women from totally different segments of society struggle for change:
the Nubian May gives up her banker career and starts a development project in her home region, Amani commits to working for women’s rights, Shabat becomes politically active on the streets and Fatema starts a career with the Muslim-Brothers.

The Optimists
by Gunhild Magnor

Norway/Sweden 2013, 80 min., documentary, OV, English subtitles

Despite their weekly training sessions, the volleyball ladies THE OPTIMISTS (66-98 years old) have not played a match for 30 years, and that’s what they want to do now. But against whom? Rumour has it that there is a group of handsome elderly Swedish gentlemen across the border. Goro (98) is the Queen of the team with her will power and purple Converse shoes. Laughter is their match strategy.
Four awards.

Wo die freien Frauen wohnen
by Uschi Madeisky, Daniela Parr und Dagmar Margotsdotter-Fricke

Germany 2014, 90 min., documentary, OV/Voice Over, German Version

In southwest China lives a small ethnic group called the Mosuo, one of the last matriarchies of the world. It’s a place where women are the heads of the family. Marriages don’t exist, just lovers, who meet overnight. Fascinated by these free love-relationships, tourists perceive Mosuo women as an attraction, leading to a clash between patriarcal and matriarcal cultures.
Directors present