The main topics for the 23rd Filmfest FrauenWelten have been determined! This year, there will be a program with more than 25 international films on the main topics “Faith, Love, Self-Determination”, “Finding Strength, Sharing Strength” and “Don’t be like that- stand up against sexualized violence”. With the choice of focal themes, the festival refers to current political and social developments and their causes, and presents works that match them.
Films in the thematic focus “Don’t be like that – Stand up against sexualized violence”:
DORPIE Julia Jaki, Deutschland / Südafrika, 2022, 75 Min., Dokumentarfilm, OmeU
In the small South African town of Bredasdorp, femicide and sexualized violence against women are the order of the day. There, Lana tirelessly stands up for those affected and offers them refuge in a women’s shelter. There is hardly any support from the government and soon Lana’s “safe house” is also in danger.
BLANQUITA, Fernando Guzzoni, Chile / Mexiko / Luxemburg / Frankreich / Polen, 2022, 98 Min., Spielfilm, OmeU
Blanca, an 18-year-old resident of an orphanage in Chile, is to testify as a key witness. The sex party scandal involves wealthy politicians who are alleged to have severely abused adolescents. But the more questions are raised, the less clear Blanca’s role becomes.
HAUS DER STILLE, Simone Geißler, Deutschland, 2023, 85 Min., Spielfilm, OmeU
Author Sorel Malkow retreats to a remote country estate to make faster progress on her new novel. She wants to write about her own traumatic experiences with domestic violence. Soon mysterious things start happening and she is stalked. As a result, the line between imagination and reality becomes blurred.
Films in the thematic focus “Faith, Love, Self-Determination”:
EREN, Maria Binder, Deutschland, 2023, 95 Min., Dokumentarfilm, OmeU
The lawyer and human rights defender Eren Keskin has been fighting for women’s rights, against torture and sexualized violence in Turkey for over 30 years. Now she has been declared an enemy of the state and faces life imprisonment in more than a hundred criminal cases. It is unclear how much time she has in freedom.
A journey into the world of women in popular Iranian cinema of the pre-revolution. It is a story of oppression, exploitation and emancipation told with the help of nearly 100 excerpts from films mostly banned in Iran. The roots of the violent rejection of women are searched for, and at the same time a demystification of pre-revolutionary Iran.
The 22-year-old German-Kurdish Elaha is engaged. As the wedding approaches, she is increasingly confronted with the expectations of those around her. Her future in-laws assume that she will enter the marriage as a virgin. Elaha desperately searches for a solution to survive the virginity test.
Films in the “Finding Strength, Sharing Strength” theme:
MY NAME IS HAPPY, Ayşe Toprak/ Nick Read, UK / Türkei, 2022, 82 Min., Dokumentarfilm, OmeU
Aspiring pop singer Mutlu Kaya barely survives a femicide. The injuries fundamentally change her life. But that doesn’t stop Mutlu from fighting for justice and bringing the perpetrator to justice. And she is determined to regain her voice as a singer as well.
The director and author Helke Sander is not only an icon of the women’s movement, but also of new German film. Violence against women and oppression through patriarchal structures are her life’s theme. Many achievements for women, which today are taken for granted.
SMOKE SAUNA SISTERHOOD, Anna Hints, Estland / Frankreich / Island, 2023, 89 Min., Dokumentarfilm, OmeU
In a remote wooden cabin in Estonia, the sauna is transformed into a place of feminist self-empowerment. In the intimate atmosphere, the women shed not only their clothes but also social taboos and talk openly about pregnancy, sexuality and traumatic experiences such as sexual assault.
