Mercedes as Butterfly

A Film for Discussion

January 1973 •English

A docu-drama shot in 1970, but not completed until 1973, the film sought to encapsulate in an experimental form issues that were under discussion within the Women’s Liberation Movement at this time and to thus contribute to action for change. In its numerous community screenings, active debate was encouraged as part of the viewing experience.

Still Working 9 to 5

March 2022 •English

Examines the 40-year evolution of gender inequality and discrimination in the workplace since the 1980 release of the comedy film “9 to 5” starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, and Dabney Coleman.

Saudi Women's Driving School

October 2019 •English

An unprecedented access to a number of Saudi women in the capital city of Riyadh as they embrace the freedom that comes from being behind the wheel.The Saudi Women’s Driving School is said to be the world's largest driving school, which caters exclusively to women since the ban on female drivers was lifted in 2017.

Outlawed in Pakistan

January 2013 •English

Outlawed in Pakistan tells the story of Kainat Soomro as she takes her rape case to Pakistan's deeply flawed court system in hopes of getting justice. The 13-year-old Kainat accuses four men of gang rape and shortly after is ordered to be killed by her village elders. Spanning over five years, the story is told through the perspective of Kainat and the four men accused of her rape.

Beyond Borders: Arab Feminists Talk About Their Lives... East and West

January 1999 •English

In the Arab world, women are fighting a two-front war against repressive internal constraints and intrusive Western interference. In this program, a feminist delegation composed of author Nawal Saadawi and other renowned activists from the Middle East and North Africa gathers at the UN, on college campuses, and in church basements to speak out about deterioration of women's rights in the Arab states in an effort to heighten awareness of the Arab feminist struggle for equality--and the effects of U.S. foreign policy on their efforts.

Requiem for Auschwitz - the film

August 2022 •Dutch

13 years ago, director Bob Entrop made the film A piece of blue in the sky, the first film in the Netherlands that depicted the murder of almost 1 million Sinti and Roma during the Second World War. There is a taboo on what happened during the war, you don't talk about it with anyone and certainly not in front of a camera. Requiem for Auschwitz is a sequel, with the most valuable moments from the first film, supplemented with the grandchildren and the creation and performance of the 'Requiem for Auschwitz' by Sinti composer Roger Moreno Rathgeb by the Sinti and Roma Philharmonic from Frankfurt and a Jewish choir in the Berliner Dom in Berlin, during Holocaust Memorial Day. During his visit to Auschwitz in 2020 with four musicians from the Dutch Accompaniment Orchestra, Roger shows them the places that inspired him.

Roma WWF Superstar to Teacher: A Mini Documentary

November 2024 •English

Watch the inspiring story of Paul Roma, a former WWF wrestler turned teacher, as he shares not only wrestling techniques but also valuable life lessons with his students…

Rise of the Wahine

November 2014 •English

In the years following the Civil Rights movement and the passage of Title IX in 1972, Dr. Donnis Thompson (a headstrong African-American female coach), Patsy Mink (the first Asian-American U.S. congresswoman), and Beth McLachlin (the team captain of a rag-tag female volleyball team), battled discrimination from the halls of Washington D.C. to the dusty volleyball courts of the University of Hawaii, fighting for the rights of young women to play sports.

Father, Son and Holy War

January 1994 •Hindi

Filmmaker Anand Patwardhan looks to history and psychology as he delves into the possible reasons behind the demolition of the Babri Mosque.

We Weren't Given Anything for Free

January 2014 •Italian

Annita Malavasi was just 22 when the Germans occupied Italy, their former allies, in 1943. As a partisan in the Italian resistance named “Laila”, she moved throughout the Apennines with and between fighting units, delivering information, transporting weapons, and taking part in battles. She spent over a year in the Apennines, fighting against the German occupation. At the same time, she had to assert herself against the men of the mountain villages. By the end of the war, Laila had risen among the ranks to become one of the few female commanders in the Italian resistance. This film chronicles the story of a lifelong struggle for emancipation that began with the battle for Italy’s liberation from fascism. Laila and her two comrades, Gina “Sonia” Moncigoli and Pierina “Iva” Bonilauri talk about their time in the Resistenza and what it meant to them and many other women.

O čo ide Idě

October 2016 •Czech

De caballos y guitarras

March 2024 •Spanish

A musical, and also a reflection on watching, on trying to escape an anthropocentric gaze and also on watching itself in cinema. Featuring mares and horses: Triana, Víctor K, Bambi Sailor, San Special Solano, Buck Red Skin, Onkaia, Cool Boy, the donkey Agostino, the mule Guapa. And also Alfredo Lagos, Raül Refree, María Marín, Pepe Habichuela, Virgina García del Pino, María García Ruiz, Pilar Monsell, María Pérez Sanz.

Martin Luther: The Idea that Changed the World

February 2017 •English

The year 2017 marks the 500th anniversary of one on the most important events in Western civilization: the birth of an idea that continues to shape the life of every American today. In 1517, power was in the hands of the few, thought was controlled by the chosen, and common people lived lives without hope. On October 31 of that year, a penniless monk named Martin Luther sparked the revolution that would change everything. He had no army. In fact, he preached nonviolence so powerfully that — 400 years later — Michael King would change his name to Martin Luther King to show solidarity with the original movement. This movement, the Protestant Reformation, changed Western culture at its core, sparking the drive toward individualism, freedom of religion, women's rights, separation of church and state, and even free public education. Without the Reformation, there would have been no pilgrims, no Puritans, and no America in the way we know it.

Siberian Love

November 2017 •Russian

After 20 years of living in Berlin, the director Olga Delane goes back to her roots in a small Siberian village, where she is confronted with traditional views of relationships, life and love. The man is the master in the home; the woman’s task is to beget children and take care of the household (and everything else, too). Siberian Love provides unrivaled insights into the (love) life of a Siberian village and seeks the truth around the universal value of traditional relationships.

My So-Called Selfish Life

September 2021 •English

Motherhood: a subject so deeply ingrained in our society, we take it for granted as part of the natural order. It's assumed all women want children, that motherhood is not only a biological imperative but the defining measure of womanhood. Titled after one of the myths it challenges, this film draws upon a heady mix of culture, science, and history–revealing the rich and diverse lives of people who said no to children, and the forces that have marginalized them in society.

Comparsa

June 2025 •Spanish

From the shadows of a Guatemalan neighbourhood scared into silence, two sisters lead a luminous rebellion—unleashing joy, art, and radical truth in a fight for survival.

A Female Cabby in Sidi Bel-Abbès

July 2000 •Arabic

When her husband died Soumicha, mother of three, had to earn a living. She became the only woman taxi driver in Sidi Bel-Abbès, Algeria. This film accompanies Soumicha around a city where religious and political violence rages, and records her experiences in a job normally reserved for men.

Die Frauen der Terrormiliz

June 2019 •English

Nanny, cook or sex slave. For a long time, the mistaken belief that the women in the terrorist organization Islamic State were condemned to blind obedience was held up. But appearances are deceptive. Some of them join the terrorist militia of their own free will. They are fully integrated into the system: they torture with unscrupulous cruelty and actively fight alongside their men. Today, the Caliphate's capitals lie in ruins. Nevertheless, many of the women have stayed and are trying to leave behind memories full of pain and shame. Thomas Dandois gives them a voice.

A Powerful Noise

April 2008 •English

Bookended by call-to-action quotes from Margaret Mead and Mahatma Gandhi, this inspiring documentary follows three extraordinary women -- in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Mali, and Vietnam -- as they lead day-to-day battles against ignorance, poverty, oppression, and ethnic strife.

9to5: The Story of a Movement

June 2020 •English

In the early 1970s, a group of secretaries in Boston decided that they had suffered in silence long enough. They started fighting back, creating a movement to force changes in their workplaces. This movement became national, and is a largely forgotten story of U.S. twentieth century history. It encapsulates a unique intersection of the women’s movement with the labor movement. The awareness these secretaries brought to bear on women’s work reverberates even today. Clericals were the low-wage workers of their era. America now confronts the growing reality of deep income inequality. The stories and strategies of these bold, creative women resonates in contemporary America.