7 Minutes

Women in Film: BBC Introducing Arts

March 2021 •English

Cultural historian Janina Ramirez presents a collection of intriguing and exciting short films by emerging women directors and artists. Each film gives a female perspective on modern-day topics from body image and new love to grief and belonging. Expect honest and refreshing storytelling that will make you laugh, make you cry and make you think. In a Room Full of Sisters; Blood Stains; Bridging the Gap; Cake; Ding-Ding, Next; Fruity; In Perpetuum; Owulide; White Dwarf; Cosmic Domestic; The Dead Are Jewels to Me; The Presence of Absence

Waira

August 2024 •Quechua

In an isolated community, a young indigenous woman fights for her freedom after enduring sexual assaults. Confronted with a life-altering decision, she stands at a crossroads between resisting or forging a path away from the shackles of violence.

Miss Arizona

June 2018 •English

A former pageant queen embarks on an all-night adventure with four unlikely friends she meets at a women's shelter.

Miss Butterfly

February 1966 •German

After the death of their father, 18-year-old Helene Raupe (“coccoon”) and her younger sister Asta come under the guardianship of the youth welfare office in East Berlin. Helene fails miserably as a fishmonger, fashion assistant and bus conductor, all jobs ordained for her by the authorities. The young woman really only “emerges” in her fantasies, where she can escape from her dull, normal life.

Indigo Blues

June 2024 •English

In pursuit of happiness, a young woman fantasises about killing her boyfriend

The Glorias

December 2020 •English

An equal rights crusader, journalist and activist: Gloria Steinem embodies these and more. From her role in the revolutionary women's rights movement to her travels throughout the U.S. and around the world, Steinem has made an everlasting mark on modern history. A nontraditional chronicle of a trailblazing life.

100 Girls

September 2000 •English

Matthew, a college freshman, meets his dream girl in a dorm elevator during a blackout. He never sees her face, but instantly falls in love. In the morning, the power is restored, but the "dream girl" has vanished. All Matthew knows is that she lives in an all-girls dorm. He sets out on a semester-long journey to find his mystery girl among a hundred female suspects. Could it be Wendy? Dora? Arlene? Patty? Cynthia? Or the 95 other girls, any of whom could have been in that elevator with Matthew.

Menschenfrauen

January 1980 •German

Menschenfrauen is a film about relationships and the psychological oppression of women in society. Franz, a journalist, maintains relationships with four women. His three mistresses are introduced with television dreams of intense emotional violence (in the first dream, a mother shouts at her daughter, explaining that as a girl, she does not deserve a room of her own), and the fourth is his wife. He is desperate to have each to himself. Franz never offers a substantial sign of love, but is willing to say anything and make any promise for affection. His dependence on women for fulfilment is explained through arguments with his wife. He claims "I am my own sound. The women produce voices within me." An understandable and sometimes sympathetic antagonist is one of the films greatest strengths. The emotional damage he causes becomes believable.

Delphyne

Invalid date •English

Delphyne (meaning ‘womb’) discusses the stigma around menstruation. Addressing shame and acceptance, taboos around menstrual blood are told through a fabric-themed metaphor, and the conflict between a mother-daughter relationship; to find a shared unity and language to beat the conflict which projects itself in the shame metaphor that they’ve unwound and removed from their life. The historical connotations of staining, feminine purity and the divide between private and public space as well as ownership of the body come into play. The coming of age theme is reflected in reference to her struggle with the self (alter-ego), struggle with the ‘other’ (male influence) and struggle with the home (her Mother).

Through Dusky Ways

October 1972 •English

When you're a newly divorced woman with two older children, it is very difficult to "rebuild your life". By chance, Monica meets someone new, but will she be able to seize this new oportunity for happiness?

Digne

October 2022 •French

América, do Sul

April 2024 •Portuguese

Madonnas

February 2007 •German

A portrait of Rita, who claims that her mother was never a mother for her. Rita gives birth to her own five children and forces her mother to take the role of a mother.

Working Girl

December 1988 •English

When a secretary's idea is stolen by her boss, she seizes an opportunity to steal it back by pretending she has her boss' job.

Frances

December 1982 •English

The true story of Frances Farmer's meteoric rise to fame in Hollywood and the tragic turn her life took when she was blacklisted.

Baise-moi

June 2000 •French

Nadine and Manu are two mad women, as tidy as can be, almost perfectionists. They have several things in common: extreme sex, drugs, beer and the trigger. They find the solution to their problems with guns and beware to those who dare to get in their way!

Broken Mirrors

September 1984 •Dutch

Diane and Dora are two prostitutes who begin to rebel against their lot in life. Meanwhile, in another part of town, a murderer is at large.

Nocturne

October 1998 •English

Nocturne is a psychological horror film built on the conflicts of a woman tortured by the ambiguity between reality and illusion, dream and desire. The woman has perhaps murdered her lover and is living in an unstable world when he returns to her at night, in her dreams and into her arms, as witness to the subversive violence of nature, corporeality and desire. (PA)

Someone Must Be Trusted...

September 1987 •English

About Women and the Law, made by four different animation directors, but commissioned as one project by Channel 4 in the UK, looks at the status of women in the eyes of the Law. Roche combines 3 brief gems on equal pay, rape, and the myth of the virgin & the whore.

Iraivi

June 2016 •Tamil

Three men try to overcome the problems in their lives not realising the impact their efforts are having on the women in their lives.