Letters Live from the Archive: International Women’s Day

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.

Yours in Freedom, Bill Baird

November 2023 •English

In an America where more and more women and trans people are losing legal bodily autonomy, the history of Bill Baird’s long fight for women’s right to abortion is as relevant as ever. Oscar-nominated filmmaker Rebecca Cammisa doesn’t just give us a portrait of Baird, but also creates a historical register of allyship and activism that those fighting to uphold freedom and choice can access, and perhaps emulate.

Birthright: A War Story

July 2017 •English

Women are being jailed, physically violated and at risk of dying as a radical movement tightens its grip across America.

The Magdalene Sisters

August 2002 •English

Three young Irish women struggle to maintain their spirits while they endure dehumanizing abuse as inmates of a Magdalene Sisters Asylum.

Pink Smoke Over the Vatican

February 2011 •English

Documentary film about the controversial movement of women seeking ordination in the Roman Catholic Church. More and more women are answering a spiritual calling to take on the vestments of priesthood and seek equality in the religion they love. These daring women have risked banishment, loss of livelihood, and even excommunication to take part in what the Church calls illicit ordinations. The Vatican has vowed to end this threat to the male hierarchy, even forbidding the mere discussion of female priests. The papacy has reached a time of crisis and the controversy over women's role, and their place in the Church, must be addressed if the Vatican is to have any relevance in the 21st century.

LFG

June 2021 •English

Three months before the 2019 World Cup, the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the United States Soccer Federation. At the center of this no-holds-barred account are the players themselves–Megan Rapinoe, Jessica McDonald, Becky Sauerbrunn, Kelley O'Hara and others–who share their stories of courage and resiliency as they take on the biggest fight for women's rights since Title IX.

She the People: Votes for Women

August 2020 •English

Today, it seems incredible that just a century ago, American women had no voice in democracy. Just as remarkable is that it took over 70 years of campaigns, marches, hunger strikes, and arrests to pass the constitutional amendment guaranteeing them the right to vote. Witness the decades-long fight for suffrage by heroic women who fought to claim their rights as citizens, told through rarely seen footage, expert opinions, and dozens of historic objects from the Smithsonian Institution. The legacy of their quest continues to shape our democracy.

Weiss ist die Farbe der Verlierer

January 1974 •German

Short film against the oppression of women. At first, differences in education are presented and then how the relationship between women and men looks like in the professional world.

Served Like a Girl

November 2017 •English

Five women veterans who have endured unimaginable trauma in service create a shared sisterhood to help the rising number of stranded homeless women veterans by entering a competition that unexpectedly catalyzes moving events in their own lives.

Estimados Señores

November 2024 •Spanish

Estimados Señores sheds light on the little-known suffragette movement in Colombia. Set in 1954, the film follows Esmeralda Arboleda, a fiercely intelligent leader, who ignites a revolution in a society rooted in patriarchal traditions, culminating in a fierce and decisive debate. A group of women embark on a historic struggle to bring women's voting rights to the National Constituent Assembly. With bold marches, radio appearances and a brilliant media strategy that places them on the front page, they achieve their goal, but the real challenge begins in the debate, where they face fierce opposition. Esmeralda Arboleda must endure personal attacks from the assembly members, and just as she is about to speak, she receives a heartbreaking call: her son has suffered a serious accident. She is torn between her duty as a mother and her commitment to the cause, with an unfavorable outcome.

Backroom Troubles

January 1997 •English

Women talk about the circumstances that drove them to seek illegal abortions and the often traumatic result. Interwoven with historical photographs and newsreel footage, the stories expose how the reality of women's lives were counterposed to what was socially and morally expected of them.

Atatürk, père de la Turquie moderne

October 2023 •French

Kartini: Princess of Java

April 2017 •Indonesian

A woman of nobility battles patriarchal norms in order to improve educational access for women in early 1900s Indonesian society.

The Conductor

June 2021 •English

Leonard Bernstein’s protégée Marin Alsop reveals how she smashed the glass ceiling to become an internationally renowned conductor.

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.

Girls Life Is Trembling

September 2009 •Italian

Four stories set between the 60s and the 70s in Italy. Four personal female adventures crossing the path of Italian history, the struggle for women rights, the liberation of the body, in a country without memory.

Pussy Riot: Rage Against Putin

September 2023 •French

Pussy Riot make a comeback after a long absence to stand with Ukraine. Their story and their struggle are told through archival footage and interviews with the group’s members.

Kvinnorna på fröken Frimans tid

December 2016 •Swedish

The story of the road to women's suffrage in Sweden featuring interviews with relatives of the main characters.

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.