Filmed in Cape Town's notorious Lavender Hill, Waves explores the perspective of three young girls as they grow up together in one of South Africa's most violent communities.
Day 2 - Kedamono Dir. Antonella Fabiano & Chiara Speziale
A pitiless fight where a woman must face up to her beast.
Day 3 - The Third Sorrow Dir. Myriam Raja
Yejide is a single mother and preparing for her daughter's cutting ceremony. As maternal instinct and duty come into conflict, she begins to question this tradition, and her daughter's future.
Day 4 - Rèsce La Lune Dir. Giulia Di Battista and Gloria Kurnik
Love is a net that traps the mind, but she’s not the only one. Vittoria learned to make fishing nets as a very young girl and now from the perspective of old age she will tell us that we all swim in the sea full of them, the social “norms”, toxic relationships, our own preconceptions to name just a few. How do they determine our lives and where do we go when we need to grasp for air?
Day 5 - Jeanne Dir. Clémence Peloso
Jeanne lives with her two friends, Alba and Léa. As she leaves a party, she runs into a boy. He is too full-on when flirting. When she says no, he doesn't listen to her. She can't stop thinking about it...
Day 6 - Keepsake Dir. Helena Coan
Starring Olivier Award Winning actress Patsy Ferran (Tennessee Williams’ Summer + Smoke, God’s Own Country, Sky’s Jamestown) and Alan Williams (Peterloo, HBO’s Chernobyl) Keepsake is a portrait of a young woman who discovers a vulnerable man alone on the street on one night in London. As she struggles with pressure exerted by her abusive boyfriend the young woman must confront an unlikely opportunity given to her to escape her current reality, and move on in her life. But will she take it? Keepsake was nominated for the Screenwriting Award at the BAFTA qualifying Underwire Film Festival, where it premiered, and played at Manchester Film Festival, British Shorts Berlin and New York’s Dumbo Film Festival.
Day 7 - Calling Home Dir. Jade Jackman
England stands one of the most controversial holding centers in The United Kingdom with a population of over 400 people, majority women, placed there not because they have committed criminal offences but to facilitate immigration claims. In its four minute run time, Calling Home paints a portrait of alienation for female asylum seekers inside Yarl’s Wood narrated by some detainees and deliberately eliminates the typical violent imagery attached to prison cinema by utilizing phone calls and letter correspondence since shooting at the detention center is illegal. London based filmmaker, Jade Jackman took home the 2018 Best UK Short Film at the 2018 BFI Future Film Festival and continues to center her gaze towards a non -exploitative approach to documenting violence that’s so perfectly executed in 'Calling Home'.
Day 8 - The Waria of Java Dir. Ana Gonzàlez
In Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world, the transgender community suffers from abuse and discrimination. Many of them have to flee away or hide in less conservative regions. However, they do not want to stop holding onto their religious beliefs. Hence the reason why Shinta Ratri, a transgender Muslim woman, created a haven where they can feel safe.
Day 9 - WOMXN Dir. Eden Tinto Collins & Adrien Peskine
Jane Dark lives and studies in the Noir-Et-Cher. Whenever her community is harassed by Europe Normale Police. She turns into the super shero WOMXN helped by her mate: a womanoïd Dolphin in a spaceship called the KORA Mother.
Day 10 - Franca Dir. Antonella Barbera & Patrizia Fazzi
The darkness and silence of an abuse relive in the rooms of a woman's mind. Dedicated to Franca Rame.
Day 11 - Last Leg Dir. Ella Bennett
Set in London during the 1980’s. Reyna a teenaged aspiring swimmer, living with an abusive father, struggles to pursue her passion in swimming. She trains for an upcoming competition at her school aiming to win first place. With a father who controls the world around her, the goal to win is tested.
Day 12 - Uncut Dir. Emanuela Zuccalà & Simona Ghizzoni
An ordinary room, or a dark hut in a rural village. A razor blade bought at a market will suffice, or a sharp knife, or simply a shard of broken glass. For over 200 million women in the world, the passage from infancy to adulthood is marked by the blood of female genital mutilation. An obligatory ritual in certain societies, it is believed to “purify” women, subjugating them through pain and making them virgins for life, resistant to sexual pleasure, and therefore devoted and faithful wives. The victims of the ritual “cut” are concentrated in 30 countries, of which 27 are in Africa. UNCUT narrates from direct testimonies how in three African countries – Somaliland, Kenya, Ethiopia – women have been uniting to eradicate this harmful practice. It’s a collective story that sews together several tales of pain, of fights for women’s rights and, in many cases, of success and empowerment.
Day 13 - I'm Left Silent Dir. Daisy Evans
I’m Left Silent is an animated poem, documenting the true story of a girl who has been sexually and physically abused by her father. Using symbolism and allegory, her situation is mirrored through the plight of a small bird, hunted by a fox. As the girl attempts to free the bird, she finds herself confronted by her own struggles. The narration was done by an anonymous case study from the Children's Society.
Day 14 - Naked Links Dir. Juliet Saint-Sardos
How far can go the pursuit of control? An artist and his muse are fighting in a dialogue between painting, dance and photography.
Day 15 - Surf Girls Jamaica Dir. Joya Berrow and Lucy Jane
Imani Wilmot is a role model to a community of Afro Caribbean surfers in Jamaica and beyond. She is using surfing as a tool to transform the lives of many Jamaican women. Imani has taken it as her personal responsibility to empower women of colour to have access to surfing and to see a place for themselves within the global surf industry.
Day 16 - Futurist Women Dir. Eelyn Lee
A futurist re-imagining of three women’s past struggles, set in a world where women are equal, there is no abuse and you are free to be who you want to be. Futurist Women is a short film poem made in collaboration with 13 - year old girls and a group of women who have experienced domestic violence.