Whilst boarding the bus home, Josh’s eye is caught by a stain on the back of Chloe’s trousers. After a moment debating whether to tell her, Josh sits down next to Chloe, much to the amusement of the other boys at the back of the bus. Struggling to find the words to tell her, he offers her his jumper to tie around her waist to cover the stain. Suddenly the penny drops for Chloe. Mortified, she accepts the jumper.
DAY 2 - THE ROAD IS A RED THREAD DIR. MELISSA ELIZONDO MORENO
When I go out the door I feel like I may never come back, every morning I say goodbye to go through that endless open wound where women are killed day after day: the State of Mexico. Throughout my life I have traveled in perpetual state of alert in the areas where thousands of women have "disappeared" and like millions of women in Mexico, I daily live the fear of being raped, beaten to death, stabbed or dismembered and end up in a garbage bag while I try to get home. We are violated at work, at school, on the street and even in our own home. We have grown up hearing heinous stories of femicides that are repeated everyday. For us, "living" has become surviving.
DAY 3 - EYES DOWN DIR. CHARLOTTE DANIEL
Mary, a trans woman, makes her maiden journey on the Glasgow Subway system,
Mary has come to terms with her true identity late in life. And she is finding that accepting your true self is just the beginning. It takes bravery to show yourself and live your truth every day. Even in this day and age.
But Mary learns that it only takes one person to really see you and to offer you something as small as a smile to give you the strength and encouragement to carry on holding your head high.
DAY 4 - HALWA DIR. GAYATRI BAJPAI, NIRAV BHAKTA
An Indian American mother decides to rekindle her relationship with her childhood sweetheart through Facebook messages until her abusive husband finds out.
DAY 5 - BLOSSOM DIR. LYSA LAMORISSE, CANNELLE ANGLADE, ETHEL HARNIE-COUSSAU
BLOSSOM is about the issue of sex without consent. From the stigmata of the victims, the film goes towards resilience. Focusing on interiority, it depicts the emotional state of three young women at different moments of their reconstruction, in a poetic and plastic form.
DAY 6 - THREAD DIR. YURI JANG
An experimental animated documentary about the abduction of a Korean woman in 1930's Korea by Japanese soldiers and forced to become a “comfort woman.” As an elderly woman, she shares her trauma with the world.
DAY 7 - TIME & DAYS DIR. ALESSIA BUIATTI
Daniele and Caterina have a friendship beyond definition, living between sky and sea, at the precious age of eleven. Daniele knows that Caterina's heart is overwhelmed by a dark secret, so he does everything he can to bring her light back and preserve the sweetness of childhood. But the adults loom.
Life, as they have always known it, is about to change.
DAY 8 - BALLET AFTER DARK DIR. B. MONÉT
BALLET AFTER DARK tells the story of a young woman who found the strength to survive after an attack. She created an organisation that is helping sexual abuse and domestic violent survivors find healing after trauma through dance therapy.
DAY 9 - EXPENSIVE SHIT DIR. ADURA ONASHILE
In a Glasgow nightclub, Tolu, a Nigerian toilet attendant, desperate for survival manipulates the behaviour of unsuspecting women for the titillation of men watching behind the mirrors. Tonight a line has been crossed and she is forced to hand out a drugged bottle of water. Tolu struggles with the choice she has to make when Louise, a regular punter, and the only person that Tolu has a connection with becomes the target and is drugged. As the night spins out of control, Tolu, unable to live with what she has done, finds the strength to change everything.
DAY 10 - RESHMA DIR. LIVIA ALCALDE
The true, inspiring story of an Indian teenage girl who survived a brutal acid attack and rose to became a human rights activist and model.
DAY 11 - BACKWARDS GOD DIR. NATALIE COOK
BACKWARDS GOD tells the story of how man made God in his image. The film interweaves elements of ecology and spirituality to retell the book of Genesis through a womanist lens.
DAY 12 - HEART EYES AND A WORLD DIR. ROSIE MORRIS
HEART EYES AND A WORLD brings the viewer into the bedrooms of four 15 year old girls with a behind the scenes view of the selfie. Through powerful observational scenes and intimate conversations, the film raises questions about the normalisation of self objectification.
DAY 13 - ALEJANDRA, I LOVE YOU DIR. MINERVA R. BOLAÑOS
After finding out she’s pregnant, Alejandra drives away with her best friend Laura to get an abortion, but the fear of the effect it may have on her life brings doubts about her plan.
DAY 14 - PAPERTHIN DIR. LUCÍA FLOREZ
21-year-old Anton left his hometown in East Russia to move to New York City after facing violent attacks and persecutions because of his gender identity. Now, while starting his transition to a woman, Anton applies for political asylum in the US with the dream of starting from scratch and creating a free future.
DAY 15 - HER SONG DIR. ÉABHA BORTOLOZZO, JACK KIRWAN
Eve learns of her Grandmother's harrowing history in one of Ireland's Mother & Baby homes. Woven through her past is the mythological and misunderstood figure of the Banshee, whose comforting presence inspires the strength she needs to tell her story.
DAY 16 - GOOD THANKS, YOU? DIR. MOLLY MANNING WALKER
In the aftermath of an attack, Amy is left voiceless, trapped in a whirlwind of incompetence. She must find a way to confront what has happened, in order to save what matters most to her.