On an ordinary Monday morning, Aleena is sexually assaulted by Will, a boy in her class, while on the bus to school. We follow her throughout the school day as she grapples with what happened and the lack of a route to retribution. The everyday harassment that takes place at her school, once unremarkable, now looms large. Aleena continues to bottle her anger until a chance encounter triggers a unexpected act of rebellion.
DAY 2 - AFTER FRED DIR. RACHEL MEYRICK
The story of a miraculous escape and how it’s never too late to change. Charlotta’s violent marriage was brought to an abrupt end after 40 years when a shop assistant witnessed her being attacked and called it out. Two years on she is free and, aged 82, is blossoming as a warrior advocate, supporting women decades younger than her to face the court system after making their own escapes from domestic violence.
DAY 3 - A VERY NICE GUY DIR. MINERVA RIVERA BOLAÑOS
Rodrigo Fierro, a well-known film director, is accused of rape in social media by a woman who was part of his last movie’s crew. Feeling his future may be at risk due to the accusation, with the help of his friends he makes a documentary to tell his version of the story trying to prove his innocence.
DAY 4 - CERES DIR. AMELIA SEARS
A daughter seeks refuge from her emotionally abusive partner at the home of her estranged mother. They attempt to reconnect and move forward, despite the knowledge that their time together is limited; bound in a knot of silent agreement to the changing of the seasons.
DAY 5 - WINN DIR. ERICA TANAMACHI & JOSEPH EAST
After experiencing neglect and traumatic loss while pregnant in prison, Pamela Winn becomes an activist, leading hundreds of thousands to support the Dignity Bill to end the shackling of pregnant people in prison. "WINN" exposes the horrifying experience that incarcerated pregnant people endure and documents Pamela’s mission to end shackling and ultimately prison birth.
DAY 6 - TÂM DIR. NOORA NIASARI
Tâm wakes up in a strange hotel room. As she pieces together the night before, she realises she is not alone.
DAY 7 - DANDELION DIR. LORENA R VALENCIA
A teenage girl who lives in a small town in Mexico, is helped by her best friend in her search for home remedies to stop an unwanted pregnancy. Together they discover that in spite of the vulnerable situations society places women in, sisterhood can help them flourish.
DAY 8 - MY BLONDE GF DIR. ROSIE MORRIS
Helen discovers that deepfake images of her in sexually explicit and violent scenarios have been uploaded onto a porn site and goes on a journey to understand what has happened to her.
DAY 9 - MOSQUITO LADY DIR. KRISTINE GEROLAGA
Gemma, a sheltered Filipina American teenager, has been hiding her pregnancy for far too long. As abortion restrictions make it impossible for her to get help without telling her parents, she turns to a dangerous solution. Gemma seeks out a manananggal, a fetus-eating creature from Filipino folklore, to make a deal, but their encounter doesn’t go as planned.
DAY 10 - ...ESPERANZA DIR. MAYRA VELIZ
An elderly woman narrates how she was tricked, kidnapped and forced to marry her captor at the age of 19 and how, many years later, she found her freedom.
DAY 11 - HOMEMAKER DIR. CIARA KERR
Renee loses her identity in trying to please her abusive partner until she becomes utterly trapped in the abuse... When a watchful woman comes into town, the suffering of Renee is no longer hidden behind walls. But this woman can only intervene so much. Renee's only hope of escape is to understand that she deserves more than to be his property.
DAY 12 - HER LAST DAY DIR. JIACHENG WANG
Under the flawless veil of marriage, Meizi lives in an unknown nightmare — She is trapped in a violent and abusive relationship with her husband while raising her daughter Huan Huan. In a chanting tunnel, She travels back to her past wedding. Unexpectedly, Meizi finds a surprising guest in her way on the wedding carpet. Will she drown again?
DAY 13 - THE SKY AFTER RAIN DIR. BLAME THE SHADOWS
To be queer is still taboo in mainstream Iranian society; it is considered sinful and unnatural, or at best, a psychological illness. Those from the LGBTQIA+ community are often told they bring shame upon their families. They are forced to hide their identity or risk abandonment and isolation.
Through a formalistic synthesis of recorded interviews, sound design, and choreographed dance—tells the story of Shaya; her attempts at testing society’s rigid gender boundaries and the transphobic events which eventually led to her making a difficult decision.
DAY 14 - SMILE DIR. JO SMYTH
Smile is about a woman in her fifties and how she has to navigate day to day sexism, the fall out of sexual assault and how in the end she decides to fight back.
DAY 15 - STILL WATERS DIR. AURORA BRACHMAN
Through a series of extraordinarily honest and intimate conversations, filmmaker Aurora Brachman examines the intergenerational fallout of experiences her mother endured as a child. Together, they forge a path forward that offers them a new beginning.
DAY 16 - BLACKWOOL DIR. EUBHA AKILADE
Naomi is a young black girl facing her first day at school in Scotland after moving from London. Carefully laying her edges on the bus there, she then quietly sketches in class. Teacher Miss Wilson is welcoming, but soon betrays her lack of interest in defending Naomi against Johnny, who mocks her afro as "sheep-like". After a hopeful encounter with 2 fellow classmates, who assure her he's just a bit of a twat, buoyed, she heads home via a chip shop, where she meets Tahira, who extends an offer of friendship. Walking home with her chips, she runs into Johnny and his friends, who continue their racially motivated sheep taunts, and escalate to grabbing her afro. Arriving home, she considers straightening or tying back her hair, as Miss Wilson says, but ultimately, admiring her punk style icons, she defiantly decides to make her hair as big as she humanly can.