The Women Of Country

Best friends in their youth, two women meet again to share a now meaningless tradition

Femmes d’Anvers en novembre is a dual projection piece rich in atmosphere and charm, filled with references to early French and American film noir – a deliberate homage, shot in close-up and medium close-up, to the smoking woman. The focus on the everyday activities of women (the core trope of Akerman’s masterpiece Jeanne Dielman) is a recurring theme in much of her work; Femmes d'Anvers signals a return to this motif. In it, Akerman tackles the thorny question of a person’s fundamental freedom to choose what to do with his or her body.

This documentary centers on the lives and work of six active and creative women who contribute to the social and cultural life of Haiti. Micheline Laudun Denis is a renowned pianist, Vivianne Gauthier is a dancer and dance teacher, Emerante De Pradines is a professional singer who introduced voodoo songs to Haiti's high society, Madeleine Desrosiers is a peasant healer from Jacmel, Odette Roy Fombrun is the author of books on history, geography and citizenship, and Paulette Poujol Oriol is the president of the League of Women for Social Action.

Ali is the image of modern Africa. He happily returns from a football match on his motorbike but a nasty surprise is waiting for him at his parents' home: he finds Haoua, his bride-to-be, waiting for him. The wedding is celebrated shortly afterwards and the two begin living together under the same roof. They are strangers but cannot stand each other. Haoua is the classic traditional woman who has just arrived from the village, God-fearing and faithful to the laws of tradition. Ali's friends advise him to look for a second wife. He meets Henriette, an uninhibited and provocative city girl, the woman of his dreams. To meet Henriette's constant requests, Ali 'borrows' some money from the coffers of commander Soleymane, but he is discovered and ends up in prison. Henriette is furious and leaves him, whilst Haoua cries for him in despair.

Women getting on and riding Tehran-Rey railway tram.

"Gentle Women" refer to the carpet as a phenomenon of Soviet and post-Soviet household culture. What functions and symbols are now endowed with an object that previously testified to the prosperity and well-being of the owner? What is the carpet for? For beauty and warmth, or to hide flaws and hide flaws? Repeating seemingly simple everyday actions in the frame, the participants of the performances create new rituals that appeal to collective and personal memory.

Directed by Yin Cheng.

15 women returning from a meeting see a pregnant woman being raped by three men. They simply walk away. The woman loses her unborn infant and commits suicide. Her fiance finds out their identity and plots vengeance.

A shy engineer with the help of his friend tries to meet girls.

Directed by Yutaka Abe.

Ethnographic film

A man is haunted successively by seven women who have lost their keys. He reacts to the request that he be allowed to use the toilet with increasing helplessness and despair, which is discharged in violence.

Anti-war documentary about relations between Serbs and Albanians during 1999 bombing of Yugoslavia.

In modern day Iran, a female attorney fights for the custody of her seven year old diabetic son following a divorce from her husband. When the courts rule against her, she takes desperate actions that lead to tragic events.

When Bete Kaebauk, who lives in Atambua, NTT, started getting her period, she was “introduced” by her own father, Fritz Manek, that she was ready for a marriage proposal. Emilio was the first man Bete fell in love with. They both like it. But Emilio wanted to be a priest. Alfredo's presence for a moment made him happy. Despite having different social classes and Alfredo being unable to pay the dowry for his marriage, Bete decides to elope with Alfredo. Bete's life is not as beautiful as he imagined. He gets violent treatment from Alfredo. Bete forced to return home pregnant. On the way, the baby died in her womb. He rages like a madman and keeps him locked up in his house. Emilio who has become a brother returns to his village and tries to treat Bete as one of his congregation. He put Bete in the rectory, and took care of her. Alfredo did not accept it and together with several residents went to the rectory.

An atmospheric portrait of four women who leave the factory where they work to go to the beach.

Documentary film by Duan Jinchuan

From the personal to the political, the experiences of diverse women speak of how masculinized and violent the streets still are nowadays. In three insightful conversations with female friends, collaborators and high school students, the director looks for a discourse about fear that is not fearsome, a discourse on violence that is not violent. Direct cinema, horizontal process, self-criticism and narrative breaks. Mostly, this is a tale of universal sorority.