WRC Film Catalogue A A Century of Women: Work and Family (1994; 98 mins, B&W, Color) Directed by: Silvia Morales Produced by: TBS Production, Inc. Distributed by: Turner Home Entertainment Genre: Historical Documentary Issue: Social history of American women and labor issues in 20th century Rating: Feminist; educational and informative; recommended for classroom use Note: Less focus on racial and ethnic diversity among ―American‖ women Combining archival footage, photographs, interviews, and fiction, the film presents an overview of the social history of women‘s movement in the U.S. focusing on worker‘s rights and traditional labor division. It features biographies of earlier activists as well as interviews with contemporary feminists. Figures include Pauline Newman, Clara Lemlich, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Frances Perkins, Mitsuye Yamada, Dolores Huerta, Betty Friedan, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Hillary Clinton. A Fine and Long Tradition (1996; 7 mins, B&W, Color) Produced by: National Women‘s History Project Distributed by: National Women‘s History Project Genre: Music Video, 135 Historical Images Issues: Brief comprehensive look at women‘s history; through women‘s achievements and various women‘s movements across the United States. Rating: Good A short video illustrating how women have made history during the course of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. This video encapsulates women‘s activism from suffrage, to the women‘s movement to contemporary feminist activism. A Girl’s World (1995; 49 mins, Color) Directed by: Laurie Hepburn Distributed by: Laurie Hepburn Productions Produced by: Laurie Hepburn Production Genre: Educational Video Issue: Career guidance for young women and girls Rating: Encouraging and somewhat instructional The video introduces three professional women: an 1 airplane pilot, glass artist, and veterinarian. Three young girls join these women for one day to receive a hands-on experience of the job. It is a lighthearted and encouraging look at various career opportunities for women. A Place of Rage (1991; 52 mins, Color) Directed by: Pratibha Parmar Distributed by: Women Make Movies Genre: Documentary Issues: African American women‘s influence on American politics and history Rating: Good This video celebrates the lives of African American women in American History and politics through interviews and retrospectives of the lives of Angela Davis, June Jordan, and Alice Walker. A Question of Color (1992; 70 mins, B&W, Color; Two separate documentaries on one tape) Directed by: Kathe Sandler Distributed by: California Newsreel Genre: Documentary Issue: Color consciousness, internalized oppression Rating: Critical, educational and innovative; recommended for classroom use A vibrant and sensitive film about contemporary African American ―color consciousness‖, A Question of Color traces the history of racism based on ―colorism‖ back to slavery and preferential treatment of light-skinned black people by mainstream White America. The film tackles difficult and painful issues of color hierarchy and White standards of beauty internalized by many people of color through an autobiographical narration, candid interviews, archival photographs, and performance. A Soldier’s Girl (2003; 111 mins, Color) Directed by: Frank Pierson Distributed by: Showtime Entertainment Genre: Feature film Issues: Hate crimes, gender identity, gays in the military, Don’t ask Don’t Tell policy Rating: Good Feature film recounts the story of the 1999 murder of U.S. infantryman, PFC Barry Winchell (Troy Garity), who was the victim of a hate crime in Ft. Campbell, KY after his platoon found out that he was involved with a local transsexual performer. 2 A State of Danger (1989; 28 mins, Color) Directed by: Haim Bresheeth and Jenny Morgan Distributed by: Women Make Movies Genre: Documentary Issues: Women activist for peace in the Middle-East Rating: Good Looks at the efforts by Israeli and Palestinian women in the occupied settlements to achieve peace in the region and self-determination for Palestinians. Abortion: Stories from North and South (1984; 55 mins, Color, WMST/WRC Grant Film) Directed by: Gail Singer Distributed by: The Cinema Guild, Inc. Genre: Documentary Issues: Reproductive choice, reproductive health, abortion, and women‘s health Rating: Good Through interviews with women from Ireland, Japan, Thailand, Peru, Colombia and Canada, this film surveys how the issue of abortion transcends race, religion and social class in its cultural and political significance. Adelante Mujeres! Adelante, Mujeres! /Women of Hope: Latinas Abriendo Camino (1992; 30 mins, B & W, Color; Two separate documentaries on one tape) Researched & Written by: Mary Ruthsdotter Presented by: National Women‘s History Project Distributed by: Women Make Movies, Inc. Genre: Historical documentary Issues: History of Chicana/Mexican American Women: Colonization, migration, cultural traditions, assimilation, gender equality, and the civil rights movement Rating: Feminist, political and informative; recommended for classroom use Traces the history of Mexican American/Chicana women from the early colonial era of the 1600s to the late 1980s. Through a collage of archival photographs of remarkable Mexican American/Chicana workers, leaders, and educators, it highlights five centuries of struggle. Featured historical figures include Eulalia Arrira de Pérez, Judith Idár, Alicia Montemayor, Emma Tenayuca, Luisa Moreno, Dolores Huerta, Jessie Lopez de la Cruz, and Francisca Flores. These courageous women founded various labor unions and political and cultural organizations, such as Alianza Hispano Americana, League of United Latin American Citizens, and Commiciòn Feminine Mexicana Nacional. 3 Adio Kerida (Goodbye Dear Love) (2002; 82 mins, Color; Subtitled-Cuba) Directed by: Ruth Behar Distributed by: Women Make Movies Genre: Documentary Issues: Diaspora, interfaith families, Judaism, immigration, Latin America, National identity, International relations Rating: Excellent introduction to how intersections of nationality, religion, and geography shape identity; this is an excellent classroom resource for cultural studies and auto-ethnography. ―Distinguished anthropologist Ruth Behar (recipient of the MacArthur Genius Award) returns to her native Cuba to profile the island‘s remaining Sephardic Jews and chronicle her family‘s journey to the U.S. as Cuban-Jewish exiles.‖ Behar‘s search to excavate the intricacies of her identity as Cuban and Jewish, take her to Havana, Cuba, Queens, NY, Miami, FL and finally return her to her current home in Michigan. Issues of identity are at the heart of the film, which examines how people who are part of Diasporas experience relationship to nation, religion, community and family. After the Robbery: Crisis to Resolution (1997; 21 mins, Color) Created by: Office for Victims of Crime Resource Center: 1-800- 672-6872 Distributed by: Office for Victims of Crime Produced by: U.S. Attorney‘s Office, Eastern District of Wisconsin Genre: Educational Video, aimed at bank robbery victims Issues: Trauma and effects of robbery; the legal procedures of testifying at court Rating: Informative and formal Discusses emotional and physical effects of robbery on victims, and interviews mostly female bank employees for their experiences of robbery. The video provides information on victim witness assistant programs and explains legal procedures of testifying in trials. Against My Will (2003; 50 mins, Color) Directed by: Eyfer Ergun Distributed by: First Run/Icarus Film Genre: Documentary Issues: Culture and women in Pakistan, domestic abuse, honor killings, human rights Rating: Excellent account of how cultural practices perpetuate violence against women An unflinching account of what women in Pakistan face when they leave abusive marriages. Shot at the Dastak women‘s shelter in Lahore, a safe haven for abused women, this video shows the courage of Pakistani women saving each other and resisting pressure from their families, friends and communities to return to their marriages under the threat violence and even murder. 4 All of Us: Protecting Black Women Against AIDS (2008; 82 mins, Color) Directed by: Emily Abt Distributed by: Filmmakers Library Genre: Documentary Issues: AIDS, reproductive health, women‘s health Rating: Excellent; recommended for classroom use A unique documentary that goes beyond the statistics of the AIDS epidemic among black women which is a deeply personal exploration of the bedroom politics that make black women, in fact all women, especially vulnerable to infection. The film follows a young female doctor, Mahret Mandefro, working in the South Bronx, as she gives medical and emotional support to her afflicted patients. Mahret is battling not only the virus, but the social conditions that leave these women so vulnerable. Focusing on two women, Chevelle and Tara, she explores their lives and how their early experience of abuse contributed to their inability to demand of their mates protected sex. She forms a support group where women patients confide in and comfort one another. Almost Myself: Reflections on Mending and Transcending Gender (2007; 82 mins, Color) Directed by: Tom Murray Produced by: Tom Murray Distributed by: T Joe Murray Videos Genre: Documentary Issue: Gender and transgender concerns, society‘s views of transgender people Rating: Very good After finding a most unusual website that was seeking funds to help reverse a sex change, award-winning filmmaker, Tom Murray, set out on a fascinating cross