FILMS
SALMA|
SALMA A film by Kim Longinotto 2013, 90 min., Color
When Salma, a young Muslim girl in a south Indian
village, was 13 years old, her family locked her up for
25 years, forbidding her to study and forcing her into
marriage. During that time, words were Salma's
salvation. She began covertly composing poems on scraps
of paper and, through an intricate system, was able to
sneak them out of the house, eventually getting them
into the hands of a publisher. Against the odds, Salma
became the most famous Tamil poet: the first step to
discovering her own freedom and challenging the
traditions and code of conduct in her village.
|
 |
|
PINK SARIS "A girl's life is cruel...A woman's life is very cruel," notes Sampat Pal, the complex protagonist at the center of PINK SARIS, internationally acclaimed director Kim Longinotto's latest foray into the lives of extraordinary women. Sampat should know - like many others she was married as a young girl into a family which made her work hard and beat her often. But unusually, she fought back, leaving her in-laws and eventually becoming famous as a champion for beleaguered women throughout Uttar Pradesh, many of whom find their way to her doorstep. Like Rekha, a fourteen year old Untouchable, who is three months pregnant and homeless or fifteen year old Renu, whose father-in-law has been raping her. Both young women, frightened and desperate, reach out for their only hope: Sampat Pal and her Gulabi Gang, Northern India's women vigilantes in pink. |
|
|
ROUGH
AUNTIES A film by Kim Longinotto 2008, 103 min., Color This latest documentary about transformation in post-apartheid South Africa from internationally acclaimed director Kim Longinotto follows the outspoken, multiracial cadre of Thuli, Mildred, Sdudla, Eureka and Jackie, as they wage a daily battle against systemic apathy, corruption, and greed to help the most vulnerable and disenfranchised of their communities in Durban. Winner of the Sundance World Cinema Jury Prize in Documentary and a Hot Docs Top Ten Audience Favourite.
|
|
|
HOLD ME TIGHT, LET ME GO A film by Kim Longinotto 2007, 100 min., Color
Harrowing at one moment and
heartwarming the next, HOLD ME TIGHT, LET ME GO is set
at England’s Mulberry Bush School, founded by Barbara
Dockar-Drysdale who developed unique methods for working
with children suffering through severe emotional trauma.
Winner of the International Documentary Film Festival
Amsterdam Special Jury Prize, this film will be
broadcast on PBS P.O.V. in July, 2009. |
|
|
SISTERS IN LAW A film by Kim Longinotto and Florence Ayisi 2005, 104 min., Color Winner of a Peabody Award, the Prix Art et Essai at the Cannes Film Festival, and screened to acclaim at more than 120 festivals around the world, SISTERS IN LAW is a cross between Judge Judy and “The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency,” that has audiences cheering when justice is served. |
|
|
THE DAY I WILL NEVER FORGET A film by Kim Longinotto 2002, 92 min., Color THE DAY I WILL NEVER FORGET is a gripping feature documentary that examines the practice of female genital mutilation in Kenya and the pioneering African women who are bravely reversing the tradition. Winner of the Amnesty International DOEN Award at IDFA and Best Doc UK Spotlight at Hot Docs. |
 |
|
RUNAWAY A film by Kim Longinotto and Ziba Mir-Hosseini 2001, 87 min., Color RUNAWAY is a powerful and heartbreaking documentary about a group of young runaway girls who are taken to a women's shelter in Tehran, Iran. The film focuses on the sufferings of young girls who struggle to free themselves from the tyrannical and abusive power of their families, mainly their fathers, brothers, and stepfathers. Nominated for the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam’s Joris Ivens Award. |
 |
|
GAEA GIRLS A film by Kim Longinotto and Jano Williams 2000, 106 min., Color This fascinating film follows the physically grueling and mentally exhausting training regimen of several young wanna-be GAEA GIRLS, a group of Japanese women wrestlers. Working with co-director Jano Williams, Longinotto has been given access to shoot an insider’s verité account of this closely guarded universe. |
 |
|
DIVORCE IRANIAN STYLE A film by Kim Longinotto and Ziba Mir-Hosseini 1998, 80 min., Color Hilarious, tragic, stirring, this fly-on-the-wall look at several weeks in an Iranian divorce court provides a unique window into the intimate circumstances of Iranian women’s lives. Dispelling images of Iran as a country of war, hostages, and “fatwas”, and Iranian women as passive victims of a terrible system, this film is a subtle, fascinating look at women’s lives in a country which is little known to most Americans. Winner of a BAFTA Award for the Flaherty Documentary Award for TV. |
|
|
SHINJUKU BOYS A film by Kim Longinotto and Jano Williams 1995, 53 min., Color From the makers of DREAM GIRLS, SHINJUKU BOYS introduces three onnabes who work as hosts at the New Marilyn Club in Tokyo. Onnabes are women who live as men and have girlfriends, although they don't usually identify as lesbians. This is a remarkable documentary about the complexity of female sexuality in Japan today. Winner of the Chicago Film Festival Silver Hugo Award. |
 |
|
DREAM GIRLS A film by Kim Longinotto and Jano Williams 1993, 50 min., Color This fascinating documentary, produced for the BBC, opens a door into the spectacular world of the Takarazuka Revue, a highly successful musical theater company in Japan. Each year, thousands of girls apply to enter the male-run Takarazuka Music School. The few who are accepted endure years of a highly disciplined and reclusive existence before they can join the Revue, choosing male or female roles. Winner of Best Documentary at Films de Femmes, Creteil. |
|
|
THE GOOD WIFE OF TOKYO A film by Claire Hunt and Kim Longinotto 1992, 52 min., Color This wry and delightful film records a Japanese woman, Kazuko Hohki’s, re-experiencing of Japan after a long absence, examining traditional attitudes to women and those of Kazuko’s friends who are trying to live differently. |
 |
|
HIDDEN FACES A film by Claire Hunt and Kim Longinotto 1990, 52 min., Color Originally intended as a film about internationally renowned feminist writer Nawal El Saadawi, HIDDEN FACES develops into a fascinating portrayal of Egyptian women’s lives in Muslim society. This absorbing documentary broaches the contradictions of feminism in a Muslim environment; a startling, unforgettable picture of contemporary women in the Arab world. |
 |
|
EAT THE KIMONO A film by Claire Hunt and Kim Longinotto 1989, 60 min., Color EAT THE KIMONO is a brilliant documentary about Hanayagi Genshu, a Japanese feminist and avant-garde dancer and performer, who has spent her life defying her conservative culture’s contempt for independence and unconventionality. |
|
|
THEATRE GIRLS A film by Kim Longinotto and Claire Pollak 1978, 56 min., BW In her final piece at film school, Longinotto and her partner take us into the "Theatre Girls Club" in Soho, London–a hostel for elderly and destitute women and the only shelter in London that would take in any woman at any time. In what will later be recognized as a signature style, Longinotto films without judgment and finds the humor and humanity in situations and characters that might otherwise be seen as tragic. |
|
|
PRIDE OF PLACE A film by Dorthea Gazidis and Kim Longinotto 1976, 60 min., BW In this dark and expressive classic, Longinotto exposes her former boarding school from the students’ perspective—as a kind of miniature state with bizarre rules, indigestible food and absurd punishments. Longinotto sets the tone for a long career of films in which individuals revolt against oppressive authorities and stifling traditions. |
|
