Fearless, feisty and resolute, the “Rough Aunties” are a remarkable group of women unwavering in their stand to protect and care for the abused, neglected and forgotten children of Durban, South Africa. This latest documentary by internationally acclaimed director Kim Longinotto follows the members of this outspoken, multiracial cadre as they wage a daily battle against systemic apathy, corruption, and greed to help the most vulnerable and disenfranchised of their communities. More.


 

Since 1993, more 400 young women have been raped and murdered in Juarez, Mexico. Authorities ignore pleas for justice, and evidence of government complicity remains uninvestigated as the killings continue to this day. SEÑORITA EXTRAVIADA is a haunting look at a heinous crime wave amid corruption in one of the world’s biggest border towns.  More.


 

So sacred was the bullfighter’s masculinity to Spanish identity that a 1908 law barred women from the sport. This new release reveals the surprising history of the women who made such a law necessary, and offers fascinating profiles of two female matadors currently in the arena, the acclaimed Maripaz Vega and neophyte Eva Florencia.   More.


 

When Australian filmmaker Poppy Stockell decides to “research” a look at the lesbian Internet dating scene, she forges an unexpectedly deep online connection with an English woman, Sandeep Virdi. This uniquely modern love story follows the couple’s tumultuous relationship across two years and three continents, and is a touching examination of sexuality, religion, globalization, and culture.  More.


 

Harrowing at one moment and heartwarming the next, this recent release by preeminent documentarian Kim Longinotto 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.  More.


 

Filmed by the first ever team of women video journalists trained in Afghanistan, this rare and uncompromising film explores the effects of the Taliban’s repressive rule and recent U.S.-sponsored bombing campaign on Afghani women. None of the fourteen journalist trainees had ever traveled outside Kabul. Except for one, none had been able to study or pursue careers while the Taliban controlled their country. More.


 

For filmmaker Marjan Tehrani and her brother Alex, growing up Iranian-American has always meant being caught between two worlds. With unique perspective and intimate storytelling, Tehrani brings to life a compelling examination of US-Iranian relations through the personal journey of her brother Alex and his fiancée Heather’s trip to Iran to hold a traditional Persian wedding—just as the filmmaker’s Iranian father and American mother did at a time when Iran and the US were close allies. More.


 

In 1969 Palestinian Leila Khaled made history by becoming the first woman to hijack an airplane. As a Palestinian child growing up in Sweden, filmmaker Lina Makboul admired Khaled for her bold actions; as an adult, she began asking complex questions about the legacy created by her childhood hero. This fascinating documentary is at once a portrait of Khaled, an exploration of the filmmaker’s own understanding of her Palestinian identity, and a complicated examination of the nebulous dichotomy between "terrorist" and "freedom fighter." More.


 

An important exploration of issues rarely touched upon by most films portraying female-to-male (FTM) transgender experiences, BOY I AM promotes understanding of transgender issues for general audiences, while also encouraging conversations heretofore unexplored among lesbian, feminist, and transgender communities. More.

Shot in the war zones of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), this extraordinary film shatters the silence that surrounds the shocking plight of women and girls who, caught in this country’s intractable conflict, are being systematically kidnapped, raped, mutilated and tortured by soldiers from both foreign militias and the Congolese army. More.


 

After surviving a 14-year civil war and a government riddled with corruption, Liberia is ready for change. On January 16, 2006, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was inaugurated President – the first freely elected female head of state in Africa. As the filmmakers explore a historic transition from authoritarianism to democracy, the viewer is treated to a joyous, inspirational testimony of the political power of women's leadership and diplomacy. More.
 

 

Academy Award Nominee for Best Documentary short, this charming and often outrageous documentary reveals a secret world in the powder room of the Staten Island Ferry – bringing together white-collar and blue-collar, sisters and socialites in the feisty “ferry clique.” Broaching divorce, single motherhood and domestic violence, the film exposes the realities facing working women today. More.


 

Beth Bird chronicles the struggles of the fiercely determined citizens of Maclovio Rojas, Tijuana, Mexico, as they battle the state government's attempts to evict them from their land to make way for corporate development. Over a three-year period, we follow the remarkably spirited and resourceful residents as they build a school by hand and persistently petition the state for such basic services as running water and pay for their teachers. More.


 

Following Madison during three years of her transition from male to female, heartwarming GIRL INSIDE highlights Madison’s loving relationship with her glamorous 80-year-old grandmother. Their conversations raise profound issues about the nature of gender, femininity, and sexuality. Sometimes funny, sometimes painful, this sweet coming of age story is both a portrait and an exploration of what it means to be a woman. More.


 

From Oscar and Emmy Award winning filmmakers Allie Light and Irving Saraf comes their latest film - an engaging portrait that sparkles with the courage, wit and humanity of Sister Jane Kelly, who combines her deep spiritual faith with her equally powerful commitment towards resistance and change. More.


 

Winner of 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 the latest documentary from internationally renowned director Kim Longinotto, co-directed by Florence Ayisi. More.


 

This inspiring film by Eva Mulvad and Anja Al-Erhayem tells the story of 27 year-old Malalai Joya - an extraordinary, outspoken woman, a folk hero and a women’s rights activist - who (despite four assassination attempts) was elected to the newly formed democratic parliament in Afghanistan in 2005. More.

Academy Award Nominee for Best Documentary short, this charming and often outrageous documentary reveals a secret world in the powder room of the Staten Island Ferry – bringing together white-collar and blue-collar, sisters and socialites in the feisty “ferry clique.” Broaching divorce, single motherhood and domestic violence, the film exposes the realities facing working women today. More.
 

In February 2002, in the midst of her controversial campaign for president, Senator Ingrid Betancourt was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and became one of the thousands of victims of Colombia’s 40-year-old civil war. Her impassioned calls for an end to political corruption and Colombia's vicious civil war had made her a popular public figure, but a dangerous instigator to many within her country's political machine. Following the candidate up to the moments before her disappearance, this remarkable film continues to tell the riveting story of her family's desperate and continuing quest to free her and keep her campaign alive. More.

 

Winner of 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 the latest documentary from internationally renowned director Kim Longinotto, co-directed by Florence Ayisi. More.


 

While ex-Mormon-lesbian-atheist Sue-Ann Post has carved out a name for herself as a stand-up comic in Australia, she has been estranged from her family ever since she decided to abandon her Mormon upbringing. When she publicly demanded to be excommunicated from the Mormon church on a national TV talk show, she got what she asked for—leaving her completely ostracized from her Mormon community. More.
 

Winner of an Israeli Oscar for Best Documentary, Ilil Alexander’s stunning debut film boldly documents the clandestine struggle of three women fighting for their right to love within their beloved Orthodox communities in Jerusalem. All three are pious, religiously committed women. All three are lesbians, and members of a secret support group called “Ortho-dykes.” More.
 

While busing is a rapidly-fading memory in most American schools, it continues to be a reality for over 3,000 Boston students every year. Kandice is one of them, an African-American teenager who has been bussed to a predominantly white suburb since kindergarten. In this revealing doc, she takes us inside her triumphs, struggles,
and conflicted feelings about traversing these two worlds. She also reveals her family’s long history of integrated education and activism. More.
 

Who are you if you can’t remember who you are? QUICK BROWN FOX explores how memories define us and how Alzheimer’s can indiscriminately steal one’s identity and family history. Ann Hedreen’s personal investigation into her mother’s battle with Alzheimer’s disease combines a moving family journey with an insightful look at the science and politics of Alzheimer’s—a disease that now affects more than 18 million people worldwide. More.
 

This beautiful short drama exquisitely explores the unlikely bond that develops between two people from different worlds. When an unexpected Japanese newcomer arrives, eight-year-old Juliette transforms a lonely summer day by the pool into an imaginative
adventure. More.
 

This award-winning documentary follows the filmmaker, an Indian immigrant living in the U.S., as she delves into the phenomenon of outsourcing of telephone support service jobs to India. Interspersing animation, archival footage, personal narrative, and live action, this witty film raises important questions about politics of identity and globalization. More.
 

The 1994 Rwandan Genocide left the
country nearly 70 percent female, handing Rwanda’s women an extraordinary burden and an unprecedented opportunity. An inspiring story of loss and redemption,
GOD SLEEPS IN RWANDA captures the spirit of five courageous women as they rebuild their lives, redefining women’s roles in Rwandan society and bringing hope to a wounded nation. More.

TROOP 1500
Broadcast March 21 on Independent Lens

Their mothers may be convicted thieves, murders and drug dealers, but the girls of Troop 1500 want to be doctors, social workers and marine biologists. Meeting monthly at Hilltop Prison, this unique Girl Scout troop brings scouts together with with inmate moms -giving them a chance to rebuild their relationships. More.

QUEEN OF THE MOUNTAIN
Broadcast March 26 on Channel  
 Thirteen/WNET

Theresa Goell began her career as an archaeologist with four strikes against her: she was female, divorced, a Jew working with Muslims and hearing impaired. But she pursued her passion at Nemrud Dagh, an isolated mountaintop in Southwestern Turkey that had eluded archaeologists for centuries. The film captures her epic adventure through archival footage, oral history and family memorabilia. More.

MAID IN AMERICA
Premieres 11/29 on Independent Lens

They clean other people’s homes and raise other women’s children—often leaving their own families behind. There are more than 100,000 domestic workers from Latin America working in Los Angeles today. Three years in the making, MAID IN AMERICA follows the lives of three such women, each with distinct backgrounds, working situations and aspirations. More.

SHOUTING SILENT
On Showtime

SHOUTING SILENT explores the South African HIV/AIDS epidemic through the eyes of Xoliswa Sithole, an adult orphan who lost her mother to HIV/AIDS in 1996. Xoliswa journeys back home in search of other young women who have also lost their mothers to HIV/AIDS and are now struggling to raise themselves (and, in many cases, their siblings) on their own. More.

THE MAN WHO STOLE MY MOTHER'S FACE
On the Sundance Channel

Winner for Best Documentary (tie) at the Tribeca Film Festival, this gripping film chronicles filmmaker Cathy Henkel's search for justice for her mother, who was the victim of a brutal rape in Johannesburg that went unpunished for over a decade. In an effort to help her mother heal, Henkel and her crew return to Johannesburg to confront her mother’s attacker and others who let the crime go unpunished. More.

FORBIDDEN LOVE
On MTV's Logo Channel

Compelling, often hilarious and always rebellious, the ten women interviewed in Forbidden Love paint a portrait of lesbian sexuality and survival during the sexual dark ages of the 1950s and '60s. Against a fascinating backdrop of book covers from lesbian pulp novels, tabloid headlines, archival photographs and film clips, these women recount stories about living and loving in their clandestine world. More.

Treyf —“unkosher” in Yiddish— is an unorthodox documentary by and about two Jewish lesbians who met and fell in love at a Passover “seder”. With personal narration, real and imagined educational films, and haunting imagery, filmmakers Alisa Lebow and Cynthia Madansky examine the Jewish identity of their upbringings and its impact on their lives. More.

A BOY NAMED SUE
On MTV's LOGO Channel

Julie Wyman's compelling documentary chronicles the transformation of a transsexual named Theo from a woman to a man over the course of six years. The film successfully captures Theo's physiological and psychological changes during the process, as well as their effects on his lesbian lover and community of close friends. Taking full advantage of the unlimited access she received into an extraordinarily personal process, Wyman carefully composes a moving story about gender identity, relationships, and how even things that seem permanent can change. More.

back to top