About the
Film
About the Kim Longinotto
About Florence Ayisi
About Women Make Movies
About the Film
2005 · 104
minutes · Color
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.
In the little town of Kumba, Cameroon, there have been no convictions in spousal abuse cases for 17 years. But two women determined to change their community are making progress that could change their
country. This fascinating, often hilarious doc follows the work of State Prosecutor Vera Ngassa and Court President Beatrice Ntuba as they help women fight often-difficult cases of abuse, despite pressures from family and their community to remain silent. Six-year-old Manka is covered in scars and has run away from an abusive aunt, Amina is seeking a divorce to put an end to brutal beatings by her husband, the pre-teen Sonita has daringly accused her neighbor of rape.
With fierce compassion, the two feisty and progressive-minded women dispense wisdom, wisecracks and justice in fair measure, handing down stiff sentences to those convicted. A cross between “Judge Judy” and “The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency,” SISTERS IN LAW has audiences cheering when justice is served.
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About
Kim Longinotto
Internationally acclaimed director Kim Longinotto is one of the preeminent documentary filmmakers working today, renowned for creating extraordinary human portraits and tackling controversial topics with sensitivity and compassion. Longinotto's films have won international acclaim and dozens of premiere awards at festivals worldwide. Highlights include the Amnesty International DOEN Award at IDFA and Best Doc UK Spotlight at Hot Docs for THE DAY I WILL NEVER FORGET; the Grand Prize for Best Documentary San Francisco Int'l Film Festival and Silver Hugo Award at the Chicago International Film Festival for DIVORCE IRANIAN STYLE; Best Documentary at Films de Femmes, Creteil for DREAM GIRLS; and Outstanding Documentary at the SF Gay and Lesbian Film Festival for SHINJUKU BOYS.
Longinotto studied camera and directing at England's National Film School, where she made PRIDE OF PLACE, a critical look at her boarding school, and THEATRE GIRLS, documenting a hostel for homeless women. After graduating from the NFS, she worked as the cameraperson on a variety of documentaries for TV including CROSS AND PASSION, an account of Catholic women in Belfast, and UNDERAGE, a chronicle of unemployed adolescents in Coventry.
In 1986, Longinotto formed the production company Twentieth Century Vixen with Claire Hunt. Together they made FIRERAISER, a look at Sir Arthur “Bomber” Harris and the bombing of Dresden during WWII; EAT THE KIMONO, about the controversial Japanese feminist performer Hanayagi Genshu; HIDDEN FACES, the internationally acclaimed, collaborative documentary with/about Egyptian women; and THE GOOD WIFE OF TOKYO about women, love and marriage in Japanese society. Throughout this time, she made a series of ten broadcast and non-broadcast videos on special needs issues, including TRAGIC BUT BRAVE for Channel 4. With Jano Williams, Longinotto directed the audience-pleaser DREAM GIRLS, a BBC-produced documentary of the spectacular Japanese musical theatre company; and SHINJUKU BOYS, about three Tokyo women who live as men. Next, she made ROCK WIVES for Channel 4 about the wives and girlfriends of rock stars, followed by DIVORCE IRANIAN STYLE with Ziba Mir-Hosseini, about women and divorce in Iran. She then made two short films for the BEST FRIENDS series on Channel 4: STEVE & DAVE about two friends who work as a drag act and ROB & CHRIS about two homeless young men. Her next film, GAEA GIRLS made with Jano Williams is about women wrestlers in Japan. RUNAWAY was also made with Ziba Mir-Hosseini and is set in a refuge for girls in Tehran. Her film THE DAY I WILL NEVER FORGET, about young girls in Kenya challenging the tradition of female circumcision, premiered in the U.S. at Sundance in 2003. Her latest film, SISTERS IN LAW, set in Kumba, Cameroon, premiered and won two prizes at Cannes. She is currently researching a new film in Africa.
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About
Florence Ayisi
Florence Ayisi studied producing and directing at the Northern School of Film and Television (NSTV) in Leeds, England. She co-directed the documentary REFLECTIONS, about a black British dancer-choreographer in Cardiff in 2003. She has just completed a short film, MY MOTHER: ISANGE to mark International Women’s Day 2005. She teaches practice-based research at the International Film School Wales, University of Wales, Newport.
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About Women Make Movies
Established in 1972 to address the under-representation and misrepresentation of women in the media, Women Make Movies is now is the largest distributor of films by and about women in the world. WMM's extraordinary collection of more than 500 titles screen at film festivals worldwide, are broadcast in the U.S. and internationally, and are used by thousands of educational and cultural institutions and community groups annually.
