How do women tell stories about women, and how does this change our view of memory, desire, and community? The films in this program deal with repressed trauma, self-determined sexuality, and alternative forms of cohabitation. They reflect on the male gaze and the rewriting of history from a female perspective, on intimacy and desire beyond normative boundaries. Using essayistic, documentary, and poetic strategies, they translate collective and individual experiences into film. (Anna Melikova)
CN: Sexualized Violence
A piece that invites us to return to the images of the beginning of adolescence to share the testimony of moments relegated to silence. Based on an old home video that the director shot when she was 13, she recalls the summer when she first experienced the male gaze as objectifying and threatening. An emotional journey, a dialogue between two narratives, and a reflection on the importance of collective memory.
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Premiere:
German Premiere
Nominated:
Goldener Key
- Director: Mireia Vilapuig
In letters, Emilia and Caterina reminisce about their youth at a boarding school in the 1950s. Did they live the life they truly wanted, or only the one they were allowed to live? The film combines intimate letters with reused amateur archive footage and reinterprets male-dominated family images from a female perspective. In doing so, it offers two perspectives that intertwine memory and longing with the rewriting of history.
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- Director: Giulia Cosentino, Perla Sardella
Polyamory as practice and narrative: The filmmaker explores the idea that all partners can be loved equally. The story begins with a series of romantic encounters from a very personal perspective, unfolding with openness and curiosity. But as one relationship intensifies, the filmmaker begins to question her own premise and steers the narrative in a different direction. Is happy polyamory just an abstract concept, or can it be lived out in reality?
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- Director: Maya Sfakianaki
An intimate portrait of a lesbian-feminist community in Berlin that was formed in 1981 through a squatting movement. For over 40 years, women have lived there without men or children – a radical model of cohabitation that once attracted many. Today, however, as the residents are getting older and new companions are hard to find, the film shows the challenges and fragility of this collective way of life.
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Premiere:
German Premiere
In most middle schools and high schools in Japan, there are compulsory rules on how a student may wear their hair or dress. OBEY, OBEY is a hairstyle tutorial on how to flawlessly achieve the obedient Japanese student look.
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Nominated:
Goldener Key
