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Films on Gender-Based Violence

Discover this selection of films on gender-based violence.

KOROMOUSSO: Big Sister
Habibata Ouarme & Jim Donovan 2023 1 h 16 min
With candor, humour and courage, a group of African-Canadian women challenge cultural taboos surrounding female sexuality and fight to take back ownership of their bodies. Combining her own journey with personal accounts from some of her radiant, endearing friends, co-director Habibata Ouarme explores the phenomenon of female genital mutilation and the road to individual and collective healing, both in Africa and in Canada.
Into the Light
Gentille M. Assih 2020 1 h 19 min
Into the Light features the liberating life stories and powerful words of inspiring Quebec women of African origin who’ve regained control over their lives after suffering from domestic violence. The film transcends prejudice and breaks the silence, pulling back the curtain on a poorly understood, hidden world, while testifying to the tremendous power that comes from overcoming isolation and accepting one’s self. It’s a luminous dive into the quest for personal healing and universal humanity. This is Togo-born director Gentille M. Assih’s third documentary.

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Because We Are Girls
Baljit Sangra 2019 1 h 22 min
A conservative Indo-Canadian family in small-town British Columbia must come to terms with a devastating secret: three sisters were sexually abused by an older relative beginning in their childhood years. After remaining silent for nearly two and a half decades, the sisters finally decide to come forward—not only to protect other young relatives, but to set an example for their daughters as well.
A Better Man
Attiya Khan & Lawrence Jackman 2017 1 h 17 min
Illuminating a new paradigm for domestic-violence prevention, A Better Man offers a fresh and nuanced look at the healing and revelation that can happen for everyone involved when men take responsibility for their abuse. It also empowers audience members to play new roles in challenging domestic violence, whether it’s in their own relationships or as part of a broader movement for social change.
this river
Erika MacPherson & Katherena Vermette 2016 19 min
This short documentary offers an Indigenous perspective on the devastating experience of searching for a loved one who has disappeared. Volunteer activist Kyle Kematch and award-winning writer Katherena Vermette have both survived this heartbreak and share their histories with each other and the audience. While their stories are different, they both exemplify the beauty, grace, resilience, and activism born out of the need to do something.
Finding Dawn
Christine Welsh 2006 1 h 13 min
Acclaimed Métis filmmaker Christine Welsh brings us a compelling documentary that puts a human face on a national tragedy – the epidemic of missing or murdered Indigenous women in Canada. The film takes a journey into the heart of Indigenous women's experience, from Vancouver's skid row, down the Highway of Tears in northern BC, and on to Saskatoon, where the murders and disappearances of these women remain unsolved.
Namrata
Shazia Javed 2009 9 min
This short documentary tells the intensely personal story of Namrata Gill – one of the many real-life inspirations for Deepa Mehta’s Heaven on Earth – in her own words. After six years, Gill courageously leaves an abusive relationship and launches a surprising new career.
Beyond December 6
Catherine Fol 1991 28 min
One year after the tragedy that took the lives of fourteen female students, Montreal’s École Polytechnique has returned to something resembling normalcy. Nathalie Provost is a survivor of the shooting at the engineering school. Today, with friends, she opens up. About the tragedy, about feminism. About racism and sexism. About the fact that society has difficulty accepting difference. And, above all, about life, which must go on beyond December 6.
Mary & Myself
Sam Decoste 2013 6 min
This short animated documentary tells the story of 2 Chinese Canadian women making their theatrical debut playing “comfort women” in Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues. Jia Tsu Thompson and Mary Mohammed spend long hours rehearsing at Mu Lan Teahouse in Halifax, where they read their lines over and over, sip tea, and recount buried stories of war. As they diligently practise together and at home, they come to have their own personal catharses. Fusing activism and performance, the film honours the thousands of girls and women from Korea, China, Japan and the Philippines who were forced into sexual slavery—into providing “comfort” to soldiers in the Imperial Japanese military during the 1930s and ’40s.
Who Cares
Rosie Dransfeld 2012 1 h 19 min
In this cinema vérité documentary, director Rosie Dransfeld captures the gritty and dangerous world of Edmonton's sex trade workers where, in a post-Pickton era, women now voluntarily provide police with DNA samples for future postmortem identification.
A Scream from Silence
Anne Claire Poirier 1979 1 h 35 min
This feature film documents the rape and eventual suicide of Suzanne, a nurse whose physical and emotional health deteriorates beyond repair as a result of the violence inflicted on her. Images of ritual and mass rape reinforce the horror of this act of domination. In this docudrama drawn from case histories, the filmmaker explores social attitudes that cause women to feel guilty for being raped. It touches upon the physical, emotional, spiritual and legal aspects of this crime.
The Hat
Michèle Cournoyer 1999 6 min
A young woman works as an exotic dancer in a bar. She recalls an incident from her childhood in which she was physically abused by a male visitor. This inner journey brings back painful memories, including the obsessive image of a hat. Black-ink drawings, spare and rapidly executed, flow together in a succession of troubling and striking metamorphoses. The Hat is a tough, visceral experience. With naked honesty, animator Michèle Cournoyer invites the audience to share in the pain of a woman whose body is on display and whose soul is forever soiled. A film without words.
The Crown Prince
Aaron Kim Johnston 1988 37 min
In Crown Prince, Frank Robinson abuses his wife verbally and batters her physically, with frightening consequences not only for her, but also for their sons, Billy and Freddy. A thought-provoking drama, this film explores the complex problems teenagers face in dealing with domestic violence, and shows how one family begins the healing process.
Why Men Rape
Douglas Jackson 1979 40 min
An unusual documentary investigating rape from the assailant's point of view. Ten men convicted of rape tell their stories, describing their backgrounds, and their violent attacks on women. Social rape, involving people who know each other, is also examined. Two men found guilty of this less-publicized assault are interviewed. Lawyers, the police, teenagers, and men and women in a singles bar are interviewed. They touch on a wide range of issues related to sexual behaviour and attitudes. Why Men Rape is a guaranteed catalyst for discussion. Patrick Watson is the on-camera commentator.
Tu as crié LET ME GO
Anne Claire Poirier 1998 1 h 36 min
Filmmaker Anne Claire Poirier captures the most terrible tragedy a mother can imagine – her own daughter's addiction, prostitution, and eventual murder. Determined to use her talent as a filmmaker to find the strength and courage needed to go on, Poirier created a cinematic tour-de-force that delves into the lives of street people. She unearths her daughter's past in order to better understand why she, and other young people, risk their lives for the drugs they believe will set them free.
Sylvie's Story
Tina Horne 1986 27 min
This short film recreates the experience of Sylvie, a battered woman who seeks shelter in a Montréal transition house. Faced with the threat of violence, loneliness, the lack of financial resources or information about services, the victim is often understandably reluctant to seek help. Emphasizing the importance for women of speaking out, the film also points out the role of the transition house in putting victims of abuse in touch with appropriate legal and social services. Sylvie’s Story is part of The Next Step, a 3-film series about the services needed by and available to battered women.
A Safe Distance
Tina Horne 1986 27 min
The short documentary looks at some innovative approaches to providing services and accommodation for battered women in rural, northern, and Native communities. Filmed in Thompson and Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, and West Bay Reserve, Ontario, the film introduces the women who operate and use various types of accommodation such as transition houses, transition apartments, and safe houses. The shelter on West Bay Reserve is singled out as a project that was built by women for women to stand as a reminder that the Reserve will not tolerate violence against women. A Safe Distance is part of the The Next Step, a 3-film series about the services needed by and available to battered women.
Moving On
Tina Horne 1986 28 min
This short documentary looks at how the community of London, Ontario, has implemented a plan to address the issue of domestic violence. These efforts, spearheaded by police, lawyers, doctors, transition house staff, women's groups, and social services agencies have turned London into a rare model community. There, The London Battered Women's Advocacy Clinic and "Changing Ways," a therapy program for men who batter, contribute to the city's innovative attempt to break the cycle of violence. Moving On is part of the The Next Step, a 3-film series about the services needed by and available to battered women.
Hollow Water
Bonnie Dickie 2000 48 min
This documentary profiles the tiny Ojibway community of Hollow Water on the shores of Lake Winnipeg as they deal with an epidemic of sexual abuse in their midst. The offenders have left a legacy of denial and pain, addiction and suicide. The Manitoba justice system was unsuccessful in ending the cycle of abuse, so the community of Hollow Water took matters into their own hands. The offenders were brought home to face justice in a community healing and sentencing circle. Based on traditional practices, this unique model of justice reunites families and heals both victims and offenders. The film is a powerful tribute to one community's ability to heal and create change.

Films on Gender-Based Violence

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