Freelance Film Programming + Curation
my body my
**education purposes only**
Each video is either a trailer or the full film
A collection of films ask questions around the extent of choice when becoming a mother. The films included in the CHOICE strand look at a woman's reproductive rights. Opening up conversations around abortion, fertility and religion, this strand aims to recognise the multifaceted notion of the 'before' of being a mother - the struggle to become one, the decision not to and the stories of those that have that CHOICE taken away.
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CHOICE - St Frances (w/ Q&A) + Birth on the Border + Slapper/Pregnant Pause/Tutwiler
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Content warning: these films contain references to abortion, harassment and sexual assault
Saint Frances + Q&A collective screening
Dir. Alex Thompson // 2019
Writer and co-director Kelly O’Sullivan stars as 34-year-old Bridget who reluctantly takes on a new job as a nanny to the precocious 6-year-old Frances. An unwanted pregnancy brings on new complications in a wry and tender film with a gently subversive critique of female representation.
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We will be hosting an online communal screening of this film followed by a Q&A discussion with Tina Lesley, a public health professional and founder of freedom4girls.
Birth on the Border
Dir. Ellie Lobovits // 2018
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Seeking a safer future for their children, two women from Ciudad Juárez, risk harassment at the hands of Border Patrol to cross the US-Mexico border legally to give birth in El Paso, Texas.
Slapper
Dir. Lucy Schroder // 2017
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Taylah is a rebellious, destitute teen from rural Australian suburbia. After a brief sexual encounter, Taylah must scrape together money for the morning-after pill, before it’s too late. whilst also stuck babysitting a wild and uncooperative five-year-old, Vegas. Taylah’s wits are tested as she navigates a suburban wasteland, determined to not let poverty strip her of her bodily autonomy.
Pregnant Pause
Dir. Alice Seabright // 2018
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Inspired to create a comedy centred around the stereotypes surrounding women’s feelings towards pregnancy and motherhood, Alice Seabright’s 12-minute short Pregnant Pause invites its audience to spend an evening with Steph, who at the prospect of an unplanned pregnancy spends her time running away from a pee-covered stick.
Tutwiler
Dir. Elaine McMillion Sheldon // 2019
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In this unique portrait of motherhood, women who give birth while incarcerated at one of America's most notorious prisons turn to a group of doulas for support through pregnancy, labor and separation from their newborns; and they help each other cope with loss and guilt. This rare, intimate look behind the walls of a women's prison raises questions about how the US is handling the growing crisis of incarcerated mothers-and the children who must start their lives without them.