Audiovisual Resources on Women and Gender Studies Internationally: By Region

The audiovisuals referenced here are not available from MSU WID, only from the sources listed in the text.

African Topics

Access Denied: US Family Planning Restrictions in Zambia: In January 2001, the US government imposed restrictions on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) overseas receiving international family planning assistance. The restrictions, officially called the Mexico City Policy, are also known as the Global Gag Rule by those who oppose it. Under the policy, no US family planning assistance can be provided to foreign NGOs that use funding from any other source to: perform abortions in cases other than a threat to the life of the woman, rape, or incest; provide counseling and referral for abortion; or lobby to make abortion legal or more available in their country. Non-compliance will result in loss of funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID). This film was produced by Population Action International to document the effects of the Global Gag Rule. This seven-minute documentary focuses on Zambia, detailing the impact of the gag rule on reproductive health programs in one of Africa's poorest countries. The Global Gag Rule has deprived Zambia's primary family planning agency of critical US assistance. 2003, 7 min. Media Rights, http://www.mediarights.org

The Afar Tribe: A Bride's Story provides an introduction to the Afar by recording two major life events: the arranged marriage of a reluctant bride and the initiation of a warrior through a ritual circumcision. 2000, 60 minutes. Films for the Humanities and Sciences, http://www.films.com

Africa's Children: Kenyan Women in Transaction explores the pressures on female adolescents in the Third World through the stories of four young Kenyan women growing up in a cultural upheaval. 2000, 58 minutes. Films for the Humanities and Sciences, http://www.films.com

Algeria: Women at War, produced by Parminder Vir, examines the lives of Algerian women through a series of interviews with women of various ages and circumstances. These interviews are interwoven with archival footage that documents the Algerian struggle for independence and ensuing political unrest. 1992. 52 minutes. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

Al'leessi: An African Actress, "a poignant meditation on the current state of the African film industry," interweaves the story of Zalika Souley, a star in the cottage film industry of 1960s Niger, with an account of the industry's subsequent decline. The film is appropriate for courses in women's studies, cinema studies, African and post-colonial studies. 2004, 69 minutes. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

The Angel Returns. This documentary focuses on the cultural change aspirations of Isnino Ahmed Musso, a determined Somali woman. The film shadows Isnino as she engages her community in open discussion and debates on the issues surrounding female circumcision. 2003, 50min. The Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Angola is Our Country, a documentary produced in conjunction with the Organization of Angolan women (OMA), highlights the contribution women are making to the construction of a country where war has consumed more than half the national budget and produced at least a million internal refugees. 1988, 45 minutes. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

Child Brides explores the most rural and poverty stricken regions of Ethiopia to expose the common practice of child brides and the consequences of young girls who give birth before they are out of childhood. 1998, 51 minutes. Films for the Humanities and Sciences, http://www.films.com

Chronicle of a Savanna Marriage, by Stig Holmqvist, SVT, is the story of Nayiani, a young Kenyan girl, as she is prepared for marriage. 1998, 56 minutes. The Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Cinderella of the Cape Flats: Everyday the working class Coloured women in the garment industry of the windswept flats around Cape Town toil anonymously to make clothes so that other women will look beautiful. Invariably they cannot afford these garments themselves. But for one day a year they come out in all their glory at the Annual Spring Queen pageant. The pageant is created by the workers and their trade union to bring their families together for an evening of solidarity and fun. Set against the preparation for the 2003 pageant, this film explores the lives of working women and celebrates them as creators of beauty. Although the end of apartheid has not taken away the drudgery of repetitive factory labor, this pageant shows working class women inventing their own lively folk culture. 2004, 58 mins. California Newsreel, http://www.newsreel.org

Crossroads: South Africa is a film telling the story of Crossroads, a black squatters' town on the edge of Capetown. It shows black people defying the apartheid system by building community organizations. Unbelievably the community survives through many hardships thanks in part to the guidance and determination of three women leaders in the local resistance movement. Southern California Consortium on International Studies, http://www.lmu.edu/globaled/soccis/film_collection_new.html

The Cutting Edge, by Irene Zikusoka and Charlotte Metcalf, shows how a Ugandan project attempts to change attitudes about female genital mutilation. 1996, 20 minutes. Bullfrog Films, http://www.bullfrogfilms.com

Dakan, by Mohamed Camara, examines homosexuality in sub-Saharan Africa as well as societal reactions. California Newsreel, http://www.newsreel.org

Daughters of the Nile, by Joop van Wijk, captures the lives of Egyptian women under the Islamic code. Men and women speak about their traditions, expectations and patterns of life. 1993, 46 minutes. The Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

The Day I Will Never Forget, by Kim Longinotto. This film discusses the practice of female genital mutilation in Kenya and the women who are attempting to reverse this tradition. This film also chronicles a group of runaway girls who have turned to the courts to prohibit their parents from conducting this practice. 2002, 92 minutes. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

A Day in the Life of an African Woman Farmer is a video which explores the issues and challenges that affect African women's efforts to feed their families and helps the viewer develop an understanding of the competing demands on women's time and the importance of incorporating them into community and national decision-making related to food security strategies. 23 minutes. PACT Media Services, http://www.pact.co.uk

The Dream Becomes a Reality, by Eva Egensteiner, features six young Eritrean women who participated in the 30-year military struggle for independence from Ethiopia. These women speak of tragedies and accomplishments of the war, the gender egalitarianism among the liberation forces, and their current thoughts on the situation of women in postwar Eritrea. 1996, 43 minutes. University of California Extension, Center for Media and Independent Learning, http://ucmedia.berkeley.edu

A Duty to Protect: Justice for Child Soldiers in the DRC: In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) children make up 40 to 60 percent of combatants, some as young as eight years old. Through the voices of these children, the documentary explores the issue of recruitment of child soldiers, rape as a weapon of war, sexual exploitation of girls in armed forces, and the importance of the International Criminal Court to bring peace and justice to the DRC. 2005. Media Rights, http://www.mediarights.org

Europlex. The fourth in Ursula Biemann's critically acclaimed series of video essays that investigates migration across borders, Europlex tracks the daily, sometimes illicit, border crossings between Morocco and Spain - a rare intersection of the first and third worlds. In a now-common scenario of global economics, Moroccan women work in North Africa to produce goods destined for the European market. With a mesmerizing soundtrack and a dizzying blend of video footage, digital graphics, and text, the film exposes a fascinating, often hidden layer in the cultural and economic landscape between Europe and Africa - revealing the new rules and profound implications of globalization. 2003, 20 mins. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

Factories for the Third World analyzes the consequences of adopting policies which encourage foreign manufacturing investment and free trade zones by focusing on the history of economic change and development in Tunisia, the reality of factory life for the Tunisian people, and their responses to these developments. Icarus Films, http://www.icarusfilmsinternational.com/index.html

Fear Women. The women of Ghana have a reputation for independence, it is they, rather than men, who sit in the market stalls and run a large proportion of the nation's retail trade. But Ghanaian women are now thrusting themselves even more vigorously into the arena of power and influence. University of Illinois Film Center, http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Audio_Visual/Film_Center_10193.html

Female Circumcision: Human Rites explores female circumcision, its roots in myths, and movements underway to ban the practice. Interviews describe the health ramifications and victims discuss both the emotional and physical pains. 1999, 40 minutes. Films for the Humanities and Sciences, http://www.films.com

Finzan: A Dance for the Heroes, is a film about two women's rebellion: Nayuma, a young widow, who refuses her brother-in-law's assertion of his traditional right to "inherit" her; and Fili, a young girl who scandalizes village women by resisting the age-old custom of circumcision. 1990, 107 minutes. California Newsreel, http://www.newsreel.org

Gateway to Yemen is a documentary that captures traditional life in rural Yemen, which revolves around the search for water. In a culture where women are extremely sheltered, the discovery of oil has opened them up to the outside world. 1994, 40 minutes. The Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

The Hamar Trilogy, a film series about the powerful and outspoken Hamar women in Ethiopia, focuses on Duka who, in the films, matures from a young unmarried girl to a wife and mother, thereby providing discussion material for cross-cultural studies of women's lives. The films in the series include: The Women Who Smile shows Duka as a young unmarried girl who learns what awaits her in life from the older women of the tribe; Two Girls Go Hunting tells the story of Duka and her young friend Gardi as they prepare to marry men they have never met; and Our Way of Loving reveals how Duka, now a wife and mother, seems to have an affectionate husband although he beats her whenever provoked. Each program is 50 minutes in length. The Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Images of the Gender Role in Two ILO Projects depicts a women's workers' education project in Uganda that teaches women how to bargain for their rights in a trade union and a rural training project which women and men work together in Nepal to learn income-generating skills. 26 minutes. International Labour Organization, http://www.ilo.org

In Daku the Soup is Sweeter: Women and Development in Ghana, a film subsidized by the Canadian International Development Agency, follows two women who take advantage of a credit program to establish small-scale enterprises in order to provide their families some comforts. 30 minutes. The Filmaker's Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Inside a Harem. Shot in an old palace near Agadir, Morocco, with local women re-enacting the secluded world of the "forbidden room", this film shows how women live inside a harem, how they interact with one another and with the men in their lives, and how they feel about their lives. 44 minutes. Films for the Humanities and Sciences, http://www.films.com

KUMEKUCHA: Women of Tanzania shows how women find their strength in mutual support within a situation in which their only source of income is brewing beer that is bought by men with the money they ought to be giving their wives a support. 28 minutes.Films for the Humanities and Sciences, http://www.films.com

La Petite Vendeuse de Soleil (The Little Girl Who Sold the Sun) is the documentary of Sili Laam, a 12-year-old paraplegic outcast who begs for alms with her blind grandmother in a market in Senegal. This movie demonstrates Sili Laam's strength and her refusal to accept the demeaning roles society assumes it can place on her and others. 1999, 45 minutes. California Newsreel, http://www.newsreel.org

The Life and Times of Sara Baartman-The Hottentot Venus, a documentary film by Zola Maseko, uses "historical drawings, cartoons, legal documents, and interviews with noted historians and anthropologists…to deconstruct the social, political, scientific, and philosophical assumptions which transformed one young African woman into a representation of savage sexuality and racial inferiority". 1998, 58 minutes. First Run/Icarus Films, http://www.frif.com

Lines in the Dust, directed by Lucinda Broadbent, is part of the 22-part series entitled "City Life", which examines the effect of globalization on people and cities worldwide. The film shows how "Reflect", a program that helps illiterate adults in Ghana and India to read, write, and work with numbers, has also served to help men and women exchange ideas about a range of issues, from gender and work to the rights of indigenous people. 2001, 27 minutes. Bullfrog Films, http://www.bullfrogfilms.com

A Little for My Heart displays how a Muslim women's orchestra adds a little spice to life. 1994, 60 minutes. The Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

The Little Mothers of the Bush (Cameroon) is a documentary which tells the story of two little girls, ages nine and seven, who are members of a tribe well-known for its physically advanced children and who are expected to care for the infants of the family and to help in the fields with the grinding of grain and cooking. 26 minutes. Films for the Humanities and Sciences, http://www.films.com

Mama Benz: An African Market Woman, focuses on one cloth marketer in Lome, Togo, who though lavishly dressed with a fully-staffed mansion, daily takes her place in her stall, bargaining vigorously with customers. 48 minutes. The Filmaker's Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Mama Wahunzi, by Lawan Jirasuradej. This documentary portrays three women who are learning to build wheelchairs for themselves and their community in light of an overshadowing shortage of wheelchairs. Their rise to self-sustaining entrepreneurship also counters stereotypes of disability, poverty, and gender. 2001, 57 minutes. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

The Man Who Stole My Mother's Face: Two days before Christmas in 1988, Cathy Henkel's 59 year-old mother Laura was sexually assaulted and brutally bashed in her home in Johannesburg, South Africa by a local white teenager. Although Laura identified her attacker from a school photograph, the man was never charged, and remained free. For fourteen years, unable to recover, Laura Henkel retreated from her family and rejected contact with the outside world. In an attempt to help her mother heal, filmmaker Cathy Henkel took matters into her own hands, returned to Johannesburg and confronted her mother's attackers. What begins as a powerful exploration about the unsolved case of Laura Henkel's rape becomes a gripping revelation about the healing process. This film is an intimate look at the long-term effects of rape and a profoundly moving account of one family's quest for truth. 2003, 59 mins. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

Masai Women. Documenting the customs, social structures, and beliefs of the Masai, this film looks at the women of this male-dominated East African tribe. It examines their roles, from childhood through marriage to old age. 2004, 55 min. Insight Media, http://www.insight-media.com

Monday's Girls, by Lloyd Gardner and Ngozi Onwurah, explores the conflict between modern individualism and traditional communities in Africa through the eyes of two young Waikiriki women from the Niger delta. California Newsreel, http://www.newsreel.org

The Naked Earth recounts the "Green Belt Movement" founded by a Kenyan woman, Wanjari Maathai. In ten years over 30 tree nurseries have produced jobs for women and millions of seedlings have been planted in schools and churches by children and local communities to prevent erosion and maintain the Kenyan national resource base. 27 minutes. African Development Foundation, http://www.adf.gov

Ndebele Women: The Rituals of Rebellion, produced by Shelagh Lubbock, explores Ndebele women's art shows and fertility rites and explains how these forms of expression serve as a vehicle for political empowerment. 1997, 52 minutes. The Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Neria, by Development Through Self-Reliance, examines the changing status of African women, with a particular focus on Zimbabwe. 1992. 103 minutes. Media for Development International, http://www.mfdi.net

Nyamakuta is about an African midwife who helps village women deliver babies in a healthier manner, combining traditional and older practices. 1989, 32 minutes. The Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Pain, Passion and Profit is an inspirational look at women entrepreneurs through the eyes of Anita Roddick, the founder of the Body Shop who has always maintained a strong commitment to the idea of "profits with principles". Several women in Africa who have successfully developed small-scale business enterprises in their own communities provide a focus for Roddick to pose questions about how the role and status of women affects their enterprises and how those enterprises provide a means of community and economic development for women. Pain, Passion and Profit gives an in-depth look at global feminism and economic development as well as a personal and spirited view of the connections between the experiences of women entrepreneurs in the First and Third Worlds. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

Praise House combines elements of theater, dance and music based on the rhythms and rituals of Africa. It explores the source of creativity and its effect on three generations of African American women. It also shows the emotional prison so many people live in, even as it celebrates the persistence of belief and creativity, and the splendid legacies African Americans have preserved against all odds. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

Portrait of Altine in the Dry Season is a film that captures the life of a woman in a north Senegal village during the dry season that lasts nine months. 2002, 26 minutes. The Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Quartier Mozart, by Jean-Pierre Bekolo, recounts 48 hours in the life of a young African schoolgirl who imitated a man in order to examine the "sexual politics" of her working class neighborhood in Yaonde. California Newsreel, http://www.newsreel.org

A Question of Rights illustrates the state of women's human rights in Ethiopia, Latvia, Jamaica, and Fiji. 1998, 73 minutes. Bullfrog Films, http://www.bullfrogfilms.com

Rights of Passage illustrates the personal costs of "coming of age" as four adolescent girls from Nicaragua, India, Jamaica, and Burkina Faso, speak about being addicted to glue sniffing and slipping into a life of prostitution; pulled out of school and waiting to be married off; pregnancy at fourteen years of age; and the prospect of genital mutilation. 30 minutes. The Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Rites, a video exploring the custom of female circumcision, shows the efforts of women throughout the world to campaign for eradication of the practice. 1991, 52 minutes. The Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

The Road to Change is a film about the practices of female genital mutilation and methods for its prevention. This film examines the origins of this ancient ritual, what medical effects this procedure can have on women, and what can be done to stop this grotesque act. To confront the issue, the film uses dialogues with victims of female genital mutilation, as well as many other sources, such as doctors, religious leaders, and politicians. 2000, 45 minutes. WHO Publications Center, http://www.who.int/docstore/frh-whd/

Selbe: One Among Many draws a portrait of daily life for women in rural Senegal. The dominant image is of women working constantly to support their families: farming, gathering wood and water, fishing and collecting salt to generate a little cash, preparing food, making pottery-in addition to caring for their children. 30 minutes. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

Senegal - the Power to Change: Female Genital Mutilation documents the rise and spread of a grassroots movement protesting against Female Genital Mutilation in Senegal, which resulted in the passing of a formal law prohibiting genital mutilation in Senegal. 2000, 29 minutes.The Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Shouting Silent, by Renee Rosen and Xoliswa Sithole. This film examines the South African HIV/AIDS epidemic through the perspective of Xoliswa Sithole, who lost her mother to the disease in 1996. It also documents the experiences of other young women who have lost their mothers to HIV/AIDS and reflects how a generation is growing up without parents, exposing their hardships and struggles in South Africa. 2002, 50 minutes. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

Sophia's Homecoming, by Richard Pakleppa and Bridget Pickering, focuses on one woman's life in the aftermath of apartheid. California Newsreel, http://www.newsreel.org/

South Africa Belongs to Us reveals how apartheid systematically degrades black women and denies them such basic human rights as freedom of movement and employment and the right to live with their husbands and raise their children as well as shows these women's courage in the face of oppression, emphasizing their dignity, strength, and, above all, their determination to fight back against apartheid. 1980, 57 minutes. California Newsreel, http://www.newsreel.org

Taafe Fanga, by Adama Drabo, is a comic tale about a revolution in which women's and men's roles are reversed. It was inspired by the actual role women played in Mali's 1991 revolution. California Newsreel, http://www.newsreel.org

Tableau Ferraile, by Moussa Sene Absa, offers a view of how modernization in Africa corrodes traditional communities and retards grassroots development. California Newsreel, http://www.newsreel.org

These Girls are Missing: The Gender Gap in Africa's Schools approaches this issue through the stories of older and younger women, thereby helping an audience understand how deep cultural attitudes more than economics, undermine the future of Africa's women. 60 minutes. The Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

These Hands, by Flora M'mbugu-Schelling, witnesses a day in the life of Mozambican women refugees working in a quarry and shows how these women are part of the international economic system. California Newsreel, http://www.newsreel.org

Triumph over Terror. Television Trust for the Environment commissioned six producers from Africa, Asia and the Pacific, to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The result is six hard-hitting films from Bangladesh, Nepal, Nigeria, South Africa and Thailand. The titles in the series include: Where Truth Lies, a dramatic case before the South African Truth & Reconciliation Commission. Going Home, a10-year-old soldier escapes rebel forces in Sierra Leone. Till Death Do Us Part, widows are denied inheritance and property rights in Nigeria. In the Name of Safety, false imprisonment violates due process in Bangladesh. Smiles: The Hypocrisy of Thai Politics, the struggle for greater democracy and free speech in Thailand. Discipline with Dignity, the attempt to end corporal punishment in Nepalese schools. Bullfrog Films, http://www.bullfrogfilms.com

Two Dollars With or Without a Condom, produced by Cadmos Films for SVT, is a documentary about prostitution in Ethiopia through the eyes of the girls involved. 1997, 40 minutes. The Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Veils Uncovered explores the reality of sexual competition among women in Damascus as they vie for the number one position - exclusivity with their husbands. Filmed in the marketplace of Souk Al Hamidiyyah, this film presents a moving personal account of the sexual world of women who live behind veils. It explains Islamic religious rules and their application in marriage. 2002, 25 min. Insight Media, http://www.insight-media.com

The Virgin Diaries. This video focuses on Fatiha, a young woman preparing to marry the man her family selected during her childhood. However she becomes disturbed by her fiancé's views when he objects to a premarital kiss on the hand based on his interpretation of Islam. Following this, Fatiha and the filmmaker travel through Morocco exploring issues of sex, virginity, and Islam. 2002, 57 minutes. First Run/Icarus Films, http://www.frif.com

A Way to Move On shows how a woman's collective enables Senegalese women to start small businesses. 2002, 23 minutes. The Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Welcome to Womanhood illustrates efforts to stop female genital mutilation in Uganda. 1998, 14 minutes. Bullfrog Films, http://www.bullfrogfilms.com

Womanhood and Circumcision: Three Maasai Women Have Their Say shows a Maasai mother and her two daughters candidly discuss their perspectives on the custom of female genital cutting. A rare insight into personal feelings and experiences in support of the practice. 2002, 30 minutes. University of California Extension, Center for Media and Independent Learning, http://ucmedia.berkeley.edu

Women of Manga (Niger), a film about a warrior tribe in eastern Niger, focuses on the traditions to which govern ho women live, behave, and make themselves beautiful through make-up, hairstyles, facial scars, and jewelry. 12 minutes. Films for the Humanities and Sciences, http://www.films.com

Women of the Sand is a documentary about nomad Islamic women in the Sahara desert. Filmed in Mauritania, it follows the day-to-day activities of women, documenting their work, family and community life, expectations and emotions. Filmed in cinema-verity style, with no narration, the non-intrusive camera allows the women to tell their own stories in a candid and intimate way. The stunning photography captures the immensity of the desert and the giant sand dunes, which have already covered ninety per cent of the country and are threatening the very existence of the nomadic lifestyle. This film is a tale of women's resilience and a poignant portrait of a vanishing way of life. 2003, 52 min. Third World Newsreel, http://www.twn.org

Women With Open Eyes, a video about Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, and Benin, shows how contemporary African women are speaking out and organizing around issues such as marital rights, reproductive health, female genital mutilation, women's role in the economy, and political rights. 1994, 52 minutes. California Newsreel, http://www.newsreel.org

World, Shahira: Nomads of the Sahara, by Filmcentre Production, is a documentary about a young Muslim woman, an anthropologist, who suffered professional and personal censure to save a desert tribe from becoming extinct in the harsh Sahara. 1989, 52 minutes.The Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Asian, Middle East, or Pacific Topics

27 Dollars: Banking For the Poor. The Grameen Bank, founded in Bangladesh in 1976 by Muhammad Yunas, is the main focus of this film. Several success stories of women's small businesses supported by microfinance from the Grameen Bank are highlighted in the documentary. 2003, 61 min. The Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Afghanistan Unveiled. 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 US military campaign on Afghani women. None of the 14 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. Leaving Kabul behind for the more rural regions of the country, the filmmakers present heartbreaking footage of Hazara women whose lives have been decimated by recent events. While committed to revealing such tragedies to the world, the filmmakers also manage to find moving examples of hope for the future. 2003, 52 mins. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

Against My Will, directed by Ayfer Ergun, is a film about the Dastak women's shelter in Pakistan, which provides a safe haven for women accused of tarnishing their family's honor by leaving an abusive marriage. 2002. 50 minutes. First Run/Icarus Films, http://www.frif.com

Alone in Tehran, directed by Pirooz Kalantari, is a documentary film about a young, aspiring actress in Tehran who wants to live a carefree and creative lifestyle. The film demonstrates the difficulty of this lifestyle for a young woman who lives alone in contemporary Iranian society. 1999. 25 minutes. In Farsi with English subtitles. Arab Film Distribution, http://www.arabfilm.com/item/11/

The Amahs of Hong Kong, by Anastasia Edwards, explores the lives of Filipino women who are exploited as maids in Hong Kong. Forced by mass poverty and continuing economic crisis to leave their families and homeland behind, these women make enormous sacrifices to reap small rewards. 1996, 11 minutes. Bullfrog Films, http://www.bullfrogfilms.com

Annapurna Mahila Mandal: An Experiment in Grassroots Development for Women. This video shows the ways a successful Bombay women's cooperative works for the benefit of its members and provides an examples of ways ordinary women can be empowered to improve their lives and the lives of their families. 1989, 12 minutes. Glenhurst Publications, 6300 Walker Street, Minneapolis, MN 55416, USA; (952) 925-3632

Anonymously Yours. This "shocking, frequently harrowing, and always compelling" film centers on sex trafficking in Myanmar. Filmed clandestinely, it follows the story of four sex workers and illustrates the corruption and poverty which fuel the trade. The film may be useful for those studying cultural anthropology, women's studies, Asian studies, human rights, economics, and development issues. 2003, 60 minutes. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

Arab Diaries, produced by Deborah Davies, is a series of five groundbreaking films that present a fresh, insightful picture of contemporary life across the Arab world. The titles in the series include: Birth; Home, or Maids in My Family; Love and Marriage; Work; and Youth. 2001. 130 minutes. First Run/Icarus Films, http://www.frif.com

The Aroma of Enchantment, part history, part cultural study, and a part reflection on the power of images, this video mixes visual metaphor and cultural icons to come to terms with reciprocal cultural influence in the American-Japanese relationship. 1995, 55 minutes. Center for Media and Independent Learning, http://ucmedia.berkeley.edu

Arranged Marriages, by Carol Equer-Hamy, is a film about the diversity of arranged marriages in Indian society. It provides Westerners with a more nuanced view of arranged marriages. 52 minutes. Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Behind the Smile, by Alan Handel Productions, explores the lives and culture of thousands of young Thai women who leave their homes to work in factories. 1998. 52 minutes. Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Behind the Veil: Afghan Women Under Fundamentalism. This film portrays the lives of women in Afghanistan living under the Taliban regime. It describes the human rights abuses carried out under Taliban rule as seen through the eyes of women, as well as documents women's resistance to oppression and their efforts to mobilize for freedom and democracy. 2001, 26 minutes. Films for the Humanities and Sciences, http://www.films.com

Benazir Bhutto: Walking the Tightrope, produced by Rene-Jean Bouyer, is a film about Bhutto, who became the Prime Minister of Pakistan in 1988, and the first woman to head a Muslim country. 52 minutes. Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

The Blue Kite, banned in China, tells one woman's story about the suffering endured during the Cultural Revolution by a Chinese family. KINO International, http://www.kino.com/

The Bomb Under the World is a film by Werner Volkmer. Following deregulation of the economy, consumerism has hit India, and India's growing population is looking westward, demanding the same goods and a similar living standard. The film explores the consequences of consumerism taking hold in developing countries like India. 1994, 54 minutes. Bullfrog Films, http://www.bullfrogfilms.com

The Born Again Muslims, produced by Kanakna Documentary, is the first of three videos in a series entitled Beyond the Veil: The Conflict Between the Muslim World and the West. It emphasizes that the Muslim world is not monolithic in its views by providing an overview of the laws regarding the veiling of women. 1998. 52 minutes. Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Born to Bondage: Women in India, by Marion Mayer-Hohdahl, is a film about how difficult life in India is for women, despite a decade of feminism. 2001. 40 minutes. Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Bride Kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan is the first film to document the custom of bride kidnapping, an ancient marriage tradition in Kyrgyzstan. Although bride kidnapping has been illegal in Kyrgyzstan since 1994, it is a law that is rarely enforced, and one in three rural ethnic Kyrgyz women have been forced into such marriages. This film documents in harrowing detail four such abductions, from the violent seizures on city streets and the tearful protests of the women, to the often tense negotiations between the respective families, and either the eventual acquiescence or continued refusal of the young women. Interviews with the kidnapped brides, their families as well as their in-laws' families-sensitively conducted by the film's Kyrgyz Associate Producer, Fatima Sartbaeva, reveal both the deep cultural roots of the tradition as well as growing rejection of it in this newly independent and rapidly modernizing society, especially by young women who wish to continue their education. This film is a remarkably illuminating look at a shocking social custom that raises provocative questions about the nature of love and marriage. 2004, 51 mins. First Run/Icarus Films, http://www.frif.com

Brides are not for Burning is a sobering analysis of societal hierarchies, which permit and condone violence against women such as "dowry death", the official cause of the death of 1,639 women in India in 1987. The film highlights the ineffectiveness of the courts and police despite the two recent amendments to strengthen the Dowry Prohibition Act. Films for the Humanities and Sciences, http://www.films.com

Celso and Cora, a feature length documentary about a young couple with two children living in a squatter settlement in the Philippines' capital, Manila, portrays people experiencing everyday events with a mixture of humor, irritation, weariness, and courage. 109 minutes. First Run Icarus Films, http://www.frif.com

A Changing Heart, by Leigh Devine, is a film about the gradual shift from arranged marriages to "love matches" in Japan and the social significance of that shift. 50 minutes. Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Children of the Crocodile, by Marsha Emerman, is a documentary that tells the story of two young Timorese-Australian activists and their personal journey to further the cause of peace in East Timor, the homeland they were forced to flee as children. 2001. 52 minutes. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

The Children We Sacrifice, by Grace Poore, was shot in India, Sri Lanka, Canada, and the United States. This powerful documentary is about the incestuous sexual abuse of the South Asian girl child. The film uses personal narratives to delve into the deep social and psychological impacts that this abuse has on these young girls. 2000. 61 minutes.Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

A Chinese Farm Wife is about Mrs. Li, whose husband is a salaried factory worker, and who herself is a full participant in farming and community activities in addition to her role in supervising the children's education and managing the household. Documentary Educational Resources, http://www.der.org

Covered Girls, a documentary film, examines why women in Egypt are wearing the veil. Intimate interviews set against a backdrop of compelling footage reveal the complex motives of women choosing to cover up. This half-hour production is geared to educational audiences, particularly those interested in women's issues, the Middle East, Africa and Islam. The Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Crimes of Honour, directed by Shelley Saywell, was filmed in Jordan and on the West Bank. It documents the terrible reality of femicide-the killing of sisters or daughters suspected of losing their virginity, for having refused an arranged marriage or having left a husband. 1998. 44 minutes. First Run/Icarus Films, http://www.frif.com

Dam/Age. The film traces writer Arundhati Roy's bold and controversial campaign against the Narmada dam project in India, which will displace up to a million people. As the film details the events that led up to her imprisonment, Roy meditates on her own personal negotiation with her fame, and the responsibility it places on her as a writer, a political thinker, and a citizen. The film shows how Roy chose to use her fame to stand up to powerful interests supported by multinational corporations and the Indian government and weaves together a number of issues that lie at the heart of politics today: from the consequences of development and globalization to the urgent need for state accountability and the freedom of speech. 2002, 50 minutes. First Run/Icarus Films, http://www.frif.com

Daughters of Afghanistan, by following the lives of five women from diverse backgrounds, this film exposes the ongoing struggles of women in modern Afghanistan. It features journalist Sally Armstrong as she interviews women such as Sima Simar, who ignored death threats and defied the edicts of the Taliban by providing healthcare and education to women. 2004, 58 min. Insight Media, http://www.insight-media.com

Daughters of Allah, directed by Sigrun Slapgard, is about modern Palestinian women who are trapped between a stalled peace process and an increasingly strong Islamic movement. Filmed on the West Bank and in Gaza, the documentary looks deeply into the many facets of women's lives there. 2001. 49 minutes. Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Daughters of the Nile, produced by Joop van Wijk and Hillie Molenaar, is a revealing film about Egyptian women's separate and subordinate life under the Islamic code. Men and women speak about these traditions in the film. 1993. 46 minutes. PFilmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

A Day Will Come: Tradition and Change in Pakistani Marriages, by Britt Hamilton, focuses on a middle class family of ten living in Quetta, one of Pakistan's most culturally conservative cities. The two eldest children are celebrating their engagements during the same week but in starkly opposing manners. While one has an arranged and traditional engagement, the other has chosen her fiancé. 1994, 28 minutes. The Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Defying the Odds: Women Around the World Create New Roles, a film produced for the United Nation's Beijing Women's Conference, focuses on the lives of four women of diverse ages and backgrounds who have broken ground in new fields and are questioning age-old traditions as they forge careers in their respective societies - Pakistan, Guatemala, Latvia, and Hong Kong. 29 minutes.The Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Divorce Iranian Style, by Kim Longinotto and Ziba Mir-Hosseini, provides an intimate look at several weeks in an Iranian divorce court. The film follows three women who are working their way through the divorce court. 1998. 80 minutes. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

The Double Challenge features key women activists from Bangladesh, the Philippines, and the United States who discuss the challenges to reproductive freedom presented by fundamentalists and the population establishment. UN Beijing Conference on Women, CPWE, c/o Population and Development Program, SS Hampshire College, Amherst, MA 01002-5001, USA; (413) 559-5506

Dry Days in Dobbagunta, by Nupur Basu Productions. In a village in southern India, rural women enrolled in a national literacy program participate in an empowering anti-liquor campaign to combat their domestic problems. 1995, 11 minutes. Bullfrog Films, http://www.bullfrogfilms.com

Equity and Efficiency: the Two Sides of Women and Development indicates the critical importance of women's needs when designing development projects. The supplemental manual describes two case studies of development programs-one from Nigeria that did not include women in the planning and implementation and one from India that did. Upper Midwest Women's History Center, 749 Simpson Street, St. Paul, MN 55104, USA; (651) 644-1727

Four Years in Hell, by Frode Hoje Pedersen, is a film about the big business of trafficking in women in Nepal, following the tragic story of one girl who was sold into prostitution at the age of 11. After four years she was freed and returned to her family only to discover she was HIV positive. 25 minutes. Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

From Asia With Love is a critical look at the proliferation of the mail-order bride industry in Asia and its representations of Asian women in the West. Directed by Sari Delana. 2003, 12 min. Third World Newsreel Films, http://www.twn.org

From Priestess to President is a documentary on Filipina women that traces the rise, fall, and struggle of women from 2500 BC to 1987. It includes interviews with women leaders and living suffragists and was shown on national television in the Philippines in 1987. Women's Media Circle Foundation, #1 Matiwasay corner Maginhawa Street, UP Village, Quezon City, Philippines; (63-2) 922-8728/924-4945

Gateway to Yemen is a documentary that captures traditional life in rural Yemen, which revolves around the search for water. In a culture where women are extremely sheltered, the discovery of oil has opened them up to the outside world. 1994, 40 minutes. The Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Gift of a Girl: Female Infanticide, produced by Mayyasa Al-Malazi, explores female infanticide in southern India and the steps that are being taken to eradicate the practice. 1998. 24 minutes. Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Glimpses of a Chinese Matriarchal Society (No. 26). In the traditional society of the Mothol in Yunnan Province, women are still more important to the village cultural framework than men. This film, made in China, explores the girl's rite de passage to womanhood and the selection of an "adjou", or life-mate, in a changing society that still does not recognize formal marriage. 20 minutes. Singer Sharrette Production, 52370 Dequindre, Shelby Township, MI 48316, USA; (248) 731-4199/693-4146

Grapes and Figs Are in Season: A Palestinian Woman's Story, directed by Emily Mansur Shihadeh and Victoria Rue, is a documentary film about Emily's youth in the village of Ramallah, which is now part of the occupied West Bank. 1999. 67 minutes. Arab Film Distribution, http://www.arabfilm.com

Great Girl, a film about the nature of being a foreigner, tells the story of a woman who returns to Korea looking for her birth mother, history, and cultural identity. 14 minutes. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

Habitual Sadness: Korean Comfort Women Today, directed by Byun Young-Joo, remembers in their own words those Korean women who were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese during WWII. 1999. 70 minutes. Subtitled. Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Half the Sky, produced by Canadian Broadcasting Corp., is a film about the failing of the Chinese Communist Revolution in terms of women's equality. 1997. 27 minutes. Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Her Israel follows three women as they struggle to find resolution with their own identities and self-realization in oppressive, chaotic and precarious circumstances in Israel. It presents a much-needed humanistic and objective eye into the lives of three women allowing the realities of women's lives to be heard. 2004, 57 min. Third World Newsreel, http://www.twn.org

Highway Courtesans chronicles the story of a bold young woman born into the Bachara community in Central India - the last hold-out of a tradition that started with India's ancient palace courtesans and now survives with the sanctioned prostitution of every Bachara family's oldest girl. Guddi, Shana and their neighbor Sungita serve a daily stream of roadside truckers to support their families. Their work as prostitutes forms the core of the local economy, but their contemporary ideas about freedom of choice, gender and self-determination slowly intrude on the Bachara way of life. This gripping documentary raises universal questions about sex, the roles of women, and the right of one culture to judge another. 2005, 71 mins. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

Ilayum Mullum questions the widely held belief in the power and respect enjoyed by women in Kerala, a state in south India known for its high literacy and political awareness and its matrilineal tradition and employment among women, form a woman's perspective. 90 minutes. ALCOM: Alternate Communication Forum, A-11, Green Park Extension, New Delhi - 110016, India

In the Name of the Emperor: The Rape of Nanjing, produced by Christine Choy and Nancy Tong, is a monument to 300,000 civilians who were murdered as well as the thousands of women who were raped and killed when the Japanese Imperial troops invaded Nanjing, China in 1937. 1995. 52 minutes. Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

India Cabaret, by Mira Nair, is a film focusing on a group of female strippers who work in a nightclub in Bombay. The film examines the stereotypes of women in contemporary Indian society. 1986. 60 minutes. Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

International Federation of Iranian Refugees: Maryam Namazie's live interview on Maryam Ayoobi's imminent stoning to death in the Islamic Republic of Iran and reasons for flight of Iranian asylum seekers. The International Federation of Iranian Refugees is loudly opposing the planned stoning, and is urging human rights organizations, unions and other interested people to join in the protest. Maryam Namazie, http://www.hambastegi.org

Iran, Veiled Appearances, by Thierry Michel, is composed of a series of diverse, often contradictory, images of mundane everyday life juxtaposed against historical footage of protest and revolution. The documentary demonstrates the changes as well as the resistance to change that exist in Iran today. 2002. 58 minutes. First Run/Icarus Films, http://www.frif.com

Iranian Journey, produced by Legend Productions Ltd., is a fascinating documentary portrait of a remarkable woman who is the first female bus driver in the Muslim world. The film explores the changes in the lives and roles of women in a period of transition in Iran. 2000. 60 minutes. Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Iraqi Women: Voices from Exile, by Maysoon Pachachi, is a film that provides a fascinating and rare look at the recent history of Iraq through the eyes and experiences of Iraqi women living in exile in Britain. 1994. 54 minutes. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

Islam and Feminism examines inequities in Pakistan's Islamic law, discusses how a rape victim can be charge with adultery, and introduces the efforts of such organizations as The Urban Women's Action forum and The Rural Sinihani Tahreeq, groups organized to battle the severe discrimination which Pakistani women must endure. 1991, 25 minutes. First Run/Icarus Films, http://www.frif.com

Issues and Images of Beijing '95, by the International Women's Tribune Centre, a slide-tape set, provides a glimpse into issues and events at the NGO Forum. It includes 80 slides, a 12-minute audio tape with narrative and music, and an 8 page script. Women Ink., http://womenink.org

The Japanese Nightmare: Women Who Don't Want to Marry, produced and directed by Poul Erik Heilbuth and D.V. Andersen, is a film about the increasing number of Japanese young women who are rebelling against the societal norm of marriage. 28 minutes. Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Kasthuri shows a young film star in India who is torrid on screen but adheres to traditional values in her everyday life. 1995, 30 minutes. The Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Keep Her Under Control: Law's Patriarchy in India, produced by Erin Moore, is a film based on ethnographic research carried out in Rajasthan. It is accompanied by an in-depth Instructor's Guide and background information on Indian and Muslim social and legal customs. 1998. 52 minutes. University of California Extension, Center for Media and Independent Learning, http://ucmedia.berkeley.edu

Keep Not Silent: Ortho-Dykes 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 lesbians who are members of a secret support group called the "Ortho-Dykes." Though their life choices exact a devastating price, these women are committed to confronting their duality, and accept the toll with a profound compassion toward their society. Miriam-Ester fights her aversion to a man's touch for the sake of her family and ten children, while Ruth's husband shockingly permits his wife her to see her female lover twice a week. Yudith, a Rabbi's daughter, declares her sexuality openly as she believes "lies are the worst sin on earth." Ingenious cinematic techniques underscore the excruciating pain of constant self-suppression, and provide the anonymity necessary for these women to continue living in their communities. Their courageous fight for self-realization, honesty and acceptance is an extraordinary model for those who struggle with issues of religious and sexual identity. 2004, 52 mins. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

The Ladies of the Lake: A Matriarchal Society, produced by Journeyman Pictures, is a film about a rare matriarchal community in southwest China. 1999. 20 minutes. Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

The Ladies Room. Directed by the acclaimed Iranian actress Mahnaz Afzali and filmed entirely inside a ladies' washroom in a public park in Tehran, this absorbing documentary shatters Western preconceptions of Iranian women. In a series of frank and intimate conversations, these diverse women debate everything from drugs and family abuse, to sex, relationships, and religion. Raw and provocative, this engrossing film is a remarkable look at the hidden lives of Iranian women. 2003, 55 mins. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

A Letter Home, by Buboo Kakati, is a close look at acculturation through a South Asian woman's memories of life in India. 1998. 6 minutes. Frameline Distribution, http://catalog.frameline.org

Licence to Kill, produced by Fiona Lloyd-Davies for the BBC, is a film about a Pakistani woman who wanted a divorce and was murdered as she sat in her lawyer's office. The film examines how politics, feudalism and Islam conspire to rob women of their fundamental human right - not to be killed. 2002. 45 minutes. Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

The Long Chain examines the oppression of Indian women construction workers by transnational corporations such as the First National Bank and the Sheraton/ITT conglomerate. The film presents an alarming picture of the economic and social consequences of transnational investment in the Third World. 20 minutes.DEC Films, 4227 Bloor Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1X7 CANADA

The Long-Haired Warriors, produced by Mel Halbach, is a documentary introducing a number of Vietnamese women who were active in the National Liberation Front, or Viet Cong, showing how their wartime experiences shaped the rest of their lives. 1998. 60 minutes. University of California Extension, Center for Media and Independent Learning, http://ucmedia.berkeley.edu

Made in India, by Patricia Plattner, is a powerful documentary about SEWA, the now-famous women's organization in India that holds to the simple yet radical belief that poor women need organizing, not welfare. The film provides an important look into the power of grassroots global feminism. 1998. 52 minutes. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

Made in Thailand, by Eve-Laure Moros and Linzy Emery, is a film about the labor force, 90% women, which is responsible for garments and toys for export by multinational corporations in Thailand. 1999. 30 minutes. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

The Mamioka Sisters, a highly rated film of Isaka, depicts four daughters in a merchant family who face the end of a gently way of life in 1938. 140 minutes. Cheng and Tsui Company, http://www.cheng-tsui.com/

Mao's New Suit, by Sally Ingleton, follows the life and work of two Chinese women as they pursue careers in the international fashion industry. 1997. 51 minutes. Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Marriages in Heaven, produced by Annada D. Rathi, explores the effects of globalization and modernization upon the marriage traditions of young Asian Indians living in India and the United States. 2001. 26 minutes. University of California Extension, Center for Media and Independent Learning, http://ucmedia.berkeley.edu

Memoirs of a Hindu Princess is a biographical portrait of Gayati Devi, the outspoken daughter of the Maharajas. 52 minutes. The Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Miyah: The Life of a Javanese Woman. This film follows the life of Miyah, a Javanese woman who works in the household of a prominent family in Jakarta. The effect of urbanization on women is explored as the viewer watches Miyah's struggles to support herself and her extended family. 1999, 30 min.Insight Media, http://www.insight-media.com

Mizu Shobai: Water Business, a video depicting a geisha's imaginary ground, explores cultural dislocation and shifting identity through fluid imagery and fragmented narration. 1993, 12 minutes.Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

My Husband Doesn't Mind if I Disco explores the impact of 40 years of political and economic changes introduced by the Chinese on the lives of the women of one community in eastern Tibet and examines the effects on the women of their exposure to feminism under the Maoists. 1995, 28 minutes. University of California Extension, Center for Media and Independent Learning, http://ucmedia.berkeley.edu

My Mother's Home: the Lagoon is a classic feature film about an Iranian woman's will to survive, despite the harsh realities faced in her lifetime. 2002, 26 minutes. The Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Night Girl. From the series "Girls Around the World," Night Girl presents the poignant story of Han Lin, a 17-year old prematurely made to enter into the workforce as a go-go dancer in order to help her family eke out a living in modern-day Peking. Born in the center of the metropolis, on the surface she is an ordinary girl from a traditional Chinese family. On closer inspection, Han Lin is mature beyond her years and faces an enormous burden of responsibility unfamiliar to most young women in the West. A striking picture of contemporary China, Night Girl also presents the generational and cultural rift that is now causing local traditions, values, and male and female roles to clash with on another. 2001, 45 mins. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

Not Without My Veil: Amongst the Women of Oman, produced by Mia Grondahl, addresses the Western view of the Islamic woman as oppressed and confined. This film on the women of Oman shows a different reality. It introduces us to educated, independent women who dress in the traditional way, yet are moving into new areas for women. 1994. 29 minutes. Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

On the Road to Beijing: the Manila Symposium. This 28-minute color video highlights the November 1994 event at which women from 32 countries of the Asia-Pacific region met for five days for the first regional meeting of NGO's leading up to the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. Women's Feature Service, http://www.wfsnews.org

Once This Land was Ours, a documentary about women agriculture workers in India and their struggle to provide for their families, explores the feminization of poverty in rural India. 1991, 19 minutes.Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

Our Honour and His Glory: Honor Killing in the Palestinian Zone, produced by Sigrun Slapgard for NRK, documents two cases in Palestinian villages involving "honor killing," a traditional practice in some areas of North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, whereby a father, brother or cousin is entitled to kill a woman, often a young girl, who is suspected of having sullied the family moral standard. 1999. 28 minutes. Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

The Palestinian Writer is a portrait of two important women writers who share their life experiences. 2002, 50 minutes.The Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Paradise Bent, produced by Heather Croall, is one of the first explorations of the Samoan fa'afafines, boys who are raised as girls, fulfilling a traditional role in Samoan culture. 1999. 50 minutes. Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

The Perfumed Garden, by Yamina Benguigui, is an exploration of the myths and realities of sensuality and sexuality in Arab society. Through interviews with men and women of all ages, classes and sexual orientation, the film lifts a corner of the veil that usually shrouds discussion of this subject in the Arab world. 2000. 52 minutes. First Run/Icarus Films, http://www.frif.com/new2001/per.html

The Promise, a children’s video for teaching hunger education by Heifer Project International, tells the story of eight year old Parmatma of India and nine year old Beatrice of Uganda who, although they have never met, share the dream of a life free form hunger and poverty. HPI, http://www.heifer.org/

Ramleh, by Michal Aviad, is a timely and powerful look at the ideological, cultural, and political conflicts in contemporary Israel. The documentary profiles three seemingly disparate women living in the Israeli town of Ramleh. 2001. 58 minutes. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

Rights of Passage illustrates the personal costs of "coming of age" as four adolescent girls from Nicaragua, India, Jamaica, and Burkina Faso, speak about being addicted to glue sniffing and slipping into a life of prostitution; pulled out of school and waiting to be married off; pregnancy at fourteen years of age; and the prospect of genital mutilation. 30 minutes. The Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Ripples of Change: Japanese Women’s Search for Self combines powerful political and a personal story to explore the Japanese women’s liberation movement in the 1970s and its influence in contemporary Japanese society. 1993, 57 minutes. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

Rites, a video exploring the custom of female circumcision, shows the efforts of women throughout the world to campaign for eradication of the practice. 1991, 52 minutes. The Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

The Road to Change is a film about the practices of female genital mutilation and methods for its prevention. This film examines the origins of this ancient ritual, what medical effects this procedure can have on women, and what can be done to stop this grotesque act. To confront the issue, the film uses dialogues with victims of female genital mutilation, as well as many other sources, such as doctors, religious leaders, and politicians. 2000, 45 minutes. WHO Publications Center, http://www.who.int/docstore/frh-whd/

Runaway, by Kim Longinotto and Ziba Mir-Hosseini, is a powerful and heart-breaking documentary about a group of young runaway girls who are taken to a women's shelter in Tehran-Iran. The film confronts the reasons that young girls run away from their families, usually to escape the abusive power of their fathers or other male family members. 2001. 87 minutes. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

Sari Red, by Pratibha Parmar, a short, powerful video about an Indian lesbian in Great Britain, examines the duality of messages that Indian women residing in Britain receive and re-enact in their daily lives. By combining the story of the death of a young Indian school girl at the hands of young white British boys who go unpunished with depictions of Indian women in private and public settings, the video gives insight into the often unarticulated colonial legacy of a racially arrogant society. 1988, 12 minutes. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

Science for Survival features Vandana Shiva, the leader of a people’s movement in India that opposes “reductionist Western science”, who argues that the Green Revolution failed because women’s knowledge of traditional seed varieties was ignored and Dr. Sharadini Dahanukar who has set out to prove that Ayurvedic medicine, which relies heavily on women’s knowledge of plants and herbs, has scientific validity. 50 minutes. Bullfrog Films, http://www.bullfrogfilms.com

Sentenced to Marriage exposes the Kafkaesque process of divorce for women in Israel where secular law does not exist, and divorce is dealt with according to archaic and fundamentalist orthodox Jewish law. Filmmaker Anat Zuria, gained rare access to the rabbinical courts to follow two women caught in the demoralizing legal labyrinth. Although husbands can live with other women and even withhold child support, wives are forbidden contact with other men. In some cases, these very modern, independent and well-educated women are forced to buy a divorce from their husbands for huge sums. As a result, thousands of Jewish women have lived in limbo indefinitely, both in Israel and in other communities around the world. This film reveals a little-known reality that seems utterly unimaginable in contemporary Jewish society. 2004, 65 mins. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

The Settlers, by Ruth Walk, is a documentary filmed in the midst of the Palestinian territories in the city of Hebron on the West Bank. The film examines the Orthodox women in a Jewish settlement and their firm belief in their right to be there, despite the chaos that surrounds them. 2002. 58 minutes. First Run/Icarus Films, http://www.frif.com

She Wants to Talk to You, by Anita Change. This film captures the lives of three girls living in Katmandu, Nepal, and their views on marriage, friendship, and spirituality. Their stories provide a reference for Nepali women living in the US and the difficulties in their quest for exile and liberation. 2001, 29 minutes. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

Silk and Steel: New Roles for Indonesian Women, an Electric Pictures Production, examines the roles played by women in reshaping the traditionally male dominated culture of southeast Asia. 1999. 56 minutes. Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Sisters and Daughters Betrayed, created by Chela Blitt, examines the economics and realities of sex trafficking and forced prostitution, and the parallels between the situation in Asia and in other world regions. 1995, 27 minutes. The Global Fund for Women, http://www.globalfundforwomen.org/

The Sisters of Ladakh is an inquiry into the feminine vision of Buddhism. Filmed on location in Ladakh, on the Himalayan border between India and Tibet, this one hour documentary features stunning photography and compelling testimonies of Tibetan nuns. This film documents their daily activities in an intimate and candid way, encompassing both their religious practices and the interaction with local communities. The nuns also discuss the condition and role of women in Buddhism, the current efforts to overcome gender prejudices and the challenges that lie ahead to build a compassionate world both at the local and global levels. 2003, 50 min. Third World Newsreel, http://www.twn.org

Sixteen Decisions, produced by Gayle Ferraro, is a film about the everyday life of one Bangladeshi woman. Her life is used to exemplify the struggles and strengths of the millions of impoverished women in the country. The focus is on the Grameen Bank, and how its lending policies have helped women rebuild their economies and begin addressing issues such as dowries, birth control, and education for children. 2000. 59 minutes. University of California Extension, Center for Media and Independent Learning, http://ucmedia.berkeley.edu

Something like a War, an examination of India’s family planning program from the point of view of women, illuminates how, in the absence of development in areas such as education, healthcare, land reform, and employment, population control is just an empty slogan. 1991, 52 minutes. Woman Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

A Song of Ceylon is a formally rigorous, visually stunning study of colonialism, gender and the body. The title echoes the classic British documentary and evokes a country erased from the world map. The soundtrack enacts a Sri Lankan anthropological text observing a woman's ritual exorcism. Visually, the film brings together theatrical conventions and recreations of classic film stills, presenting the body in striking tableaux. This remarkable film is a provocative treatise on hybridity, hysteria and performance. 1985, 51 minutes. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

Song of the Exile, a semi-autobiographical film by Hong Kong’s leading woman director, tells the story of a mother-daughter relationship. 1990, 100 minutes. KINO International, http://www.kino.com

Song of Umm Dalaila, directed by Danielle Smith, is a film set in the Dakha refugee camp in Algeria that tells the story of the 18-year-long struggle of the Sahrawi people to return to an independent homeland. The film focuses on the strong leadership role that women play in running the camp. 1993. 35 minutes. Arab Film Distribution, http://www.arabfilm.com

South: Islam and Feminism examines the inequities in Pakistan’s Islamic law, which does not distinguish among rape, adultery and “fornication”, and introduces the urban Women’s Action Form and the rural Sindihani Tahreeq which work to battle the severe discrimination which Pakistani women must endure. 25 minutes. First Run Icarus Films, http://www.frif.com/

Sparrow Village. This film follows the hardships of impoverished Chinese girls in their efforts to attend school. It is nearly impossible for their families to gather enough money to send the girls to school. Despite their desire for an education, some of the girls must drop out of school. 2003, 30 min. The Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Stories of Honor and Shame, through a series of personal accounts, portrays fifteen Palestinian women who reveal their roles in a patriarchal Islamic society and shows the resilience and courage of women. 1996, 58 minutes. First Run/Icarus Films, http://www.frif.com

The Taliban Legacy brings into light the havoc created by the Taliban regime in Afghanistan causing two million to flee their country. 2002, 35 minutes. The Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

The Tears of Mesopotamia explores Mesopotamia, a flash point between Iran, Iraq, and Turkey, after the devastating effects of the Gulf Wars, taking a look at ordinary people caught in the middle of political and economic chaos. 2000, 60 minutes. The Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

The Tenth Dancer provides a rare window on women’s lives in Cambodia, a country under cultural and political reconstruction following the brutal Pol Pot regime. 1993, 52 minutes. Woman Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

This is Not Living, by Alia Arasoughly. Filmed in Ramallah, this documentary captures the lives of eight Palestinian women living in the context of war, terror, and military occupation. These women speak honestly about their experiences with violence and marginalization in regards to political debates concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Furthermore, this film reveals how they negotiate their identities and challenge conventional stereotypes of Palestinian women in the media. 2001, 42 minutes. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

Triumph over Terror. Television Trust for the Environment commissioned six producers from Africa, Asia and the Pacific, to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The result is six hard-hitting films from Bangladesh, Nepal, Nigeria, South Africa and Thailand. The titles in the series include: Where Truth Lies, a dramatic case before the South African Truth & Reconciliation Commission. Going Home, a10-year old soldier escapes rebel forces in Sierra Leone. Till Death Do Us Part, widows are denied inheritance and property rights in Nigeria. In the Name of Safety, false imprisonment violates due process in Bangladesh. Smiles: The Hypocrisy of Thai Politics, the struggle for greater democracy and free speech in Thailand. Discipline with Dignity, the attempt to end corporal punishment in Nepalese schools. Bullfrog Films, http://www.bullfrogfilms.com

The Virgin Diaries, by Jessica Woodworth, is a documentary by two young women that travel through Morocco in search of answers to questions about virginity, sex, and Islam. 2002. 57 minutes. Closed captioned. First Run/Icarus Films, http://www.frif.com

Vis-À-Vis: Beyond the Veil, by Yerosha Productions in Association with Unitel Video, Inc., explores the political and cultural differences between Iran and America through the perspectives of two women. The issues discussed range from beliefs about womanhood to freedom of speech and the role of religion in society. 1998, 54 minutes. PBS Video: 1-800-344-3337

Which Way is East? is a travel diary of two sisters which offers personal reflections and childhood remembrances of the Vietnam war and the distinctive experiences of two women travelers of Vietnamese culture. 33 minutes. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

Wild Swans, an account of the lives of three generations of Chinese women, uses archival and contemporary footage to show how individual lives are transformed by historical forces. 59 minutes. The Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Woman Being, by Wen-Jie Qin, provides a critical examination of changing concepts of beauty and sexuality in modern China. The film illustrates how a flood of Western pop culture is adversely affecting women's expectations and self-worth. 1997. 20 minutes. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

Woman by Woman: New Hope for the Villages of India. Self-empowerment for women is the main focus of this video. It draws on examples of women who have fought for women’s rights, become community leaders, and worked towards educating women about their rights in gender-biased rural areas. 2001, 30 min. Insight Media, http://www.insight-media.com

The Woman Next Door is a documentary about women in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the roles that the Occupation designated for women on both sides. 1992, 80 minutes. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

A Woman Waiting for Her Period an examination of the lives of Chinese graduate students in the Midwestern United States provides observations on the impact of U.S. culture and values on their experiences. 23 minutes. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

Women and Islam discusses the pressures and processes as well as the impulses and dichotomies that confront traditional women in the modern world and modern women in the world of tradition. 30 minutes. Films for the Humanities and Sciences, http://www.films.com

Women and Work in South Asia: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan shows images of women in a wide variety of work activities, in urban and rural areas, through seasonal cycles. Upper Midwest Women’s History Center, 612-644-1727

Women in Bangladesh: Taslima Nasrren, produced by Journeyman Pictures, presents an interview with Taslima Nasreen, a writer who has called for more freedom for the women of Bangladesh and consequently now has a fatwa issued for her arrest and/or death. 1996. 23 minutes. Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Women in China, produced for SVT, is a timely two-part documentary on the conditions of women in today's economically -oriented Chinese society. By visiting four diverse parts of China, it provides a representative view of the opportunities and living conditions of Chinese women today. Parts I and II - 50 minutes each. Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Women in Development analyzes the impact of gender roles on the lives of women in Vietnam, Micronesia, and the Solomon Islands, discussing health, education and the influence of women on environmental issues. 1996, 25 minutes. Insight Media, http://www.insight-media.com

Women in Japan, is the fifth in a series of teaching modules, which combine three Japanese feature films (Akira Kurosawa’s Roshomon, Kenji Mizoguchi’s Osaka Elegy, and Yasujiro Ozu’s Floating Weeds), an essay on the cultural and social problems facing Japanese women, and analytical essays on the three films. Japan Society, http://www.japansociety.org/

Women in the Arab World is a three-part series which portrays highly educated and successful women in the Middle East. Part I, Egypt: To Live With the Differences, discusses fears surrounding the fundamentalist movement. Part II, Jordan: Democracy for Our Children, deals with the threats against human rights and democracy. Part III, Morocco: The Rights of Women, looks at gender roles, child welfare, women and power, and the modern Muslim woman. 1997, 25 minutes each. TV DITS, P.O. Box 12010, 1100 AA Amsterdam, Eekholt 2, Diemen-Zuid, The Netherlands; 31-20-3143100

The Women of Hezbollah, by Maher Abi-Samra, is a portrait of two women, Zeinab and Khadjie, activists in Hezbollah, and an examination of the personal, social, and political factors of their commitment. 2000. 49 minutes. First Run/Icarus Films, http://www.frif.com

Women of the Arab World Series, by Harmke Pijpers, is a series of three videos on women's rights in Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco. Despite the repression of women by Islamic fundamentalist groups, there are examples of highly educated, successful women who have attained emancipation. Video I - Egypt: To Live With the Differences; Video II - Jordan: Democracy for Our Children; Video III - Morocco: The Rights of Women. Each video is 25 minutes. Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Women of the Yellow Earth, produced by BBC Television, looks at the lives of two Chinese women to show how the Chinese government intercedes in family life. 1996. 50 minutes. Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

The Women Outside is a video documenting the lives of women who work in brothels, bars and nightclubs around United States military bases in South Korea. Third World Newsreel, http://www.twn.org

Women’s Rights Action Network Australia video includes excerpts from the First Australian Women’s Human Rights Tribunal, which was held in May of 1999. It highlights testimonies and comments by Australian women and tribunal members over such topics as domestic violence, economic exploitation, child abuse, discrimination against refugee women and abuse of women in prisons. 2000, 40 minutes. Vintrix International, http://www.vintrix.com.au

Working Sister, produced by Jennifer Stephens and Ellen Chu, is the story of women rural-to-urban migrant workers in China. The story is told through the experience of one young woman who is traveling back to her rural farm home to visit her family. 1998. 27 minutes. University of California Extension, Center for Media and Independent Learning, http://ucmedia.berkeley.edu

World, Shahira: Nomads of the Sahara, by Filmcentre Production, is a documentary about a young Muslim woman, an anthropologist, who suffered professional and personal censure to save a desert tribe from becoming extinct in the harsh Sahara. 1989, 52 minutes. The Filmakers Library, http://www.filmakers.com

Zinat, One Special Day, by Ebrahim Mokhtari, is a film about Zinat, the first woman from the Island of Qeshm in the south of Iran to remove the traditional veil. Zinat, along with her husband Ahmad, ran for office in the first local elections held in Iran since the revolution and won. 2000. 54 minutes. First Run/Icarus Films,http://www.frif.com

General: Canadian, European, or US Topics

Abortion: Stories from North and South features interviews filmed in Ireland, Japan, Thailand, Peru, Colombia, and Canada and encourages audiences to go beyond their own beliefs for or against abortion and to ask new questions that can provide a constructive framework for a broad consideration of this issue. 1994, 55 minutes. The Cinema Guild, http://www.cinemaguild.com

The Alarm Rings Softly, by Judith Laird, focuses on women subjected to violence from their partners as a result of substance abuse. In the past, they have had no right to appeal to the law, but new generations of women are using drama and reggae to focus attention on a once taboo subject. 1995, 12 minutes. Bullfrog Films, http://www.bullfrogfilms.com

Bringing It All Back Home, a documentary, analyzes patterns of international capital investment and the exploitation of Third World women workers in the free trade zones and urges women workers in the First World countries to learn from the challenges Third World women have made to this concept of “development”. 1987, 48 minutes. Women Make Movies, http://www.wmm.com

Chain of Love. Domestic labor migrants are the focus of this video. Increasing demand in the West for domestic workers has led to an increase in women migrating from developing countries to serve families in the West. The cases of Philippine women are examined because they are held in high regard by their Western employers when compared to migrant workers from other countries. 2001, 50 minutes. First Run/Icarus Films, http://www.frif.com

Change is a film describing the progress that women in developing countries have made through their own work and initiative—progress they are continuing to make with the Voluntary Fund’s Assistance. 15 minutes. United Nations Voluntary Fund for the Decade for Women, http://www.un.org

Conversations with Women from the Third World. Women from Nigeria, Kenya, and India speak about women’s issues in their countries, and a group of Indian women are seen organizing to improve their lives. Glenhurst Publications, 6300 Walker Street, Minneapolis, MN 55416, USA; (952) 925-3632

The Darkness of My Language, a video poem exploring colonialism, cultural ignorance and personal identity, scrutinizes language as a barrier as wel