FILM TALKS – Women’s Studies
• Eleanor Roosevelt
Directed by: Kathryn Dietz
This film tells the story of one of the most widely loved and admired women in America, as well as one of the most controversial. One friend described her as a “tough old bird” with fierce self-discipline and an iron will, while others found her politically naive and a soft touch for anyone in need. We know that as the niece of one popular president and the wife of another, Eleanor Roosevelt had an unprecedented place in America’s social and political life. Yet we also know that she struggled with problems familiar to many, including a lonely childhood, a domineering mother-in-law, an unfaithful husband, and a profound lack of self-confidence. In this presentation, Ms. Dietz focuses on the process of getting to know Mrs. Roosevelt while making her two-and-a-half hour film for PBS, Eleanor Roosevelt.
Other Keywords: American Studies, History, Women’s Issues
• An Everyday Crime
Directed by: Elena Ghanotakis
TRT: 14 min
“An Everyday Crime” explores the reality of South Africa’s rape epidemic through the experience of a day in the life of a “Thuthuzela” Rape Survivor Center, one of only a handful of such centers in the whole country.
Established in 2005 in a wing of GF Jooste Trauma Hospital to cope with the high volume of rape cases coming through the hospital, Thuthuzela (meaning “comfort” in the Xhosa language) serves rape survivors in the Cape Flats, the notoriously violent and impoverished communities on the outskirts of Cape Town.
Through each of the cases that come through the center in the course of a day, the film explores various issues related to rape in South Africa. The film puts a human face to the reality of rape in South Africa and shows the survivors and the professionals that dedicate their lives to treating and empowering survivors of rape every day.
Other Keywords: Human Rights, HIV/AIDS, African issues
• A Midwife’s Tale
Directed by: Laurie Kahn-Leavitt
Adapted from the Pulitzer-Prize winning book, A Midwife’s Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, this film tells the story of Martha Ballard, a midwife living on the frontier in Maine, who kept a diary for 27 years immediately after the Revolutionary War. Using costumes and actual artifacts from the period, the film brings Ballard’s world to life, touching upon the personal struggles caused by a revolution in medical practice as well as politics. The film also addresses the role of women by showing the crucial importance of their work as mothers, wives, healers, housekeepers, and household providers. A Midwife’s Tale asks the same questions that any historian would ask: How did these people live? What clothes did they wear? How did they speak? What issues mattered to them? Unfolding like a detective story and intercutting between historical recreations and the documentary-style footage of historian Laurel Ulrich, A Midwife’s Tale takes its viewers along the same journey of discovery that the historian/writer experienced when she discovered the diary.
Other Keywords: American Studies, History, Women’s Issues
- • Movin’ Up: A Helping Hand
Directed by: Rudy Hypolite
TRT: 54 minutes
Movin’ Up: A Helping Handis an adaptation from a play written by Irma Askew, a former social worker with the Women’s Service Club. 
This one-hour docudrama chronicles the migration of young, black women from rural towns in the South to the northern city of Boston in search of a better life during the turbulent time of the 1960s.
These poor, young women were enticed by misleading radio ads to move to cities like Boston to work as domestic servants, then known as “kitchen mechanics.” The film utilizes both the narrative storyline of the Anderson family, the dilemma encountered by these young women, the thriving night club life in Boston, as well as archival material and interviews with a former domestic, a jazz musician and members of the Women’s Service Club, to advance this untold piece of Boston’s history.
In Boston, The Women’s Service Club, a community service organization for black women, run by black women, come to the aid of these women, providing training, job referrals and a supportive environment. 
Under the leadership of Roxbury’s well-renowned Melnea Cass, the WSC also moved to enact legislation to address the many inequities endured by the domestic worker. The story culminates with a look into the thriving jazz club nightlife, and the lead character’s interest and introduction into realizing her dream to become a jazz singer. Movin’ Up: A Helping Hand is a hopeful, but realistic story of the journey to freedom and prosperity that thousands of Southern blacks made and emphasizes the grit and determination necessary to overcome the handicaps of prejudice and ignorance. Before this production was made into a film, it had been performed for some 25 years on stage in community theatres in the Boston area.
Other Keywords: African-American Studies, History
• The Powder & The Glory
Directed by: Arnie Reisman and Ann Carol Grossman
TRT: Three 10-15 min clips
The Powder & the Glory tells the story of two of the first highly successful women entrepreneurs in America, Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein. One hundred years ago these women immigrated to the United States and, starting with next to nothing, created what is today the $150 billion global health and beauty industry. This is an inspiring story about perseverance, genuine creativity, and continual reinvention to meet the changing needs and demands of consumers and society. For more info, visit www.powderandglory.com
Other Keywords: American Studies, Business and Industry
• Racing Against the Clock
Directed By: Bill Haney
Edited by: Peter Rhodes
Co-Producers: Debra Longo, Adam Moyer and Eric Grunebaum
TRT: 80 min
Racing Against the Clock tells the story of five extraordinary women between the ages of 50 and 82 who sprint, jump and pole vault their way through track and field competitions on their quest to make it to the World Masters Athletics Championships. These mothers, daughters, grandmothers and yes, even great-grandmothers include a three time cancer survivor, a sharecropper’s daughter, a political refugee, a former cowgirl and the oldest athlete to ever be honored as a finalist for the Sullivan Award which celebrates the top amateur athletes in America (The other finalists? Michael Phelps, Apolo Anton Ohno, Diana Taurasi and LeBron James!). These women are vibrant, courageous and refuse to grow old quietly and in the process, they shatter preconceptions of what it means to grow old. Full of drama and humor, this engaging film offers much to audiences both young and old. Joyous, heartwarming and incredibly inspirational, Racing Against the Clock leaves you cheering.
Other Keywords: Aging, Sports