The information gathered together in this Guide represents the experiences of more than a decade. In that time women from every part of the globe have been making audiovisuals that show the world as we see it, and using these media as organizing and consciousness-raising tools. It has also been a decade and more that Isis International, publisher of this Guide, and its predecessor organization ISIS* have been working to build networks of communication and solidarity among women and women's groups worldwide, networks that have provided an indispensable foundation for the preparation of this Guide.

Over the years, as we came to see the increasingly important role played by audiovisuals in the process of women's self-development, the idea was born of a resource guide that would share women's experiences as makers and users of audiovisual media and at the same time provide access to the fruits of their work - work that is all too often unknown outside local communities. Focusing on the experiences and creations of Third World women, the Guide was conceived as the first phase in an ongoing Isis International program on women and audiovisuals.

* Isis International grew out of ISIS, which was founded in 1974 to promote communication and networking among women around the world. In January 1984 ISIS was transformed into two organizations: Isis International Women's Information and Communication Service in Rome, Italy and our sister organization Isis-WICCE (Women's International Cross-Cultural Exchange) in Geneva, Switzerland. Isis International subsequently opened a second center in Santiago, Chile.

The project proved to be far more ambitious than we had anticipated, and in the end it took two years of research and compilation to complete. In the process other elements of our audiovisual program also became a reality. The finished Guide approaches the topic from a multiplicity of perspectives, combining articles surveying the political role of audiovisuals in the growth of a worldwide women's movement, accounts of the experiences of Third World women's groups in making and using audiovisuals, practical suggestions on equipment, production techniques, and working with audiences, and a catalogue of more than 600 audiovisuals on a broad range of topics, nearly all of them produced by women. Included are videos, films, slideshows, slide-tape shows, filmstrips, and multimedia productions - any and all media that combine images and sound.

We have used a number of ways to gather information: we sent off countless cards and letters, advertised the project through our own publications, and consulted many catalogues and other documents, most of them produced by groups with a feminist or grassroots orientation.

Our criteria for selecting the audiovisuals in this Guide were not based on the technical quality of the productions, but on their value as documents of women's experiences. We have not actually seen most of the audiovisuals presented here, but have had to rely on self-descriptions given in response to our questionnaires or on published descriptions and reviews.

This Guide contains an enormous wealth of materials from all over the world. However, there are clearly gaps and disparities in the coverage of different regions, particularly between the industrialized countries and the Third World, notably Africa. Some of the gaps simply reflect the reality of which women do and do not have access to audiovisual media. Others, however, are an expression of practical limitations that have prevented us from obtaining information that is truly comprehensive.

Because of the enormous amount of data available about audiovisual resources produced in northern industrialized countries, we have been more selective with these. On the other hand, we have included almost all the information we have about Latin America and Asia. We were able to learn very little about audiovisual materials from Africa and many of the resources we do know about were produced by international agencies, not local groups. Although they may be debatable from the point of view of grassroots women's organizations, we hope they can still be used to stimulate discussion about certain policies, without necessarily supporting them. There is also a lack of information about eastern Europe, and very little from certain western European countries such as Spain, Portugal or Greece.

How to Use This Book

The contents of the Guide are organized into four parts. The first, "Audiovisuals: A Valuable Tool for Grassroots Organizing," contains a series of articles aiming to demystify and promote the use of such resources. Along with an overview of the role of audiovisuals in women's organizing, this section offers tips on equipment and on making and using simple productions, such as slideshows, which do not require great material resources.

The articles in the second part share specific experiences of Third World women, many of whom are using cameras, tape recorders and video to document the consciousness-raising process and affirm the value of women as they really are. Such projects have often launched an exciting process of both individual and collective growth.

An annotated listing of audiovisual resources makes up the third part. They are divided into seventeen chapters according to subject area, then subdivided into geographical regions. Some of the sections are further subdivided by theme; in other cases, even where a large number of audiovisuals are included in one region, their wide-ranging nature made such subdivision impossible. At the end of each chapter is a cross-index of related audiovisuals in other chapters. The method of division into subject areas not only helps to locate the right resource for a particular program, but also provides an overview of the general and specific issues around which women are organizing in different parts of the world.

Please note that Isis International does not distribute the audiovisual materials listed in this Guide. If you are interested in obtaining a copy of any of these audiovisuals, you may contact the distributors directly at the addresses given in the concluding section, described below.

Part Four, the last section, contains three chapters. The first is an annotated bibliography that includes catalogues, guides and periodicals. Because we have had to omit some very interesting audiovisuals from the industrialized countries, these catalogues may be a useful complement to the information contained in this Guide.

The chapter on "Contacts" gives the addresses of distributors. Because the production of audiovisuals by or about women takes place on different levels and in different contexts, this is a very heterogeneous list encompassing women's action groups, governmental and international organizations, research centers, independent producers, distribution houses and some commercial cinema and video producers. The information is divided into geographical regions, subdivided by country and organized alphabetically.

Finally, in the "Stop Press" chapter we have included a series of additional contacts, most of whom we learned about during the Women's Decade Nongovernmental Forum in Nairobi, Kenya in July 1985, at a series of workshops on audiovisuals organized by Isis International.

Isis International and Audiovisuals

The Nairobi workshops represented another dimension of Isis International's work with audiovisuals and grew directly out of the work we were engaged in with the Guide. In planning these workshops, we sought most basically to promote a direct exchange of the types of experiences described in this Guide, fostering a dialogue among women's groups on their efforts to use audiovisuals as a tool for communication, self-development and organization, especially in the Third World.

Beyond that, we also hoped to begin laying the practical groundwork for further exchanges, through identifying common needs and discussing ways to meet them, and also through studying the possibility of establishing networks of cooperation among the participating groups. Some 140 women participated in these workshops – far more than we had anticipated, confirming the interest of women in working in this area.

What were the main needs that emerged from the discussions in Nairobi? A need for financial resources, an urgent need for training, a need for wider distribution beyond the local level, a need for information about existing audiovisuals and how to obtain them, and finally a need for sharing skills and experiences about making and using audiovisuals, especially for organizing at the grassroots level.

Many ideas emerged about ways of addressing these needs, although few suggested any short-term solutions. The idea of setting up regional coordination networks and the possibility of joint projects for the more constructive use of resources of the various groups seemed to be one road everyone agreed on. We see this Guide as one small step in that direction.

Another step we have taken in the process of producing this Guide is the development of a computerized data base on women's audiovisual resources. We will continue to build and update this data base in order to provide as complete an information service as possible on audiovisual resources, with the perspective of promoting cooperation and networking. We would like to request readers to keep us informed about your activities in this area, so that your experiences can be shared with others.

Although we have checked the accuracy of the information given in this Guide as carefully as possible, some errors may remain. We would very much appreciate information and corrections of any errors you may find.

More About Isis International

Friends and supporters in many countries have often wondered who the women are behind all our efforts, and more than one visitor, envisioning some huge agency, has been shocked to find that both our centers are tiny offices staffed by a handful of women, most of whom work part-time and divide their efforts among Isis International, family responsibilities, and, in some cases, other jobs. Our permanent staff numbers only six in Santiago and six more in Rome: our work is constantly enriched, however, by the many women who come to work with us for specific projects or for a period of time.

The women working in our offices come from all parts of the world. What goes on in the Isis International centers in Rome and Santiago, however, is only a part of the picture. Much of our work is done by friends and associates around the globe, especially in the Third World. Whether it's sending us news of their activities, helping to edit one of our publications, or distributing our resources in their communities, the efforts of this worldwide network of women are the lifeblood of our work.

Our interest in audiovisuals has been a natural outgrowth of other Isis International activities, which in one way or another are all concerned with information and communication. Twice a year the perspectives and experiences of Third World women are presented through the pages of the Isis International Women's Journal, published in English and Spanish. Each issue covers a specific theme such as media or health and is copublished with a different organization or network of Third World women, who exercise complete editorial control over the contents and often handle the production, while Isis International takes care of translations, coordination and, generally, distribution. Alternating with the Journal, our supplement, Women in Action, also published twice a year in both languages, reports more briefly on activities, campaigns, and resources developed by women's groups around the world.

All of our work in communications is meant to serve the needs of an activist women's movement, and certain Isis International programs directly support activist networks. The Latin American and Caribbean Women and Health Network, created in 1984, is coordinated from our center in Santiago, Chile. Currently the network includes more than 350 groups and organizations; Isis International services include a bimonthly bulletin and a computerized data base of information on health groups and resources.

Women and development has long been one of our major areas of interest; our most recent effort in this line is a resource kit, "Building on Women's Experiences," produced jointly with the International Coalition for Development Action in Brussels, Belgium, and issued in 1985. A collection of materials on women's concrete development activities from all over the world, the kit is a testimony to women's initiatives for self-empowerment. We also distribute Women in Development: A Resource Guide for Organization and Action. Published by ISIS in 1983, this groundbreaking work combines a wealth of resources with a systematic feminist critique of traditional approaches to development, exposing how they perpetuate the invisibility of women's work and foster the continued exploitation of women and their communities.

In addition to our own publishing, our two resource centers, in Rome and Santiago, both maintain extensive files of women's documents and publications from all over the world, covering such issues as health, development, work, racism, violence against women, tourism and prostitution, militarism and peace, new technology, and many other concerns. Currently both centers are developing computerized data bases to provide faster and more complete access to this information.

Formal training programs and informal assistance are also provided through both centers, in such areas as communications and information management.

It is with a great sense of beginnings, rather than completion, that we offer this Guide. We hope that our readers will join with us in building the networks of information sharing and mutual assistance that are needed to realize the potential of audiovisual media as a tool in the hands of women - the potential to explore, define and create our own self-images and through them our own lives.

The women of Isis International

Via Santa Maria dell'Anima, 30

00186 Rome, Italy

tel. 656 5842

Casilla 2067

Correo Central

Santiago, Chile

tel. 490 271