abortion • women's actions • birth control methods • sterilization abuse • exposing population control • depo provera
WORLDWIDE
Abortion: Stories from North and South (Canada 1984)
Film, 16 mm; video, 54 min., color, in English
Made by Gail Singer
Producer: National Film Board of Canada, Studio D and the NFB Ontario Regional Production Studio
Distributor: National Film Board of Canada (Canada)
This film is a cross-cultural survey of the realities of abortion. It shows how abortion is an issue for women of every race, religion and social class, and how differences in the practice and perception of abortion are deeply affected by the degree of secrecy and danger accompanying it.
Filmed in Ireland, Japan, Thailand, Peru, Colombia and Canada, this documentary uses an approach that is more anthropological than moralistic or political. It provokes further reflection and discussion on this global debate.
History of Medicine (Canada)
Film, 1 hour, in English
Made by Signe Johansson
Distributor: Studio D (USA), National Film Board of Canada (Canada)
While powerful moral, religious and political forces have traditionally worked against them, women around the world have always sought ways to terminate unwanted pregnancies, of risking their own lives to do so. From cross-cultural and historical points of view this film provides a provocative global perspective on this complex issue.
Historique de la Contraception (Canada)
(The History of Contraception)
Slideshow, 30 min., in French
Made by the National Film Board of Canada
Distributor: Mouvement Francais pour le Planning Familial-Isere (France) and National Film Board of Canada (Canada)
This slideshow traces the history of contraception over the centuries, relating it to changing patterns of human and social behavior.
ASIA
Shots in the Dark (England 1982)
Video and 16 mm film, 47 min., color, in English
Distributor: BBC Enterprises Ltd. (England)
An investigation into the use of the contraceptive Depo-Provera by women in Thailand. A long-acting hormonal product made with synthetic progesterones, Depo-Provera is widely marketed in Europe and in developing countries by the Upjohn Company, a U.S.-based pharmaceutical multinational which produces the drug in Canada and Belgium. The drug is not allowed for contraceptive use in the United States.
Among the drug's side-effects are increased uterine, cervical and mammary cancer risk, weight gain, hair loss, headaches, pains in the legs, disruption of the menstrual cycle and delayed return to fertility, with some cases of sterility. Women's groups have also expressed concern about its effects on the sexual development of infants who breastfeed while their mothers use the drug, and possible malformations of the fetus.
Despite these dangers, the drug is widely promoted in developing countries as a convenient and effective form of family planning and population control. This audiovisual examines the kinds of ethical questions that such promotion and use raises, citing the double standards often used in the drug marketing business.
Prapanch Karu Ya Netaka (India)
Slideshow, 26 min., color, in Marathi, Hindi with English commentary
Made by Astha, Adult Education Project
Distributor: Astha, Xavier Institute of Communications (India)
The slideshow deals with women's desire to control their fertility, the various methods of birth control, and the advantages and disadvantages of each. Men's attitudes towards birth control are also discussed.
Gutsy Women (Japan)
Video, 35 min., in English
Made by Chieko Yamagami
Distributor: Soshiren (Japan)
This video records the movement of Japanese women for abortion rights.
AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC
As a Matter of Fact (Australia 1979)
Film, 16 mm, 28 min., color, in English
Made by Abortion Film Collective
Distributor: Cinema of Women (England)
This film is a documentary about an abortion clinic run by women. Counseling is shown to be an important part of the abortion procedure, which is carred out in the film using a local anesthetic and the vacuum aspiration method.
Fifteen (Australia 1978)
Film, 16 mm, 20 min., b/w, in English
Made by Jenny McIntyre
Distributor: Sydney Filmmakers Cooperative (Australia)
This short dramatic film traces a school student's search for suitable contraception. Eva is fifteen and her request for the pill is turned down by the first doctor she visits because he considers her too young. Her boyfriend, out of shyness or fear, is unable to ask for condoms at the chemist. Eventually Eva goes to the Fertility Control Clinic where she obtains the prescription she wants. The film does not investigate the use of any method of contraception other than the pill and condoms. It is recommended that screenings of the film be accompanied by a discussion of the issues it raises.
Two Daughters (Australia 1978)
Film, 16 mm, 13 min., b/w, in English
Made by Daniela Torsh
Distributor: Sydney Filmmakers Cooperative (Australia)
Luise, a student, sings in a pub to put herself through university. She lives with Bob, a teacher, in a tenuous relationship; when she becomes accidentally pregnant she is not sure that he is the father. Two Daughters is about the conflict Luise experiences in making her decision to have an abortion. The filmmaker started this film in 1974 as an attempt at catharsis after an horrific experience having her own abortion-before the women's health movement and before inexpensive, safe clinics were established.
EUROPE
Ecoutez Jeanne Humbert, Femme et Neo-Malthusienne (France 1980)
(Listen to Jeanne Humbert, a Woman and a Neo-Malthusian)
Film, 16 mm, 52 min., color, in French
Made by Bernard Baissat
Producer: Bernard Baissat
Distributor: Bernard Baissat (France)
At age 90, French libertarian Jeanne Humbert continues to fight for women's right to abortion and contraception, as well as for social change and progress. Here, Humbert recounts her lifetime of struggle in a conversation with French historian Francis Ronsin.
Y'a Qu'a Pas Baiser! (France 1983)
(Just Quit Making Love)
Video, 1/2 in., 25 min., b/w, in French
Made by Carole Roussopoulos
Producer: Video Out
Distributor: Centre Audiovisuel Simone de Beauvoir (France)
This video deals with some of the reasons why a woman decides not to have a child. It shows an abortion carried out by means of the aspiration method and includes footage from the first women's demonstration for the legalization of abortion in France, held on November 21, 1971.
Mujer y Salud (Spain 1983)
(Women and Health)
Video, 1/2 in., 60 min., color, in Spanish
Made by Instituto Informativo Mujer
Distributor: Instituto de la Mujer - Taller Audiovisuales (Spain)
A documentary about family planning, abortion and mental health for women.
Les Femmes et les Enfants d'Abord (Belgium)
(Women and Children First)
Video, 3/4 in., 35 min., color, in French
Made by Marianne Osteaux
Producer: Videobus de Bruxelles and Groupe d'action des centres extra-hospitaliers pratiquant l'avortement (GACEHPA)
Distributor: Videobus de Bruxelles (Belgium)
In 1982, a judge in Brussels, a woman, refused to listen to women who had been called to testify in an abortion trial, even after she had heard the testimony of a variety of specialists, doctors and university professors. The defense appealed the case, but the appeal was rejected. Indignant over this treatment, the women organized a number of press conferences and public demonstrations. This video is part of their efforts.
Well Women/Barring Accidents (England 1983)
Third in a five-part series
Video, 25 min., in English
Made by BBC Enterprises Ltd.
Distributor: BBC Enterprises Ltd. (England)
Contraception is looked at as a part of life rather than as medical issue. As well as giving facts and figures about the range of contraceptive methods available, the questions of choosing the appropriate method to suit individual life-styles is discussed.
La Pilule C'est Pas des Smarties (France 1982)
(The Pill Is Not an M&M)
Videocassette, VHS, 1/2 in., 22 min., color, in French; also available with Italian dubbing
Made by Carole Roussopoulos and Catherine Valabregue
Producer: Centre Audiovisuel Simone de Beauvoir
Distributor: Centre Audiovisuel Simone de Beauvoir (France); Gruppo Comunicazione Visiva - Genoa (Italy) for Italian version
This video describes a young girl's first encounter with contraceptive methods. Involved in her first sexual relationship, she is worried about getting pregnant and confides in a girlfriend. Her girlfriend then takes her to a gynecologist, where she learns about different methods of contraception and where, following some instruction on the drug's drawbacks and advantages, she is finally prescribed the pill.
The film is useful in that if provides a wealth of information about contraceptive methods in a clear and simple manner, and provides young women a situation they can learn from and identify with.
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
La Operacion (Puerto Rico 1982)
(The Operation)
Film, 16 mm, 40 min., color, in Spanish and English
Made by Ana Maria Garcia
Distributor: Media Network Information Center (USA), Development Education Centre (DEC) (Canada)
This film explores the widespread sterilization of women in Puerto Rico, where over one-third of all women of childbearing age have been sterilized and the average age of sterilized women is 26. So common is this method that it is simply known "la operacion" (the operation). This long overdue film carefully and comprehensively analyzes the social, economic and political context of population control policies carried out by the Puerto Rican and U.S. governments. It examines how U.S. policies in Puerto Rico have transformed the economy, leaving more and more Puerto Ricans poor and unemployed. It is this group of people that has been the target of population control in the island. The film also points to the role of the medical profession and the conditions in women's lives that motivate them to submit to this irreversible method of birth control at an early age.
Jamaican Women (Jamaica)
Video, 28 min., color, in English
Made by Martha Stuart Communications
Distributor: Martha Stuart Communications (USA)
Ten women from all walks of life share their views and experiences on marriage, the subordinate position of women in Jamaican society, and the instabilities of family life - all within the context of a family planning program.
Lydia: Un Punto de Vista Diferente
(Lydia: A Different Point of View)
Film, 16 mm, 25 min., color, in Spanish
Made by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Distributor: United Nations Information Service (Chile)
Made in celebration of the UN International Women's Year, this film deals with family planning in Central America and may be useful for analyzing and discussing the role of government-sponsored family planning programs.
8 de Marzo (Mexico 1984)
(March 8)
Video, NTSC, 20 min., in Spanish
Made by Colectivo Cine Mujer - Mexico and Colectivo Hilvan
Distributor: Centro de Mujeres para la Produccion Audiovisual (Mexico)
One of a four-part series, this video is about a group of women from Mexico City's poor neighborhoods who decide to celebrate March 8, International Women's Day. They organize a meeting to demand an end to the lack of services in their neighborhood and the right to use contraceptives. They protest against forced sterilization practices, arguing that every woman should have the right to control her own body.
Vida de Mae e Assim Mismo? (Brazil 1983)
(Is This What a Mother's Life Is Like?)
Documentary film, 16 and 35 mm, with optic sound, 18 min., color, in Portuguese; also available with Italian dubbing
Made by Eunice Gutman, Regina Velga and Danda Prado
Producer: Cine Qua Non and IAMURI
Distributor: Colectivo de Mujeres de Rio de Janeiro (in 16 mm only). Italian version available in 35 mm from Gruppo Comunicazione Visiva - Florence (Italy)
This film deals with a woman's right to choose whether or not to have a child. In it, four women from different social backgrounds discuss their experiences. First, two workers (a mother and daughter) recount how the daughter was raped and left pregnant at the age of twelve. Next, we hear from a young sociologist, and from a 52-year-old Black domestic worker who has been pregnant 17 times. Finally, a woman gynecologist and a lawyer discuss the problem of illegal abortion in Brazil.
¿Cual Es la Vida que Dicen Defender? (Colombia)
(What Kind of Life Do They Claim to Defend?)
Slideshow, in Spanish
Distributor: contact Cine Mujer (Colombia)
This audiovisual deals with the issue of abortion and defends a woman's right to choose.
Cosas de Mujeres (Mexico)
(Women's Business)
In Spanish
Made by Cine Mujer - Mexico
Distributor: Centr de la Mujer para la Produccion Audiovisual (Mexico)
An audiovisual about abortion.
NORTH AMERICA
Partir pour la Famille? (Canada 1974)
(Headed for a Family?)
Video, 1/2 and 3/4 in., b/w, 30 min., in French
Made by Helene Bourgault
Producer: Le Videographe
Distributor: Groupe Intervention Video (GIV) (Canada)
This video combines fictional and real-life footage on contraception and abortion, focusing on the kinds of choices that the decision to have an abortion implies. It includes first-hand accounts by women and footage from an abortion in a New York City clinic, accompanied by explanatory comments.
Conception et Contraception (Canada)
(Conception and Contraception)
Film, 16 mm, color, no sound
Made by the National Film Board of Canada
Distributor: Mouvement Francais pour le Planning Familial (France) and National Film Board of Canada (Canada)
This film uses cartoons to explain conception and illustrate various methods of birth control.
SEE ALSO
Other resources that address the themes of this chapter are listed below. The chapters where they may be found are given in boldface type.
EUROPE
Identity, Roles and Relationships
Animation for Live Action (England)
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
Identity, Roles and Relationships
Yo, Tu, Ismaelina (Venezuela)