Directed by Charles Belmont and Marielle Issartel • Documentary • 1973 • 89 minutes
Shot in Paris in 1973, this feminist film on the fight for abortion rights was banned as soon it was released. A large-scale game of hide-and-seek ensued, as activists created an underground distribution network, hiding the film from the police — and creating an effective model for cinema as an act of civil disobedience in the process.
Faced with a tide of illegal abortions leading to death and sterility, a group of doctors decided to offer abortions for free, and to be public about it. Charles Belmont and Marielle Issartel originally set out to make an educational film about the movement. Instead, they created a feature-length feminist classic. Recently restored, STORIES OF A is both a fascinating historical document, and a reminder of the critical importance of access to abortion.
“The film—which was then also banned in France—is an exploration of activism on behalf of the procedure’s legalization. Above all, the filmmakers put abortion into the wider context of social and economic change—of women’s control over not just their bodies but their lives.” —Richard Brody, The New Yorker, October 4, 2024
Up Next in Classic Docs
-
Time Indefinite (Ross McElwee)
Directed by Ross McElwee • Documentary • 1993 • 117 minutes
McElwee, Charleen Swansea, and several other memorable characters you met in Sherman's March invite you to pick up their story in Time Indefinite, McElwee's hilariously profound sequel to his much-beloved, critically acclaimed hit.
"Gl...
-
Sometimes I Wonder Who I Am
Directed by Liane Brandon • Documentary • 1970 • 5 minutes
Filmed in 1969, this poignant portrait of a young mother was one of the first independent films of the fledgling Women’s Movement. For women brought up in the soap commercial optimism of the time, it articulated the reality that many you...
-
How to Build an Igloo
Directed by Douglas Wilkinson • Documentary • 1949 • 10 minutes
A demonstration of igloo-building in Canada's Far North, showing how the site is selected and how blocks of snow are used to make a snug shelter in only an hour and a half. As the camera follows each stage, the commentary explains t...
