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 Recently restored, STORIES OF A is both a fascinating historical document, and a reminder of the critical importance of access to abortion.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
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