Shorts Program 7: Body Politics
Saturday 10th February / 13:00 / City Kino Wedding & Online
Shorts Program 7: Body Politics (75 mins)
It is a cruel reality that bodies don’t just belong to the individual, they are scrutinized and controlled by hegemonic society. In these discomfiting and disturbing films, societal structures govern over reproductive choices, normal bodily functions, and how victims should behave.
Content warning: sexual assault
Only Yourself to Blame (9:13)
Directed by Noomi Yates, UK 2023 | Available online
A girl walking home late at night finds herself being followed by a frightening figure that copies her every movement, bringing back traumatic memories of assault and survival.
Content warning: sexual assault
Volition (18:00)
Directed by Ashley George, US, 2023 | European Premiere | Available online
After getting kidnapped and taken to a sex trafficking house on the outskirts of a southern town, Emma enlists the other victims to dive head first into a volatile escape plan where every girl must fight for her life.
Gravid (14:30)
Written, produced and directed by Laura Jai Smith, UK, 2023 | German Premiere | Available online
Amy discovers something sinister growing inside her. She fears it's a manifestation of the secret she is keeping from her boyfriend: she doesn't want children.
Pissen aufs Patriarchat (Piss on Patriarchy) (9:32)
Directed by Lena Fakler, Germany, 2023
Marie is driving on the highway and needs to pee urgently. But the toilet at the rest stop is broken. And an increasingly absurd odyssey through this toxic male biotope begins for Marie - and ends in blood.
Growing (17:44)
Directed by Agata Wieczorek, France/Poland, 2023 | German Premiere | Available online
Ewa's life is seemingly monotonous, but the accompanying soundtrack makes for real cacophony. In the foreground, there are calls from a nagging mother, or tirades by nursing lecturers made in a robotic tone. Exposed to a mixture of good advice, prohibitions and conservative nonsense, Ewa's mind begins to play tricks on her.
3pm Thursdays (6:23)
Written and directed by Michele Kaye, Canada, 2023 (German Premiere)
In a stylized dive-bar, a femme dancer performs for American soldiers and business men. When the dancer begins menstruating, the soldiers’ initial arousal quickly turns into repulsion, culminating in a bloody, surreal scene of self-harm and violence.