2015 - 2025 : From Obama, through Trump, and until Biden’s final presidential days, the Girls go through their twenties grappling with dreams of a fair, feminist, sustainable society in a patriarchal reality. While I have just become a mother and seek elevation, I follow them for a decade.
SYNOPSIS
I met Anta, Evy, Lila and Talia while freshly arrived in New York City, with a newborn in my arms, in 2015. They had just turned 20 and were studying at woman-only Barnard College. From socially very diverse backgrounds, they come across as powerful young women who fight the dominant patriarchal capitalist politics in place. They strive to change the world around them towards care, inclusion, and sustainability. I started filming them in their lives and activism on campus, and we promised each other to film for decades.
In 2024, they are still as powerful as ever, and their metamorphoses keep surprising and inspiring me. This project documents the way feminism continues – or not – to shape their lives and political endeavors.
The first decade, TWENTIES, is the journey through their college years, their gender explorations, political orientations and religious questionings, within a country that leaves Obama to embrace Trump. It’s also a path towards the workforce, through a pandemic and a global democracy crisis. All four experience doubts and shifts: Lila embarks on a spiritual learning towards chaplaincy, Evy becomes a figure of environmental justice in Texas, Talia leaves orthodoxy, and Anta navigates different forms of Black power militancy while she tries to shed light on her complex family story.
The battles they fight portray the concerns of a whole generation of women entering adulthood in the midst of a socio-political, economic and environmental crisis.
Director Statement
"I'm making this film because my life would have taken another path if I had encountered these women when I was 20, or if I had seen such a film while being a teenager.
I wish this film to inspire my generation and my daughter’s generation to fight for their emancipation, and for their fundamental rights in our American and European societies. I wish this film teaches intersectional feminism to younger generations and the will to live a fulfilling life of engagement."
ABOUT FILMMAKER(S)
Director Nora Philippe
Nora Philippe is a French documentary filmmaker, producer, and curator who currently serves as Head of EURODOC, and dedicates her work to feminisms, colonial history, decolonial practices, and marginalized art forms.
Her most recent film, RESTITUTION? Africa’s Fight for its Art, tells the story of the colonial roots of Western museums and the fights for repatriation to Africa. Premiered at CPH:DOX, aired on ARTE, TV5 Monde, Al Jazeera and PBS/AfroPop (2022). She has also directed LIKE DOLLS, I’LL RISE (2018), JOB CENTER, PLEASE HANG ON (2014), and THE ENSORCERY OF JAMES ENSOR (2011, ARTE/RTBF/VRT).
She curated the critically-acclaimed BLACK DOLLS exhibition at La maison rouge (2018), and STITCH & REPAIR at Cité internationale des arts (2021), and co-edited A BLACK DOLL LIKE ME (2018).
A graduate of École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Nora holds a MA in Art History (Université Paris-1), a Professional Film Studies MA (Université Paris-7), Cultural Institutions Management & Museology (NYU/ Ecole du Louvre). She was a guest researcher at CNRS and a fellow at Columbia Institute for Ideas and Imagination (2019-2020).
Nora curated an original film series for Columbia University (2016-2021). She has also taught filmmaking and Inclusion and Diversity in the Film Industry at SciencesPo Lille. She runs mentoring programs and workshops for emerging directors, woman-identifying filmmakers and marginalized communities.
At EURODOC, Nora sets the organization's vision and oversees pedagogical orientations in its international programs. She has served as an expert in festival juries and fund committees (FIFDH, IDFA, RIDM, CPH:DOX, Unifrance, LaScam, CNC …)
Producer Estelle Robin You
Estelle Robin You has twenty years of experience as a producer, with around fifty films to her credit, half of which are international co-productions. After spending 10 years in Ireland, marked by studies under the ERASMUS program and initial years of producing fiction works, Estelle was driven by a European vision of her role as a producer. Upon returning to France, she immersed herself in the world of documentaries, thoroughly enjoying weaving a network of international partners and talents that offers the films a versatile life. Her works include, "A THOUSAND FIRES" by the Anglo-Palestinian Saeed Taji Farouky, "THE LAST SHELTER" by the Malian Ousmane Samassékou, and "OUAGA GIRLS" by the Swedish-Burkinabe Teresa Traoré Dahlberg.
Estelle recently co-produced "ARCHITECTON" by Victor Kossakovsky, produced by Heino Deckert of Ma.Ja.De Filmproduktion, in competition at the Berlinale 2024 and the collection "DRAW FOR CHANGE" featuring women illustrators from around the world, produced by Clin d’Oeil and selected at FIPADOC 2024 (Best Documentary Series, Canneseries. Scheduled for a special broadcast on ARTE in early March 2024).
The films she has produced have been selected and awarded at festivals such as IDFA, CPH:DOX, Locarno, Visions du Réel, and Cinéma du Réel, and have been broadcast on national and international television channels. Estelle is also a trainer in programs such as EURODOC and EAVE CHANGE, and regularly serves as a reader in regional, national (Aide aux Cinémas du Monde, Aide à la Diversité…), and international commissions (IDFA Bertha Fund…).
PROMOTE THIS PROJECT
Put a donation widget on your site. Click here for code.
ABOUT YOUR DONATION
Women Make Movies (WMM), Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit media arts organization registered with the New York Charities Bureau of New York State and accepts charitable donations on behalf of this project. Your donation will be spent by the filmmaker(s) toward the production and completion of this media project. No services or goods are provided by Women Make Movies, the filmmaker(s) or anyone else associated with this project in exchange for your charitable donation.
Your contributions are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law, and a confirmation of your donation will be sent via email. WMM will send you an acknowledgement letter in the mail to the address listed for tax purposes.