With a Vengeance The Fight for Reproductive Freedom

With a Vengeance

The Fight for Reproductive Freedom

A film by Lori Hiris

1989 | 40 minutes | BW | 16mm/DVD | Order No. 99112

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SYNOPSIS

This urgent and timely film is a history of the struggle for reproductive freedom since the 1960s, reflecting the wider history of the contemporary women's movement. WITH A VENGEANCE is an empowering look at the strength and breadth of the current women's movement which asks why current battles resemble those of the 60s. Rare archival footage and interviews with early abortion rights activists, including members of Redstockings and the JANE Collective, are intercut with young women who testify to the need for multi-racial grassroots coalitions. Flo Kennedy and Byllye Avery exemplify African American women's roles as leaders, making connections between racism, reproductive freedom and healthcare for the poor.

PRESS

"Prophetic and powerful, Hiris' mix of the political, historical and personal side of abortion makes for an important and arresting statement. Watch, remember and act!"

Merle Hoffman Choices Women's Medical Center

"The sheer energy that the film radiates makes it inspiring and thought-provoking."

Eleanor Bader The Guardian

SCREENING HIGHLIGHTS AND AWARDS

Rotterdam Film Festival
San Francisco Women's Film Festival

ABOUT FILMMAKER(S)

Lori Hiris

Lori Hiris lives in Manhattan, Montana. She and her wife Ninia Baehr stay active in the community a with radio show called Body Politic, a show about how what we do with our bodies, and what happens to our bodies effects our life experiences, aired once a month on KGVM 95.9 FM in Bozeman Montana.

Lori's short films have screened nationally and internationally and some are distributed by the Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Company, including Cross Examination a short film on the Clarence Thomas/ Anita Hill hearings which premiered at the New York Film Festival in 1994. Her more recent work is hand-drawn charcoal animations on paper, shot on 16mm film and documented in digital video. Learn more.

Subject Areas

Abortion and Women's Rights 1970

The first film ever made about the struggle for abortion rights in the U.S., originally released in 1970, this powerful archival piece documents women’s voices from a pre-Roe v. Wade era.

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Healthcaring

HEALTHCARING: FROM OUR END OF THE SPECULUM, produced by Women Make Movies, is a pioneering, bold, and sensitive documentary — one of the first to honestly chronicle women’s relationship to gynecology and healthcare. Made more than four decades before #MeToo, the film was ahead of its time in taking on issues of abuse by male doctors and portraying women taking control of their own vaginal exams. Women of all ages and backgrounds speak candidly of their experiences with the healthcare system, and the film documents the growing number of women who are questioning long standing medical practices and working to implement alternative and more effective health care. The positive, warm style of the film encourages women to share their own experiences and gain a better sense of their right to receive better healthcare. New 4K restoration funded by the HFPA Trust and IndieCollect donors to our Jane Fonda Fund for Women Directors. Available for exhibition. Please contact [email protected] for more information.