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Border Café
Iran, 2006, 105 min.
A widow’s effort to run a truck stop diner near the Iran-Turkey border becomes a lesson in stifling patriarchy. Taking on gender and geography, the film deals with physical and metaphorical borders. A strong script, nuanced acting, and a sharply delineated sociopolitical sense make it as enjoyable a... more
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Dear Talula
USA, 2006, 34 min.
In Lori Benson’s Dear Talula, a mother is diagnosed with breast cancer shortly after the birth of her daughter. ... more
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Forever Flows
Bangladesh, 2006, 112 min.
A lower-middle class Bangladeshi family struggles after the father goes blind and the family's money has been wasted on a layabout son, forcing beautiful daughter Tithi to work as a prostitute to help out in this steady-eyed, non-judgmental look at the lives of Tithi and the people she comes in cont... more
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Fresh Air
Hungary, 2006, 109 min.
Viola works as a bathroom attendant in the subway. Angela, her daughter, is ashamed of Viola and dreams of becoming a fashion designer. Communication between them has become almost impossible. This first contemplative feature by a young director reveals a mature craft for composition and creating at... more
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The Girl is Mine
France, 2006, 91 min.
Perhaps a mother’s worst nightmare is that someone will take her child. This suspenseful tale revolves around Maud, who after searching 12 years for her abducted daughter, meets a child she believes is the lost girl, but must contend with another woman who claims the girl as her own.... more
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Grbavica
Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2006, 90 min.
Winner of the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival, this Sarajevo-set drama highlights the plight of the thousands of Muslim women raped during the Balkan wars through the story of Esma, a hard-working single mother haunted by events from her past.... more
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Justine, A Woman for Sale
Luxembourg, 2006, 97 min.
In Franco de Pena’s harrowing drama, a proud Polish girl Mariola, is sold into sexual slavery after being duped by a boyfriend. Tortured, raped and imprisoned in a strange city, she does everything human to maintain her dignity.... more
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Just Sex and Nothing Else
Hungary, 2006, 90 min.
A 33-year-old dramaturge decides to become a single mother. Compared to Bridget Jones’ Diary and Sex in the City, this ultra-modern, smart screwball comedy features deliciously witty dialogue, sophisticated coming timing, and sparkling performances.... more
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Love for Share
Indonesia, 2006, 120 min.
Three women from different backgrounds deal with polygamy in Indonesia and the predicament of having to share their domestic life and the love of one man with several women and often with humorous consequences.... more
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Monkeys in Winter
Bulgaria, 2006, 111 min.
Set over a 40-year time span, three stories explore the lives of three mothers from separate generations who each face difficult decisions. Winner, East of the West Competition, Karlovy Vary Film Festival.... more
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Offside
Iran, 2006, 88 min.
Renowned Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi demonstrates his lighter side in this dramatic comedy about women soccer fans sneaking into Tehran's Azadi stadium to watch their team’s World Cup qualifying match, in clear violation of state law.... more
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Provoked
United Kingdom, 2006, 110 min.
After ten years of brutal physical and mental abuse, Kiran (Aishwarya Rai) a Punjabi housewife living in England sets her husband (Naveen Andrews) on fire. Her story inspired a landmark case that changed British law regarding battered women.... more
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The Railroad All-Stars
Spain, 2006, 90 min.
Valeria, Vilma and Mercy are two-dollar-a-pop prostitutes in a destitute neighborhood of Guatemala City. In order to publicize their plight (and also as a way of having fun), they decide to found a soccer team. Rodriguez's documentary is an exhilarating story about perseverance in the face of prejud... more
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Sisters in Law
Burkina Faso, 2006, 104 min.
Documentary filmmakers Kim Longinotto and Florence Ayisi take their cameras into the courtroom of a small Cameroon town to introduce us to a female judge and prosecutor who are cleaning up decades of gender discrimination.... more
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The Spot
Russia, 2006, 92 min.
Three prostitutes eke out a desperate living in this harrowingly convincing portrait of Moscow’s brutal backstreets. Each has her own story and fitting reasons for abandoning her family. The film reflects the dog-eat-dog nature of the new Russian capitalism.... more
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Volver
Spain, 2006, 120 min.
Three generations of women collide in Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar’s latest masterpiece of comic melodrama. Penélope Cruz (Best Actress, Cannes) plays a janitor whose life is turned upside down when, first her daughter suddenly becomes a killer, and then her supposedly dead mother shows up in M... more
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Water
Canada, 2006, 114 min.
The haunting finish to Deepa Mehta's “Elements” trilogy is a feast for the eyes and ears. In colonial India, eight-year-old Chuyia is sent to a home for Hindu widows. Her feisty presence has a particular effect on a young woman who falls for a Gandhian idealist.... more
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