UUWF Video Library

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Contact: Janet Nortrom, 4332 N. Woodburn Street, Shorewood, WI 53211 (Telephone: 414.964.3764)

The films are available to all UUWF members or member groups for an individual cost of $10 per film for postage, handling and replacement costs each time Please always advertise them as UUWF films and your UUWF group presenting. Videos are available for one week (except during Women's History Month) and should be returned by Priority Mail.

Adams's World

(Director: Donna Read, Producer: Margaret Pettigrew)

A presentation of feminist, theologian environmentalist, and futurist Elizabeth Dodson Gray's lecture on our global environmental crisis. She identifies the root causes of this crisis as the beliefs, perceptions, and assumptions of the patriarchal system we have inherited. Gray also offers feminist insight on language and the feminization of nature, calling upon society to nurture the woman's point of view. (19 minutes, 7 seconds)

After the Montreal Massacre

(Director: Gerry Rogers, Producer: Nicole Hubert)

The tragedy of December 6, 1989, when Marc Lepine entered the Ecole Polytechnic classroom and systematically gunned down female students while yelling, "You're all a bunch of feminists," relates to the larger picture of male violence against women. This film helps us come to terms with the murders and explores the wider issues through conversations with a survivor, groups of college students, noted writers, and feminist leaders. It is a moving documentary that challenges us to change in our personal and political lives. (27 minutes, 14 seconds)

Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives

(Directors: Aerlyn Weissman & Lynn Fernie, Producers: Margaret Pettigrew & Ginny Stikeman)

Histories of ten lesbians, who struggled and survived in the 1950s and 60s when lesbian love was "the love that dared not speak its name," are interwoven with a fictional love story inspired by the then-popular lesbian paperback novels. An interview with novelist Ann Bannon and the reminiscences of the women who read these books contrast the way lesbians were fictionalized and their actual experiences. Due to the explicit nature of certain scenes, viewer discretion is advised. (84 minutes, 37 seconds)

The Company of Strangers

(Director: Cynthia Scott, Producer: David Wilson)

Eight women, average age 71, are stranded at a deserted farmhouse when their bus breaks down. With only their wit, memories and ingenuity, they manage to take care of themselves and each other, sharing their life stories and intimate feelings and thoughts. This film features non-professional actors and spontaneous dialogue, dissolving the barrier between reality and fiction. (1 hour, 41 minutes)

Making Babies

(Director: Gwynne Basen, Producers: Mary Armstrong & Nicole Hubert)

This film explores what happens when the act of procreation becomes a laboratory procedure, taking a critical look at reproductive technology. It explores the origins and application of the technology and the dangers it may pose to women and to society. Going further, it asks who this technology is being developed for and why, suggesting that by changing the way we reproduce, we may be changing what it means to be human. Part I in the series On the Eight Day: Perfecting Mother Nature (50 minutes, 45 seconds)

Making Perfect Babies

(Director: Gwynne Basen, Producers: Mary Armstrong & Nicole Hubert)

Part II in the series On the Eight Day asks who will wield the power to control human evolution. Will society decide who should and should not be born, and will women have the right to say no to technology? (50 minutes, 49 seconds)

Not a Love Story: A Film about Pornography

(Director: Bonnie Sherr Klein, Producers: Dorothy Todd Renaut & Kathleen Shannon)

The director and a sex trade worker set out to explore the world of peep shows, strip joints and sex supermarkets. Both women are motivated by the desire to know more about pornography--why it exists and how it affects relationships between men and women. The film offers insights and perspectives from men and women who earn their living in the porn trade as well as from some of pornography's most outspoken critics. This film contains sexually explicit material. (68 minutes 40 seconds)

Sisters in the Struggle

(Directors: Dionne Brand & Ginny Stikeman, Producer: Ginny Stikeman)

Filmed in four Canadian cities, this documentary examines the roles of Black women in the struggle for human rights. Focusing on events in Canada since the 1970s, the women articulate some of the challenges they face going into the 1990s. The analysis they present links their struggles with the ongoing battle against racism and systematic violence against women and people of color. (49 minutes, 23 seconds)

To a Safer Place

(Director: Beverly Shaffer, Producers: Gerry Rogers & Beverly Shaffer)

This is the story of how one woman has come to terms with her life as a survivor of incest. The film accompanies her as she returns to the people and places of her childhood. Her mother and siblings, all of whom were also caught up in the cycle of family violence, share their thoughts and feelings. It provides encouragement for survivors to break through the silence and betrayal in order to recover and regain a sense of self worth. Using the User's Guide that has been prepared for this film is strongly recommended. (58 minutes, 13 seconds)

Toward Intimacy

(Director: Debbie, Producer: Nicole Subert)

A woman with a disability retains both her sexuality and her right to seek, develop and sustain a relationship. Four disabled women share their experiences and raise important issues including sexuality, self-esteem, stereotyping and parenting. An eye-opening account that shatters pre-conceived notions about people with disabilities. (61 minutes, 28 seconds)

When the Day Comes...and the Caregiving Begins

(Director: Sharon Ann McGowan, Producer: Chantal Bowen)

This film presents four women caregivers, each doing their best to tend to an elderly loved one. Constant caregiving takes its toll: fatigue, depression and isolation are common symptoms. The film illustrates the urgent need to improve and expand government and community services and resources and to recognize the vital role caregivers play in our society. (28 minutes, 43 seconds)

Wisecracks

(Director: Gail Singer, Producers: Gain Singer & Signe Johanason)

Shot on the stages of comedy clubs across the Western world, this film features the best in stand-up comedy, all performed by women. Phyllis Diller, Whoopi Goldberg, and a host of others are mixed with rare footage of comedy trailblazers like Lucille Ball and Mae West. It is a hilarious film that also offers a glimpse of the world of women in comedy. (92 minutes, 56 seconds)

Women in the Shadows

(Director: Norma Bailey, Producers: Christine Welsh & Signe Johanason)

One woman pieces together the history of First Nations women in Canada's fur trade to reconstruct her heritage and find her place among her people. It is a deeply personal documentary that follows Metis writer and film maker Christine Welsh on a spiritual and physical journey, uncovering in the process a lost chapter in Canadian history. (55 minutes, 50 seconds)

The Women Get the Vote

(CRM McGraw-Hill Films, distributed by the National Women's History Project)

Lively, informative and enjoyable report of the 19th-century women's rights movement and implacable opposition it faced. A youthful Walter Cronkite narrates this historic "news" program, combining thoughtful analysis with marvelous film footage. The program also features several on-screen interviews with women who played a role in the long suffrage campaign, providing a first-person account of the historical events depicted. (b/w 25 minutes)

Shortchanging Girls, Shortchanging America

(Association of University Women)

This documentary examines girls' place in the classroom, how boys are called upon more often than females and subsequently how women limit their professional choices. (19 minutes)

Heroes--Growing Up Female and Strong

This video features four adolescent girls, their relationship with female mentors, and the ways physical activity helps them feel good about themselves. Inspiring, fun, hopeful and a great tool for discussion. An accompanying discussion guide is available. (55 minutes)