Je suis Femen (Alain Margot, 2014) Switzerland

Reviewed by Lia Durham. Viewed at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2015.

Je suis Femen or I am Femen is a documentary about about a Ukrainian women’s protest group. Director Alain Margot follows these young women closely as they fight againist an oppressive government. Femen protest against gender inequality, corrupt government, poverty, animal rights and those are just a handful of their causes. They also are a charitable organization as well helping kids in need. Femen is funded by voluntary contributions from all over the world.

The women of Femen have a specifically unique way of acquiring attention. Sure they make signs and have loud speakers like any other protest group but these women take it a step further and are topless at every protest. This is an effective way to get people to stop and look. It’s a way for them to be provocative and also take back control of their bodies, it’s all on their terms. Femen values all women but they make a conscious decision to put the most beautiful women in their organization as the faces and bodies in their campaigns. This is a choice to redefine what a feminist looks like. In their experiences they encounter people who don’t think sexy women are feminist this is a loud and clear way to prove them wrong. During their demonstrations it can get very physical. There is a lot of high energy, there is screaming, they are chaining themselves to buildings, they climb high structures they do what they feel is necessary to get the message across. Most of their protests end in at least one person from the group getting arrested.

The film mainly focuses on the artist of the group Oksana Shachko. She is the creative genius behind their campaigns. Hand crafting masks and signs alone in her apartment she is responsible for the theatrical aspects of the protests. She is also the most aggressive in her techniques. Willing to take the biggest risk that sometimes leave her being detained for days or weeks at a time with her friends and family not knowing if she is dead or alive.

These women are an inspiration. Learning about them in this film and seeing the way they fight back against a government that they believe is destroying the country they love is something everyone should see. They understand that they might die doing this work that they could go to prison and be separated from their loved ones but they feel so passionately that this is something they have to do. They are willing to risk everything and that makes them true heroes.

 

 

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Published:
02.17.15 / 12am
Category:
Documentary, Films, Santa Barbara Film Festival 2015