"In Search..." Description:
Director Beryl Magoko is embarking on a personal journey to courageously face her past, to accept and love herself and her own body. When Beryl learns of an opportunity for reconstructive surgery for the female genital mutilation she and her friends underwent as young girls, she has a growing community of women to consult, but ultimately, the decision is hers. Hosting frank and raw discussions with women – from friends and family in her rural birthplace in Kenya, to new friends in cities around Europe – together they uncover the beauty of collective strength and insight, examine the importance of female pleasure, and shed societally imposed shame around women’s bodies.
“When you cut the roots of a tree, it will never blossom. It will wither. That is what happens when you chop off the genitals of a woman. You silence her. You suppress her.” - Beryl Magoko, Director, In Search…
Winner of the 2019 Human Rights Watch Film Festival Nestor Almendros award for courage in filmmaking
"Everything Must Fall" Description:
BRAND NEW panelists! *Closed Captioning + live transcription (CART) of the Q&A available.
In international activist movements worldwide, young people have led the call for decolonization and deconstruction of patriarchal systems. This inspiring film celebrates the power of resistance, focusing on how a radical movement in South Africa galvanized change in a way that speaks to the heart of today’s movements here in the US, from #WhoseStreetsOurStreets to #BlackLivesMatter.
Q&As after both screenings will feature the filmmaker and activist Rehad Desai and #FeesMustFall activist Larissa Johnson. Moderated by Antonia Hylton from VICE News Tonight (June 17) with panelist Whitney Stephenson, co-founder of Teens Take Charge, and moderated by Professor & Director, Higher Education Program, NYU Teboho Moja (June 18) with panelist Leanne Nunes, Director of Equity at IntegrateNYC.
When South Africa’s universities raised their fees, a wave of students took to the streets in opposition. Quickly gaining momentum and scope, the battle cry #FeesMustFall burst onto the political landscape and became a national conversation, bringing attention to the exclusion of poorer black South Africans from higher education, ultimately calling for the decolonization of the entire education system. Everything Must Fall features student leaders and their opposition as they unpack how a moment evolved into a mass movement. Demanding that governments be held accountable while also challenging deeper racial, gender, class and sexual identity discrimination, this group of inspiring young people demonstrate the power that comes from collective organizing that embraces intersectionality to create lasting change.
”We have a responsibility not just to come here to study, but to go back in our communities and make sure that we are uplifting and empowering them.” - Shaeera Kalla, film subject, Everything Must Fall
