Our community includes creatives & artists who are amplifying bodily autonomy through their work, audiences who applaud these stories and collaborative organizational partners with shared goals.
rePROFilm connects storytellers and advocates who celebrate bodily autonomy.
VOL. 28, CHAMPION:
A LEAGUE OF OUR OWN
Think about the millions of people who contribute to the U.S. electoral system: the voters who cast the ballots, the poll workers who guide us on election day, the county employees who count and certify votes, even the politicians we so often disparage — without any one of them, this operation we call democracy falls apart.
To wrap up Vol. 28, we’re championing an organization that literally does the most to support U.S. voters.
We’re also closing the book on our very last Periodical. For the past two years, we’ve shared more than two dozen short films with you by email. Our rePROFilm work isn’t done — we’re just moving into a new season. That includes investing in filmmakers that make work about reproductive justice issues. We just announced the second cohort of our Collective Lens program in collaboration with Peace Is Loud.
Whatever iteration our work takes – our commitment to building a community of people from all walks of life, remains our top priority. We have so much to learn from one another, and we’re here for it!
Through the end of the year, we’ll drop by your inbox with some reflection on our Periodical Era + news about what’s next.
Thanks for watching with us – make sure to catch this month’s movies.
Happy voting and bye for now!
XO,
the rePROFilm Team
VOL. 28, WATCH:
DROPPIN’ YOU A VOTE
We founded rePROFilm in August of 2020, ahead of one of the most contentious elections of our time — one in which women’s leadership was central to the conversation. Four years later, we find ourselves in a similarly critical moment. It’s never been more important to GET OUT THE VOTE!
At rePROFilm, our belief that everyone can put their own spin on activism is baked in (we do it by screening films, after all!). Our Vol. 28 short film selections emphasize that we bring our whole selves to working in community — at every stage of our lives.
We’re excited to introduce you to the “microdoc” series “Our Stories, Our Voices.” Each clock in at less than three minutes. Collectively, the miniature documentaries offer a glimpse into what activism looks like in diverse communities across the U.S.
We chose to screen three for the rePROFilm Periodical, each of which spotlights a different generation of activists. Together, they’re a powerful argument for civic participation. You’ll find all three of them below and you can stream them at rePROFilm.org through November 8th.
If you’re in Wichita, we’d also like to invite you to join us on Tuesday, October 8, for an in-person screening and discussion at Bubble Champagne Bar at the Workroom, in partnership with The League of Women Voters.
The films in “Our Stories, Our Voices” don’t offer easy answers or empty cheerleading — but they inspire us to do our part in our way, and they affirm that the work is bigger than any one of us.
XO,
the rePROFilm Team
VOL. 28, LISTEN:
GOODBYES & HELLOS
We’re back in your inbox with some music (& stories) for your ears and a bittersweet announcement.
Vol. 28 will be our last installment of the rePROFilm Periodical. After two years and 28 publications, we’re wrapping up this portion of the project.
rePROFilm will continue to be a vital platform for filmmakers and audiences. But just as we’ve moved from our roots as a virtual film festival (2020-2022) to monthly curation (2022-2024), we’re moving toward our next iteration.
Next week, we’ll announce the second cohort of our Collective Lens: Impact Training Space, presented in partnership with Peace is Loud. The program offers filmmakers who explore reproductive justice and health issues in their work both impact training and unrestricted grants. (And some of us will still be working together on other related projects — more on that later).
Sometimes we need to end things to make room for other work to grow and flourish, and that’s what’s happening here. But we’re so proud to have spent the past four years advocating for reproductive justice through the medium of film — and that work continues. You’ll always have access to our archive, which lives on at reprofilm.org. And you can expect to hear from us again when a new project is on the horizon.
We also have one more chance to get together in Wichita for the last installment of our Screening Womb series. Catch all three Vol. 28 short films in person on October 8 at The Workroom.
See you in two weeks with our final film selections!
XO,
the rePROFilm Team
VOL. 28, LEARN:
TALKIN’ BOUT MY GENERATION
Vol. 28 of the rePROFilm Periodical focuses on voting and other forms of civic action. In the U.S., we’re 61 days from a major election, after all!
Our forthcoming short film selections explore how different women made the leap into political action. One is a middle-aged mother who began following her local school board during the pandemic. Another is a young voter who is dissatisfied with the choices in front of her. Both figure out a way to engage with politics on their own terms.
To bring context to this subject, we’re in your inbox with links that speak to how the vast generational divide in America influences voters — and why it’s more important than ever that we come together in the name of democracy.
No matter your age or voting history, we hope you’ll take a few minutes to reflect on how you’ll engage with the election over the coming weeks.
XO,
the rePROFilm Team
“Uncommitted”
Directed by Aisha Sultan
This fall, 18-year-old Zahra Kahn will vote for the first time. A member of the Muslim community in St. Louis, she is passionate about the rights of Palestinians and believes both party’s presidential candidates are on the wrong side of the issue.
“Sometimes I get worried that the Muslim vote … is such a small population, that (then-candidate Joe Biden is) just going to brush it (off) as insignificant,” she tells her mom while they’re preparing dinner together.
“Can’t be complicit in doing nothing,” responds her mother, one of the elders whose advice Zahra seeks.
“Uncommitted” explores what to do when it feels like political candidates don’t care about what’s important to you.
Best of all, this film embraces its constraints, doing the absolute most with its cast, locations and 12-minute runtime. Moon doesn’t need a moment more to tell this laser-focused story, at once light-hearted and heartbreaking. — Emily Christensen
“Desi Mom”
Directed by Chithra Jeyaram
Lakshmi Iyer didn’t get around to politics until later in life. In “Desi Mom,” she explains that first she was focused on education, then marriage, then her children. “In my forties, finally, I’m free to be me,” she says.
Her turning point was how her community responded to the pandemic. “That was the first time in my life when I started taking a deep, hard look at democracy.”
Now, “the least I can do is educate people like me who are apathetic because they are not clued in.”
If you love this microdoc as much as we do, you can learn more about Iyer’s story from this essay she wrote for Pop Sugar.
“Apathy is Not an Option”
Directed by Mia Barnett
As the children and grandchildren of Japanese Americans who were imprisoned during World War II, June Hibino and Kimi Maru were born into activism.
“One way that we can try to stop that from happening again is by voting and getting good people into different offices at all different levels,” Kimi says.
The elders are members of Nikkei Progressives’ Electoral Committee, which spearheads get-out-the vote efforts in their LA community. But voting is a both-and activity: “That’s not the only thing people can do,” June says. “They should get involved in other struggles.”
The women are also fighting for reparations for the families of those who were wrongly imprisoned by their own country, and they stand in solidarity with other progressive activists of all ages.
Music to Vote By
Generations of women, Black people, and many others with racialized identities have fought for the right to vote. Embrace the gift and be an agent of change.
Our in-house DJ Teri Mott delivers a message with her last rePROFilm Periodical playlist: “Wake up Everybody!” “People Have the Power,” so let’s “Get Up, Stand Up,” “Turn it Around,” and “Vote Baby, Vote.”
Get pumped for the polls!
Listen & Watch: Green Tide Rising
The rePROFilm Periodical Podcast will end along with our film series, but two members of our team are collaborating (with a rePROFilm alumna!) on an ambitious new podcast series about reproductive justice.
Green Tide Rising captures Latin America’s iconic Green Wave Movement — which has shaped some of the most progressive abortion policies in the world — and offers lessons for us as we continue to fight for reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy here in the U.S.
Through the eyes of Colombian feminist lawyer Ximena Casas, we meet the people who have turned the fight for reproductive justice – from the tip of Argentina all the way to Mexico and beyond – into a powerful, modern feminist movement.
The eight episode series speaks directly to two of the fastest growing demographics of new voters in America — Latines and Gen Z – meeting them where they are: audio platforms and social media. Our strategic outreach focuses especially on audiences living in states with restrictive laws and upcoming abortion ballot measures. Polling experts predict that Latine voters are going to have a big impact on the outcome of the election in 2024, especially in these areas.
The first episode “Argentina: Birthplace of the Green Wave” dropped last week, and Episode 2 “El Salvador: No Exceptions” will be released on Thursday. Listen & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and follow along with our short form video series Entonces (see below!)
GTR is Co-Hosted and Executive Produced by Asha Dahya, and Executive Produced by Lela Meadow-Conner and Jess Jacobs. Interested in supporting the project? Click here.
Gen Z to boomers: What does each generation care about?
From Post-War (1928-1945) to Gen Z (1996-2012), American voters span more than 80 years. We’re talking people who were born decades before the dawn of social media, to those whose primary news source is their phone. How has the zeitgeist influenced each generation of voters?
(WBAL)
Millions of young people will head to the polls over the next year – but many are disillusioned about mainstream politics
“Successive generations of young people are entering the electorate with socially liberal views and positive attitudes towards state intervention to address economic, social and environmental challenges: from poor mental health, to the cost of housing, to concerns about pollution and climate change.” Yet factors such as ethnicity, gender, education and financial status influence the choices of younger voters.
Gen Z and Baby Boomers Need to Work Together
“We are not the first ones to be engaging with these issues,” said Justin Meszler, a college freshman and mobilization director for youth-led org Voters for Tomorrow. “Our strategy and our work is not isolated from the work that has come before us. it is informed by the work and the expertise of our older volunteers, advisors and allies.”
“We’ve been through this already. I can remember having debates in high school about Roe,” said Michelle Perrine, an older volunteer. “I almost feel like I just want to reach out to them and just say, ‘Look, it’s going to be okay. We’re going to help you. And we’re going to help you make a stand. We can still win this fight.’”
The League of Women Voters
Founded in 1920, just six months before the ratification of the 19th Amendment, the League of Women Voters’ mission is to register, educate and support American voters.
A bit of history from the LWV website: “Formed by the suffragists of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, the League began as a ‘mighty political experiment’ designed to help 20 million women carry out their new responsibilities as voters.”
If you start looking, you’ll find members of the League everywhere: registering voters, helping out at debates and political forums, welcoming new U.S. citizens, and so much more.
One of their most impactful projects is VOTE411.org, a “one-stop shop” for election-related information. It provides nonpartisan general and state-specific info about voter registration, absentee voting, early voting, polling locations, and many other topics. Our favorite feature: Use the website to look up what’s on your ballot in the next election.
Vote411 also staffs a hotline you can call if you have any trouble voting. Pick up the phone and talk to an operator in English, Spanish, Arabic, or one of multiple Asian languages.
rePROFilm endeavors to make our programming a safe, accessible and welcome place for anyone who wants to participate. We acknowledge that we have much to learn about creating this space, and welcome and and all feedback that can make us better aware and able to support all minds and bodies.
We are committed to screening films in accessible venues, and also understand that meeting ADA standards for accessibility does not actually mean a venue is actually accommodating for everyone. As best we can, we will offer a complimentary companion ticket to our film screenings as requested. For our virtual screenings, we ask all filmmaking teams to provide closed captioning, audio descriptions or open captions whenever possible. For any questions, please contact us at 323-810-6909 or help@reprofilm.org. We are here to do our best to make our programming as inclusive as possible.
