An event in Birmingham will highlight underrepresented female stories ahead of International Women’s Day.
Women on Film is taking place on March 7th at Edgbaston Community Centre.
It is a showcase of short films made by and about women from four different countries.
The event is run by Amnesty Birmingham, a group focused on campaigning against injustice and inequality around the world.
Ellie Hodgetts, one of the event organisers, said: “I think it’s really important for women everywhere to be represented and have their lives shown on screen and we shouldn’t turn a blind eye just because they’re living in another part of the world.
“Unfortunately, many women are either misrepresented or not represented at all, especially in the mainstream media, and so we rely on films like these to really understand the issues that women are facing from their point of view, and I think we all have a duty to listen.
“I come from a film background and I know that films are often a great way to bring people together to educate, inspire and start discussions.”
The films to be shown are “by some really creative and talented female filmmakers” from Iran, El Salvador, Mexico, and South Africa.
From Iran, there are two short films. One is a documentary directed by Cathy Heffernan about an artist’s life and her relationship with her hair and the other is a flipbook animation made by Laleh Alipour.
Another film to be shown is by Paula Heredia and will tell the story of a teenage girl wrongly accused of having an abortion in El Salvador, her fight with the legal system, and the women who supported her.
A South African short film directed by Jessie Ayles features the lives of three girls growing up together in one of South Africa’s most violent communities.
Work by Yennué Zárate Valderrama highlights threats towards female journalists in Mexico and their struggles with both violence and gender discrimination
The event will end with a discussion about the films shown and information on actions from Amnesty International to take part in.
“I really hope that we can start putting on more events like this throughout the year, to raise awareness of the human rights issues people are facing around the world,” Ellie said.
“Hopefully we can encourage more people in the Birmingham community to find out about what’s going on in their local Amnesty group, and ways that they can get involved themselves, whether that be through our monthly planning meetings and letter writing meetings, or through events like this throughout the year.”
Tickets are free and available on Eventbrite.