Kim Longinotto

Evildoers beware! Tough, feisty, wise and full of passionate conviction, a group of women — Thuli, Mildren, Sdudla, Eureka and Jackie — work for Operation Bobbi Bear in Durban, South Africa, dealing with children who have been raped and abused. They accompany police on midnight raids and sit with the victims as they use teddy bears to describe the nature of the abuse. They even clean up crime scenes when necessary. Compounding the degree of difficulty work are the cultural stigmas about talking about sex and the sieve-like processing of criminals through the judicial system. Longinotto's compassionate eye yields a remarkable intimacy with the women as they face trauma and grief of their clients, and in their own lives. Framed against a broader portrait of a society in transition, Rough Aunties offers a personal story women draw strength from each other and performing, on a daily level, the small miracles that help to make the world a kinder, better place. (IK)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1179080/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1… (plus d'informations)

The setting is a courthouse, and the heroes are a brilliant, sharp-tongued prosecutor and a tough but fair-minded judge. Although it sounds like the template for a thousand movies and TV shows, Sisters in Law is a wholly distinctive courtroom drama. The action unfolds in a Cameroon town where attorney Vera Ngassa and judge Beatrice Ntuba are nurturing a revolution. Using the law, public opinion and, most of all, their formidable intellects, these legal eagles ensure that victims of rape and domestic abuse receive legal protections — finally, African women are getting their day in court. Directors Florence Ayisi and Kim Longinotto provide many familiar elements of courtroom drama — pathos, surprising turns of events, even a slick defense lawyer. But Sisters in Law, an award winner at Cannes 2005, avoids all clichés. This is social-action filmmaking at its most surprising, moving and relevant. (JS)… (plus d'informations)

Kim Longinotto has a preternatural ability to empathize with her subjects as the camera rolls. At a countryside retreat, she connects with young Japanese women as they are broken down and reinvented as superstars of professional wrestling. The fights may be choreographed, but the training is as intense as anything you'll ever see on film. Tears and blood flow in equal parts as the women demonstrate an astounding capacity to endure emotional and physical pain. Through it all, the camera is an unblinking witness, making us complicit in the sort of exquisite suffering Lars von Trier wishes he could capture. Gaea Girls is an unheralded gem of verité cinema and deserves a place among the legends of the genre.… (plus d'informations)