When it comes to the most successful film of the year, opinions differ: Some find “Barbie” too feminist, too woke and queer, while others see it as little more than advertising for a toy manufacturer. Be that as it may, there is currently a lot of money to be made with emancipated women who are independent of men, and perhaps a new generation of feminists will grow up with them. But this has little to do with the concerns of the women’s movement.
But before there are fundamental discussions or even an argument between old and young, invite us the “Bimovie” women’s film series for its 29th edition at the Maxim Cinema in Munich. According to their own information, the organizers offer a “generational flight that connects and allies” with their film selection. They show queer and feminist shorts, documentaries and feature films from all over the world, these tell of teenage girls in love with ADHD (“So Damn Easy Going”), of women with a queer-Muslim identity who don’t dare come out to their mothers ( “Coming Around”) or by pioneers of the women’s movement (“Helke Sander: Cleaning Up”).
Of course, you can still argue, that’s what festivals are for. The visitors should discuss and exchange ideas and contribute their different opinions and points of view. This is also the case with the documentary “We had nothing to lose except men,” which tells of the origins of the Munich women’s movement in the 1970s. The focus of the film is the opening of the first women’s bookstore in Germany in November 1975: “Lillemor’s” was a contact point for emancipated women for decades; the owners only recently closed their store for reasons of age. How it goes on? After the film screening, the filmmakers and participants want to “talk about the history and future of the bookstore and the women’s movement.”
There is also a lot of talk in “Smoke Sauna Sisterhood”: In this documentary from Estonia, women meet in a forest hut to take a sauna together. There they talk about fears and their first loves, about birth pains and sexual assaults. The film was already shown at the Sundance festival and the Munich Film Festival, and it will also be shown regularly in German cinemas at the end of November.
Bimovie 29 – A women’s film series, Thursday, November 2nd to Wed, November 8th, New MaximLandshuter Allee 33