The Frightening Women

"The understanding that women have taken up arms makes the foundations of patriarchal notions about role patterns shake (...) the dogma of woman's peaceful nature" (Ingrid Strobl). Director Birgit Hein about her film: "From early history women have been perpetrators, too. They are equally brave and courageous as men, they can be as cruel and criminal, and of course just as horny. In spite of this, an ideal image of femininity persists until today - non-aggressive, peaceful, a-sexual - because of which women have been oppressed for years. The film shows women as soldiers, partisans, criminals, but also as circumcized, operated on, and broken victims, who had to pay for the fear women can rouse in men. Collages of images from documentaries and feature films have been complemented with historical and personal texts. At the same time, the film is about myself: about my fears and my struggle to fully develop my individual qualities. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)