Sisters in the Struggle

Directed by Dionne Brand and Ginny Stikeman

Canada, 1991 (documentary, 49 minutes, colour, English)

Image: © National Film Board of Canada

Video (National Film Board of Canada)

Film Description:
"Sisters in the Struggle features Black women who are active in community organizing, electoral politics, and labor and feminist organizing. They share their insights and personal testimonies on a legacy of racism and sexism. The analyses they present link their struggles with the ongoing battle against pervasive racism and systemic violence against women and people of color."
-- National Film Board of Canada (source)

Film Credits (partial):
Produced by:	Ginny Stikeman, Rina Fraticelli
Cinematography:	Joan Hutton, Moira Simpson, Zoe Dirse, Susan Trow
Film Editing:	Margaret Wong
Music:	Faith Nolan
Production Company:	National Film Board of Canada / Office national du film du Canada

(sources)

Quote about Sisters in the Struggle

"Using Studio D's hallmark techniques (action filmed in real time, women addressing the camera directly, clips spliced from television news footage and from other documentaries to provide background and context, female narration, [Dionne] Brand reading her own script), Sisters in the Struggle reveals in angry detail how Black women resist hegemonic discrimination that is institutionalized by government policy and enforced by the police they hire."
-- Gail Vanstone (source)

Quote about Sisters in the Struggle [in French]

"La saisissante direction artistique, le montage rythmé, ainsi que le puissant choeur des femmes et la partition musicale, font du film plus qu'un documentaire conventionnel. Ce qu'il a de plus important encore, c'est la représentation du lien difficile entre, d'une part, le féminisme, dont les porte-parole sont surtout des Blanches de classe moyenne, et, d'autre part, les aspirations politiques des Noires. La grande force du film réside dans le fait qu'il refuse toute logique unique ou toute solution facile, mais permet plutôt un dialogue sur les différences par la juxtaposition des différents points de vue des femmes concernées."
-- Brenda Longfellow (source)

Bibliography for Sisters in the Struggle

Brief Sections of Books

Gibson-Hudson, Gloria J. "The Ties that Bind: Cinematic Representations by Black Women Filmmakers." In Black Women Film and Video Artists, edited by Jacqueline Bobo. New York: Routledge, 1998. (pp. 59-61)
Vanstone, Gail. D Is for Daring: The Women behind the Films of Studio D. Toronto: Sumach Press, 2007. (pp. 159-160)

Web Sites about Sisters in the Struggle

National Film Board of Canada. "NFB -- Sisters in the Struggle." National Film Board of Canada. http://www3.nfb.ca/collection/films/fiche/?id=18491.