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Abortion: Stories From North and South
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Wikipedia article
'Abortion: Stories from North and South' is a Canadian documentary film directed by Gail Singer and produced by the National Film Board of Canadas womens unit Studio D. The film is a cross-cultural survey filmed in Ireland, Japan, Thailand, Peru, Colombia, and Canada that depicts the realities women face in accessing medical abortion services. The film outlines the historical role of the church, state, and medical establishments in creating regulations surrounding abortion.
Synopsis
The film provides a historical and contemporary overview of European, Asian and North American womens approaches to terminating unwanted pregnancies despite legislative and stigmatic barriers. The film further depicts how abortion transcends race, religion and social class, and how differences in the practice and perception of abortion are mainly in the degree of secrecy and danger accompanying it. During the shooting of the film, the subject of abortion often had to be disguised or downplayed due to the polarizing content of the film.
Awards and honours
* Nominated for Best Documentary at the Chicago International Film Festival (1984)
* Blue Ribbon Award - Category: Human Sexuality, Itinerant - American Film and Video Festival, May 27 to June (1986), New York - USA
* ADATE Award - Category: Best Editing (Toni Trow), Festival de l'audiovisuel qubcois ADATE (Association pour le dveloppement de l'audiovisuel et de la technologie en ducation, October 23 (1985), Montral - Canada
* Certificate of Merit Award to Gail Singer - Category: Films made by the State, Festival de l'audiovisuel qubcois ADATE (Association pour le dveloppement de l'audiovisuel et de la technologie en ducation, October 23 (1985), Montral - Canada
* Certificate of Special Merit, Academy of Motion Picture - Special Tribute, June 17 (1985), Hollywood - USA
* Grand Prize - with a cash prize of 1,000 $US, Golden Gate Awards Competition & International Film Festival, April 11 to 27 (1985), San Francisco - USA
* Public's Award, Visions du Rel / Festival international du cinma documentaire, October 13 to 20 (1984), Nyon - Switzerland
Reception
The film received generally favorable reviews from critics. A review from the Psychology of Women Quarterly praised the film for its impact and scope through the usage of on-the-spot interviews and case studies, stating this powerful film, complete with grisly scenes, is highly recommended. The film was further praised by Elizabeth G. Paddock in the Audiovisual Review, asserting that the results of governmental acceptance or denial of abortion and the effects upon womens health care are clearly portrayed, often with disturbing results. Paddock praised the films approach to highlighting the realities of abortion, stating that as a film documentary designed to promote unemotional and rational consideration of the situation, [Abortion: Stories from North and South] is moving and unmoralistic. The film was praised by Margaret Cooper in Cineaste for refraining from expressing a narrowly partisan, single-issue stance. It concentrates instead on actual conditions and their significance for women." Cooper particularly highlighted the effectiveness of the voiceover narration and visuals, stating that they [bolster] the films anthropological approach to its subject and its underlying argument for safe, accessible medical care for all women. Contrarily, Brenda Longfellow stated that the film occasionally fostered a Western ethnocentric perspective, in which "it is clearest in the contrast between the sequences that deal with abortion in the West -- the ones constructed in part as fiction -- and those located in the underdeveloped world in which the point of view is that of an intrepid Margaret Mead, anthropological and distanced, consolidated by the relentless presence of voice-over."
See also
* Gail Singer
* National Film Board of Canada
* Studio D
* Women Film Directors
* Abortion Rights Movements
References
Category:National Film Board of Canada documentaries
Category:Canadian documentary films
Category:1984 documentary films
Category:Documentary films about abortion
Category:1984 films
Category:1980s English-language films
Category:1980s Canadian films
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