Directed by Julia Reichert and Jim Klein • 1971 • United States
Hailed by Susan Sontag (“One of those painful experiences that’s good for you”), Gloria Steinem (“A true and piercing look at American womanhood”), and Elizabeth Hardwick (“In its unadorned truthfulness there is a sad and simple poetry, and a lesson about the lives of all of us”), Julia Reichert and Jim Klein’s GROWING UP FEMALE is s a touchstone of 1970s feminism, illuminating the forces that shaped the lives and self-images of six girls and women.
Up Next in Tell Me: Women Filmmakers, Women’s Stories
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Janie’s Janie
Directed by Geri Ashur, Peter Barton, Marilyn Mulford, and Stephanie Palewski • 1971 • United States
The Newsreel collective’s JANIE’S JANIE breaks with the group’s usual format for a more personal approach, following a woman’s journey to self-determination; or, as Janie says, “First I was my fa...
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Joyce at 34
Directed by Joyce Chopra and Claudia Weill • 1972 • United States
Starring Joyce ChopraIn feminist filmmaker Joyce Chopra’s JOYCE AT 34 (codirected with Claudia Weill, who would later direct the great unsung GIRLFRIENDS), Chopra examines the demands of juggling a baby and a professional career.
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It Happens to Us
Directed by Amalie R. Rothschild • 1972 • United States
Released a year before Roe v. Wade, this short film by Amalie Rothschild lays out the dire realities of illegal abortion, interviewing women from a variety of backgrounds who made the choice to terminate a pregnancy.
