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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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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Betty Tells Her Story
Directed by Liane Brandon • 1972 • United States
This poignant tale of beauty, identity, and a dress is considered a classic of documentary filmmaking. It was the first independent film of the women’s movement to explore the issues of body image, self-worth, and appearance in American society. I...
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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.
