London Feminist Film Festival tells stories of activism and daily life from women around the world

There's no doubt about it that the film industry is dominated by men. Women's stories, especially those of women of colour, find it a lot harder to reach the audiences that are ready and waiting for them.

Since 2012, London Feminist Film Festival has been bringing films to the screen that have been broadly ignored by mainstream distributors.

London Feminist Film Festival returns to east London cinemas from August 16-19, bringing a range of illuminating documentaries and groundbreaking dramas, as well as Q&As and discussions about women in film.

Here's what you can see at the festival:

A restored version of Selma Baccar’s Fatma 75 (1976) — first non-fiction film directed by a woman in Tunisia. The essay-film sees university student Fatma embark on a voyage to collect information about iconic women.

August 16, Genesis Cinema

Generally, in film, “classic” means Western, male-directed and big-budget. In this flagship section of the festival, this is restructured to focus on women’s contributions. Sama (1988) was the first fiction film to be directed by a woman in Tunisia. Néjia Ben Mabrouk’s film follows a young woman who refuses a traditional domestic role and seeks education. A Q&A with Ben Mabrouk follows the screening.

August 18, BFI Southbank

Two films investigate the judicial system and custody issues in a patriarchal society. Fateme Ahmadi’s Bitter Sea follows an immigrant single mother who has to hide her daughter to keep her job and home. Rachel Meyrick’s documentary What Doesn’t Kill Me (2017) explores the trend of abusive fathers gaining child custody by manipulating the system.

August 19, Rio Cinema

Recent events, particularly in the US, have shown the backlash against the idea of a woman being in charge. Pascale Lamche’s Winnie (2017) explores the life of Winnie Mandela and her contribution to bringing down apartheid, hearing from those close to her and those who sought to silence her.

August 16, Rio Cinema

The Two Faces of a Bamiléké Woman (2016) sees film-maker Rosine Mbakam return to Cameroon having lived in Europe for seven years, rediscovering her African heritage through her mother’s stories. Taking inspiration from Tia Ciata’s resistance against the erasure of African culture in post-abolitionist Brazil, Aunt Ciata (2017) looks at how diasporic culture impacts black woman today.

August 19, Rio Cinema

Showing lesbianism as a plural, complex thing, Gender Troubles: The Butches (2016) by Lisa Plourde challenges assumptions about what it means to be female, while Cecilia Montagut’s Dyke Jails (2018) investigates lesbian relationships in prison.

August 17, Genesis Cinema

These two films celebrate feminist activism: The Passionate Pursuits of Angela Bowen (2014) follows a black, lesbian woman who grew up in Jim Crow-era Boston, going on to become a key figure in the emergence of black feminism. Heather Booth: Changing the World (2017) looks at the renowned civil rights activist over the past 50 years.

August 18, Rio Cinema

Four films — two dramas and two documentaries — show the effects of domestic violence and survivors' courage, looking at healing through art, the support of friends and crucial networks of empowerment.

August 18, Rio Cinema

Curated by queer feminist film collective Club de Femmes, this series spotlights the women spurred by the protests of May 1968, who used their cameras to enact revolutions of their own. In Maeve (1981), we see the parallels between men’s relationship to women and England’s relationship to Ireland during The Troubles.

August 16-17, Rio Cinema

A screening of shorts which look at the fight for human rights around the world, from grassroots social campaigning against period poverty in Bloody Activist to making the outdoors accessible to fat people, without shame, in Fat Hiking Club.

August 19, Genesis Cinema

The London Feminist Film Festival is at the BFI Southbank, Rio Cinema and Genesis Cinema from August 16-19, londonfeministfilmfestival.com