Acts of digging into the ground and into the past deconstruct vulnerabilities, unheralded work, and systems of care. Behind everyday labor we find partial prints etched in the pavement, on abandoned sites, or in recorded images; a palimpsest of existence and action to be deciphered by generations to come.
What happens when women and other who gestate no longer have control of their bodies? In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court ended a woman’s right to a safe and legal abortion in the United States. “Contractions” takes us to Memphis, Tennessee where we contemplate the discontinuation of abortion services at a women’s health clinic. We listen to an obstetrician and a reproductive rights activist who movingly lay out these vital issues. We watch 14 women and their male allies who witness and perform with their backs to the camera. In a place where a woman can no longer make decisions about her own body, they “speak” with the full force of their collective presence.
- Year2024
- Runtime12 minutes
- CountryUnited States
- DirectorLynne A. Sachs
Acts of digging into the ground and into the past deconstruct vulnerabilities, unheralded work, and systems of care. Behind everyday labor we find partial prints etched in the pavement, on abandoned sites, or in recorded images; a palimpsest of existence and action to be deciphered by generations to come.
What happens when women and other who gestate no longer have control of their bodies? In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court ended a woman’s right to a safe and legal abortion in the United States. “Contractions” takes us to Memphis, Tennessee where we contemplate the discontinuation of abortion services at a women’s health clinic. We listen to an obstetrician and a reproductive rights activist who movingly lay out these vital issues. We watch 14 women and their male allies who witness and perform with their backs to the camera. In a place where a woman can no longer make decisions about her own body, they “speak” with the full force of their collective presence.
- Year2024
- Runtime12 minutes
- CountryUnited States
- DirectorLynne A. Sachs