When 18-year-old South African runner Caster Semenya burst onto the world stage in 2009, her championship was not celebrated, but marred by doubt, her personal medical records leaked to the international media. The public scrutiny of her body, driven by racism and sexism, questioning the most fundamental right of who she is, a great champion. The International Amateur Athletics Federation (now World Athletics) ruled that targeted female athletes must medically alter their healthy bodies in order to compete. Their naturally high androgen levels, deemed a performance advantage.

Category: Woman focuses on four athletes, from the Global South forced out of competition by these regulations, the devastation to their bodies, and lives but equally arresting their passion for sport is further emboldened by their conviction to stand up for their human rights. Following her award-winning film Toxic Beauty, Phyllis Ellis exposes an industry controlled by men putting women’s lives at risk while the policing of women’s bodies in sport remains, in a more nefarious way, under the guise of fair play.

Laurels:

-         Official Selection KDocs Film Festival 2023

-         Official Selection Santa Barbara International Film Festival

-         Official Selection Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2023

-         Official Selection Hot Docs 2022

-         Official Selection FIN Atlantic International Film Festival 2022

-         Official Selection DOC NYC 2022

Note: there is bonus content available for this film, which will play after the film has ended. Also, please note that because bonus content is uploaded into the platform differently from the films it is not available through the Eventive App nor on Apple TV, Fire TV or Roku. It can be accessed using all other available means. 

Film Festival Co-presenter: JAYU