Analogue Revolution: How Feminist Media Changed the World
How Feminist Media Changed the World

About The Documentary


When Zainub Verjee, a Vancouver-based film programmer started the InVisible Colours women of colour film festival in 1988, she fully expected it to continue for years. So did Linda Abrahams (Matriart Journal) and Zanana Akande (Tiger Lily Women of Colour Magazine). Cutbacks, racism, and technological change decimated a sophisticated, world-changing feminist media movement.


This feature-length documentary traces the rise and fall of analogue feminist communications that preceded the MeToo era. From Halifax to Vancouver, feminist storytellers of the 1970s to 90s took hold of cutting-edge media technology to document everything from violence towards women, to how to insert a diaphragm. You’ll hear from feminist rock stars like Studio D’s Bonnie Sherr Klein (Montreal/Vancouver) and Sylvia D. Hamilton (Halifax); print collectives like Press Gang (Vancouver) and Our Lives: Black Women’s Newspaper(Toronto). Verjee tells the story of Canada’s first women of colour film festival; Nora Randall describes what it meant to create Pedestal, first feminist newspaper in Canada. Rare archival footage, like 70's feminist gatherings in Montreal, lead to the film’s climax: draconian cutbacks to women’s and lesbian organizations across Canada, following the massacre of feminists at École Polytechnique in Montreal, (December 6, 1989). The film concludes with a resurgence: younger BIPOC feminists (Ella Cooper, Black Women Film!; Didhood Collective), using analogue strategies to create new feminist digital networks.

Team

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Marusya Bociurkiw

Director

Marusya Bociurkiw got her start in media with 80’s feminist video collectives Women’s Media Alliance and Emma Productions. Since then, she’s directed or co-directed 10 videos/films, and has authored six books. Her most recent film, the award-winning “This Is Gay Propaganda: LGBT Rights & the War in Ukraine” (Canada 2015) screened in 12 countries and was translated into 4 languages. Her books have won or been shortlisted for several awards including CBC Writes, and Independent Publisher Award. She is Professor of Media Theory, and Founding Director of The Studio for Media Activism & Critical Thought at Toronto Metropolitan University.

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Eponine Young

Co-Producer

Eponine studied Cinema & Media at York University and Screenwriting at Toronto Film School. She has worked as a filmmaker and producer for the last 6 years. Her most recent short film, But Nothing Changed, was a finalist in dramatic shorts at Emerging Artists Film Festival, a Semi-Finalist at AtlFF Film Festival, and an official selection at the Beer + Blood Film Festival. She is currently producing/directing a new film entitled, "Retrograde."

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Vanessa Abadhir

Director of Photography

Vanessa is a renowned artist and cinematographer. She is best known for "Classé Secret" (2022), "B*itch: a Word-Movie", and "Dear Jackie" (2021). She has worked as a mentor with Black Ink, which supports emerging Black filmmakers and has done cinematogrpahy on a number of films for the National Film Board of Canada. Vanessa is based in Montreal and is a recognized member of the Québec Alliance of Image and Sound Technicians since 2008.She has a Ph.D. from Université du Québec a Montréal.

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Eugene Weis

Editor

Eugene Weis is an award winning documentary film editor. His keen sense of storytelling has allowed him to craft films tackling important social issues ("Category: Woman", HotDocs 2022) as well as covering some of the most prolific pop icons in history (David Foster: Off The Record, TIFF 2019). Eugene's work has gone on to receive numerous accolades including a nomination for a Canadian Screen Award and two nominations from the Canadian Cinema Editors . Tackling such a diverse range of films ("Our Dance of Revolution", Nominee, Audience Choice Award, Hot Docs 2020; Winner, Best Documentary, Edmonton Film Festival 2020), Eugene is committed to bringing an unbiased approach to his storytelling ("Pain Warriors", Honorable Mention, Best Documentary, Critics' Choice Film Awards 2022).

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