Films October 11, 2018
Connecting artisans, filmmakers, microlending organizations and more... through the power of storytelling.
via unsplash/@julivajuliA traditional film review would analyze Amy Berg’s “Connecting Thread: Unleashing India” based on its editing, storyline and cinematography. The twenty-minute women’s empowerment film follows Gudia Khan, a young woman living in Bareilly City, India. Khan supports her family by beading intricate patterns for faraway clients.
But before I get ahead of myself, this is not (only) a traditional film review. Here’s why.
True to its title, “Connecting Thread: Unleashing India” is more than the sum of its parts. The multifaceted components that make up the film—a social impact brand, a female Oscar-nominated director, an online store and a microlending organization—each offer insights into how to promote women’s empowerment in sustainable and sensitive ways. Woven into the film with the same intricacy as Gudia’s creations, each of these components are necessary to appreciate and understand the film. Taken together, these aspects offer a richer understanding beyond the traditional film review.
“Connecting Thread: Unleashing India” is part of a series of short films released by the nonprofit organization UNLEASHED, whose mission is to “celebrate and support female artisans around the world.” According to UNLEASHED’s website, these films are directed by “Oscar caliber female directors and production teams who travel worldwide to capture compelling stories of artisan women.” The nonprofit hopes to reach 580 million online viewers per month.
Award-winning gemologist Kara Ross founded UNLEASHED in 2015. She explained in an interview that she wanted to “give back and…focus on other talented craftspeople, specifically women in tough circumstances who really don’t have a voice.” Ross sits on the board of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and Georgetown University, and she is also a member of Women Moving Millions as well as the Harvard Kennedy School of Public Policy.
Here is an example of one of the Indian designs, as featured on Ross’ Instagram account.
UNLEASHED’s opportunities aim to break the cycle of poverty and promote women’s empowerment through education and job creation. That’s why, as mentioned in “Connecting Thread: Unleashing India,” UNLEASHED commissioned women in India to bead at 1.5 times their wages paid by couture brands. According to the film, by working with UNLEASHED, Gudia could “secure a new home for the next two years, so she can save money for her future.”
UNLEASHED has also partnered with other women’s empowerment organizations, including Girl Up, which belongs to the United Nations Foundation, and Dress for Success, which helps women get back in the workplace.
“Connecting Thread: Unleashing India” was directed by documentary filmmaker Amy J. Berg. She has extensive experience both with female subjects and hot-button issues. For example, “Deliver Us From Evil” chronicles a Catholic priest’s years of sexually abusing children, “West of Memphis” examines the controversial case of three men convicted for murder and “Janis: Little Girl Blue” shows Janis Joplin’s evolution into a star. She also founded Disarming Films, a film and documentary production company.
Each “Connecting Thread” film was shot in the cinema vérité style, which refers to an influential French film movement dating back to the 1960s. This movement emphasized observing and capturing peoples’ authentic lives through natural actions, leading to a very raw style and cinematic experience. The style had a lasting influence on documentaries to this day; it even reached pop culture recognition, as evidenced by “The Simpsons.”
The cinema vérité style of filmmaking, plus Berg’s deft direction, makes all the difference. Although what I saw was labeled a rough cut, I felt that it was already shaping up to be an intimate and sensitive film. The camera never feels intrusive or confrontational, and it contains a mix of handheld and stabilizing shots.
Additionally, the film uses sound and music strategically, like cutting out background sounds during a particularly contemplative moment. Rather than using a narrator, the film selectively highlights information using a small amount of text. These subtly-placed quote cards do not disrupt the film’s flow.
All of these cinematic elements have the effect of strengthening and focusing the film’s narrative. The story concentrates on a family’s aspirations and hopes for the future, which Gudia’s capable hands and selfless character support. At the same time, the film does not shy away from showing Gudia and her family’s hardships. For example, Gudia’s father and brother died, because the family couldn’t afford the necessary medications to treat them. Gudia also faces stigmas in her society due to her status as an unmarried working woman.
Despite these challenges, the film maintains an optimistic and determined tone. Gudia believes that working from home can still empower and honor a woman: “She is not going to some unknown place. She is earning in her own home.” Her sentiments are echoed by Nazama Begam, a woman in Faridpur Village who does the same work as Gudia. She explains, “at home, we can work for as long as we like… if I worked in a factory, I’d have to work all day long.”
The film’s climax occurs when Gudia and her mother travel to Delhi to attend Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) Fashion Week. There, she would watch her designs debut on the catwalk—and walk it herself. This is a particularly poignant moment in the film, as Gudia’s upscale hotel stands in stark contrast to her living conditions. Rather than avoid the awkward moments caused by this jarring transition, the film explores it. In a series of shots, we watch Gudia’s reactions to the hotel’s luxuries. She makes light of the fact that she can’t sign her own name when checking in. She sits in silence as a hotel worker shows her how to operate an iPad, which controls all aspects of the hotel room. Overwhelmed by all these experiences, Gudia begins to cry, and the scene fades to black.
In later scenes, the music picks up and the film transitions back towards an optimistic tone. Gudia takes pictures with Kara Ross herself and has the chance to speak with model and Bollywood actress Nargis Fakhri. Again, the film creates space for Gudia to address the elephant in the room. When Fakhri states that she and Gudia are similar because Fakhri is also her family’s breadwinner, Gudia replies: “It’s true that both of us are shouldering responsibility. But there’s a difference between us. We are poor and lowly. We aren’t worldly.”
The film ends with models walking the runway wearing the beautiful beaded designs that Gudia and other artisans created. But Gudia gets her moment in the spotlight, too. As the film explains UNLEASHED’s mission and shows photos of the artisans, we see Gudia walking the runway with Fakhri. And this time, everyone applauds Gudia.
According to Kara Ross, the beaded designs featured in “Connecting Thread: Unleashing India” were used on fitted T-shirts, which were sold at Lord & Taylor, Bloomingdale’s and online at Maison de Mode.
Going forward, UNLEASHED partnered with NOVICA to enable artisans to sell their products directly to customers. Ross explained that NOVICA, which works with National Geographic, was “the equivalent of Etsy but for artisans.”
NOVICA is a free platform that allows artisans to raise or lower their own prices for their goods. According to NOVICA’s website, the organization is aligned with the fair trade movement, and all artisans listing their products on their website are required to sign and adhere to fair labor agreements.
It’s not possible to highlight and help every single artisan through films and fashion weeks. That’s where UNLEASHED’s partnership with Kiva, an international micro-financing loan organization, comes in.
Founded in 2005 in San Francisco, Kiva allows people to choose how much to donate and to whom. The minimum amount a lender can offer is $25, and the repayment rate is 96.9%. Kiva’s mission is to eradicate poverty through microlending. Kara Ross explained that “you can go on to the website and read the little blurb about the person and what they need the money for…We have more than 100 women whose small businesses are benefiting from these loans.”
Lenders can choose specifically to fund women’s projects from all over the world. Each project lists the fundraising goal, a deadline and explains how the loans will be utilized. Their business model is making an enormous impact: Kiva lenders crowdfund an average of $2.5 million in loans each week. Additionally, 81% of the projects supported were women’s projects.
I highly recommend watching “Connecting Thread: Unleashing India” for its powerful cinematic and narrative experience. If “Connecting Thread: Unleashing India” has inspired you to explore additional stories around the globe that are by women and for women, check out Women Make Movies (WMM).
Founded in 1972, Women Make Movies is a non-profit feminist social enterprise based in New York City. WMM describes itself as “the world’s leading distributor of independent films by and about women.”
WMM distributes more than 500 films representing more than 400 women artists from nearly 30 countries. Its original mission was to train women to become film and video makers. Over time, the organization switched to distribution in response to the lack of opportunities for these women’s films. Now, WMM prioritizes its distribution service to “expand the public’s exposure to independent film that are directed by women, and whose content is about women and the issues that affect their lives.”
WMM’s collection currently spans over 500 titles with a range of genres, styles and topics. According to WMM’s website, “more than half of the works…were produced by women of diverse cultures.” There are also “a variety of works by and about lesbians, older women and women with disabilities.”
WMM also has a Production Assistance Program, which offers women filmmakers fiscal sponsorship and other support services. The results are impressive: 11 films from WMM filmmakers have been nominated for or won Academy Awards over the last 13 years. Additionally, in the last three years, WMM has returned over $1.5 million to women producers in royalties.
Because WMM is primarily an educational distributor, they usually sell their films to universities, institutions and organizations for educational rather than home use. However, you can stream many of WMM’s newest and most-acclaimed films on Kanopy, which lets you stream 30,000 films for free with your library card.
Kanopy reaches over 4,000 public libraries and campuses worldwide, so check to see if yours are on the list.
So what are you waiting for? Grab your favorite people, watch the “Connecting Thread” films, then head over to Kanopy’s list of films available from Women Make Movies to stream even more women’s empowerment content.
