Bref: An award-winning social documentary against cliteridectomy at Onassis Channel on YouTube
A documentary a practice that affects millions of women around the world
In the framework of International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, “Bref” by Christina Pitouli will be available at Onassis Channel on YouTube form Saturday, February 6th.
Women and men from Africa now living in Spain speak openly about the practice of female genital mutilation. Their opposing views and experiences bring out the complexities of this divisive issue, where human rights are brought into conflict with cultural heritage and tradition. The documentary deals with the issue not as something removed from European reality, but rather as a matter of concern for people living right alongside us.
Some years ago, in some part of Africa, a group of girls who had been subjected to female genital mutilation told their teacher that their mothers and grandmothers had explained to them that to be cut was something good because it helped them stay true to their faith. “Bref!” was their teacher’s reply, before she went on to explain that their clitorectomies had denied them a source of pleasure. In French slang, “bref” means “enough”. The word acts as a brief pause in a conversation, before some new argument or point of view is introduced. This was also the aim of “Bref”, a documentary created to raise awareness among women from Africa living in Spain that went on to screen at more than 20 international film festivals, winning Best Documentary on Women’s Rights at the Málaga Film Festival, the second largest film festival in Spain. The film had its Greek premiere in competition at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, and also won Best Social Documentary at the AegeanDocs International Documentary Film Festival.
Refusing to take a didactic or strictly informative tone, the film gives the floor solely to women and men from Africa now living in Spain, with the aim of starting a conversation around the subject. They, coming from Africa, where female genital mutilation is compulsory for every girl, now live in Spain, where the practice is illegal and considered a clear violation of human rights. They find themselves caught in a battle between two different cultures and, through their thoughts and experiences, we are given the opportunity to get a sense of the issues surrounding female genital mutilation today, to gain an awareness of the varied factors at play within this contentious issue, and the social dynamics that have kept the issue unresolved for so long.
"Making a film about clitorectomy was very important to me as it’s an issue that interests me very much, both as a director and as a woman. The film started out as a tool for raising awareness among groups of people from Africa living in Spain. This is a challenge, since it’s estimated that 17,000 young girls in Spain face the threat of female genital mutilation each year. Researching the topic thoroughly, I knew early on that I wouldn’t be making a documentary where specialists talk us through the issue, breaking down the dangers and repercussions. First because such materials already exist, and second because I felt that some of these materials have approached the topic from an authoritative Western perspective, from an over-simplifying viewpoint that stigmatized the people for whom this issue was a primary concern. And so I tried to set my own Western beliefs and positions aside and instead offer my film’s leads the space and time they needed to speak openly about this issue, to create a trusting environment in which they didn’t feel that I – coming from a different reality – was judging them.
Each of them spoke openly about their experiences and views, opening up a new space for discussion, and creating a film that seeks to start a conversation rather than say what’s right or wrong. One that seeks to stimulate debate, to make people talk about the issue, to think about it and question it. Because that’s the first step in any process bringing change."
—Christina Pitouli
Direction: Christina Pitouli
Script: Christina Pitouli, Ana Pozo
Production Management: Christina Pitouli
Produced by: Μetges del Món Catalunya
Cinematography: Ana Pozo, Carlos M. Gomez Quintero
Sound: Christina Pitouli
Editing: Christina Pitouli, Ana Pozo
Country: Spain
Runtime: 30 minutes
Year: 2013
