SYNOPSIS

Isn’t it strange that we know so few personal stories about something millions of people share? Inside is a short film offering an insight into the lives of women who have experienced abortion. We transform fragments of their testimonies into a poem that conveys their thoughts, emotions, or fears. To symbolize both women and reproductive organs, we are using flowers. Combined with archival footage and abstract visuals, we reveal the women’s inner world, while the soundscape represents the outside world and the societal pressures they have to face.

INTENTION

This topic is personal to me. If for no other reason, then simply because as a woman, I am disturbed by the curtailing and limiting of my own freedom to decide about my fate and health. How many times have you actually heard, seen or read an authentic personal experience of abortion? My impression is that in the flurry of various allegations and assumptions concerning abortion, one crucial aspect is being forgotten and overlooked altogether. We know (close to) nothing about the feelings, life circumstances, and motives of women who have experienced it.

Abortions are being discussed publicly far too often for my liking by people who only see political “points” in it. This fuels my desire to take a stand and express myself. I think that as we know so little about these women’s stories and feelings, as a society we fail to empathise with them. The public debate surrounding this topic is therefore full of half-truths, polarisation, or even hatred. Because of such stigma, people who have experienced abortion are afraid to speak about their experience publicly at all. This film tries to change that.