London premiere of new documentary “Women: A Success Story,” celebrates equality

Women: A Success Story documents the great advances of the past 100 years and celebrates women as equals in the West today. Confronting contemporary myths and prejudices that suggest the world is awash with predators, misogyny and discrimination, 40 women give us a fresh perspective, tell us we have nothing to fear and can do anything. This film urges us to revel in our progress and do it with men not against them.

From across the generations, these accomplished women share their life stories, what they overcame and what’s changed. Interwoven with original archive footage, we learn of women in the cotton mills, life during the war, the 1984 miners’ strike, from outdoor loos, terry nappies and illegal abortions to pre-marital sex, freedom and making it in what was once a man’s world. Inspired by author and educator Dr. Joanna Williams’ book, Women Vs Feminism, the film sets out to prove that women have indeed made it – and made it happen.

Constructed as a timeline, the film takes us from the past to the present, as generations of engaging and inspiring women aged 90 to 16 elaborate on their experience of life’s stages. From growing up to dating to education, work, child care and home life to their thoughts on modern feminism and equality today, the stories they share are revealing and illuminating. Punctuated with commentary from Dr. Williams and archivist Dr Mari Takayanagi, the film provides viewers with an understanding of history and progress. Individual success stories, inconceivable in the past, illustrate how far we have come and include inspiring figures such as Nadine Strossen, first female president of the ACLU and Ivana Habazin, world middle weight champion boxer. From them we learn that today everything is possible and all that holds us back is a narrative that tells us life is particularly difficult for women.

The film, which was crowd funded and assisted by a National Lottery Heritage Fund small grant, was a collective effort by over 100 volunteers. Having been trained from scratch by WORLDwrite and its Citizen TV station WORLDbytes to shoot, research and present, volunteers have been the backbone of this ambitious production.

The premier screening of WORLDwrite’s new illuminating film, Women: a success story, will be held on Saturday, December 1, 2018 at the Castle Cinema in Hackney, London, from 11am to 3pm. The trailer is now available to view and tickets may be purchased on the WORLDwrite Eventbrite page.