Sofia Brito’s sexual harassment by a professor sparked a feminist movement…
We Are Fire
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
View on the Pragda STREAM site
Mar Maremoto, a vibrant force of queer punk energy, fearlessly tackles machismo, fat-shaming, and societal norms through her dynamic artwork from cartoons to murals, to create a space for hope and solidarity.
But how can this translate into making the streets of Mexico safer? On a quest to challenge the macho norms in her country, Maremoto talks to women affected by violence who are trying to change society through self-defense and political demonstrations: “They wanted to bury us, but they did not know we were seeds.”
The film is an ode to the young artist’s rebellion against the increasingly dangerous reality for women in Mexico, where 10 femicides a day make it one of the most dangerous places in the world for women.
“At times, you might wonder if you're overstating things, but as a woman in Mexico, you're always watchful and scared. That's the simple truth.” – Maremoto
"Our happiness, and our joy, are also revolutionary. – Maremoto
Citation
Main credits
Vázquez Guadarrama, Karen (film director)
Vázquez Guadarrama, Karen (screenwriter)
Phlypo, Hanne (film producer)
Coen, Vincent (creator)
Vandenberghe, Guillaume (creator)
Maremoto, Mar (on-screen participant)
Other credits
Cinematography, Rosa Hadit Hernández; editing, Dieter Diependaele; music, Catherine Kontz; animation by Doghouse Films.
Distributor subjects
Women; Activism; Visual Arts; Gender + Sexuality Studies; Education; Human Rights; Latin American Studies; North America; Communications + Journalism; Criminal JusticeKeywords
00:00:09.720 --> 00:00:11.280
Hello! How are you?
00:00:11.480 --> 00:00:15.000
Today is the last day of...
00:00:19.160 --> 00:00:21.320
Hello.
How are you?
00:00:35.280 --> 00:00:37.240
Hello! How are you?
00:00:37.560 --> 00:00:39.640
I'm Maremoto,
but you can call me Mar.
00:00:39.800 --> 00:00:41.960
I'm an illustrator
from Mexico City.
00:01:03.480 --> 00:01:10.000
Some people who are struggling
identify with your drawings.
00:01:10.160 --> 00:01:12.400
So it’s a way of helping the others.
00:01:12.560 --> 00:01:14.160
Sure, that’s my favourite part.
00:01:14.320 --> 00:01:18.600
When someone tells me
about their connection to my work,
00:01:18.760 --> 00:01:23.040
or about the way it made them feel.
That is my favourite part!
00:01:38.120 --> 00:01:41.560
I am a seed trying to germinate
in forbidden land.
00:01:50.280 --> 00:01:53.520
I am a leaf. I am a stem.
I grow where I can.
00:01:57.160 --> 00:01:58.800
I am a flower that withers
00:01:59.240 --> 00:02:00.480
yet remains alive.
00:02:05.720 --> 00:02:11.080
In this femicidal Mexico,
where 11 women are murdered daily.
00:02:11.400 --> 00:02:14.880
More than 95,000 are missing
00:02:16.360 --> 00:02:24.520
and 53,000 unidentified bodies
are in the forensic medical service.
00:02:25.120 --> 00:02:28.560
We are witnessing
a failed government.
00:02:29.720 --> 00:02:32.400
Femicides in this country
do not stop.
00:02:32.560 --> 00:02:35.640
Yet another story of femicide.
Another story of pain.
00:02:35.800 --> 00:02:40.360
The body of little 7-year-old Fatima
was found in Tlahuac.
00:02:40.520 --> 00:02:44.160
95% of these crimes go unpunished.
00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:49.080
To this day, I don't know
what happened to my daughter.
00:02:49.240 --> 00:02:51.760
But I swear I'll keep looking
and I'll find her.
00:02:51.920 --> 00:02:52.920
No matter what.
00:02:59.920 --> 00:03:02.200
In Mexico women are murdered.
00:03:07.280 --> 00:03:09.160
It's hard to know that in this country,
00:03:09.320 --> 00:03:11.800
being a woman means being violated
day after day,
00:03:13.480 --> 00:03:16.800
and being blamed for the
very violence we experience.
00:03:24.480 --> 00:03:26.480
Alive, free and resisting.
00:03:38.320 --> 00:03:42.240
As a young girl, I wanted
to draw beauty and perfection.
00:03:42.600 --> 00:03:47.040
And now I want to draw women
who look like me.
00:03:48.120 --> 00:03:50.400
And talk about feminism.
00:03:50.640 --> 00:03:51.920
Self-love.
00:03:52.560 --> 00:03:55.320
LGBTQ+ community and
mental health.
00:04:16.320 --> 00:04:19.280
I want my work to feel like a safe space.
00:04:20.280 --> 00:04:23.240
I want people like me
to see themselves in my drawings.
00:04:23.920 --> 00:04:26.880
To know that although the world
out there is falling apart,
00:04:27.080 --> 00:04:30.040
here is a safe house.
00:04:54.960 --> 00:04:58.560
I think that occupying spaces
is a rebellion.
00:05:00.200 --> 00:05:06.200
They teach us to be small,
to be kind and to behave, to shut up.
00:05:06.560 --> 00:05:09.280
To know our 'place'.
00:05:17.600 --> 00:05:19.960
Did he whistle at us?
Fucker.
00:05:22.400 --> 00:05:24.960
I feel they just do it
because they can.
00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:27.600
It is like they are reminding us:
00:05:27.760 --> 00:05:30.640
« This is my space, the street
belongs to us men. »
00:05:31.800 --> 00:05:34.960
It is crucial that we occupy
the city, spaces,
00:05:35.120 --> 00:05:38.040
all available jobs and platforms,
00:05:38.200 --> 00:05:40.440
in every possible way.
00:05:51.600 --> 00:05:53.600
You are the wisdom.
00:05:58.920 --> 00:06:01.840
You belong to yourself.
00:06:06.800 --> 00:06:11.800
May our period be the only
blood we spill.
00:06:12.600 --> 00:06:15.520
Alive.
00:06:17.800 --> 00:06:20.720
Together, free and fearless.
00:06:26.680 --> 00:06:28.840
How is it, to be a woman in Mexico?
00:06:29.440 --> 00:06:32.680
The first things that comes to mind
are ugly things,
00:06:32.840 --> 00:06:34.520
I imagined myself
trapped in a box.
00:06:35.560 --> 00:06:36.920
Terrible!
00:06:37.080 --> 00:06:40.200
I imagine a woman
walking amidst thorns.
00:06:40.520 --> 00:06:42.800
Oh my God, it's horrible.
00:06:42.960 --> 00:06:45.680
It sucks. But it's true.
00:06:54.440 --> 00:06:55.520
What's that?
00:06:56.480 --> 00:06:57.960
Old ladies.
00:06:58.120 --> 00:07:01.240
But they should be happy,
they don't look happy.
00:07:02.200 --> 00:07:03.880
You'll have to make a
happier one.
00:07:04.040 --> 00:07:08.200
I love it. That's it, 100%.
We have to resist.
00:07:08.800 --> 00:07:14.240
Our happiness and our joy
are also revolutionary.
00:07:14.960 --> 00:07:18.640
Drawing has led me to my
feelings without me realising it.
00:07:18.800 --> 00:07:24.040
Literally. I started drawing
when I was a little girl.
00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:28.520
I talk a lot about healing.
00:07:28.680 --> 00:07:29.960
I will heal.
00:07:30.120 --> 00:07:34.640
Because lately I've had many things
to heal.
00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:38.040
I think that when I felt the biggest...
00:07:38.200 --> 00:07:42.680
...change,
was when I talked about my rape.
00:07:43.160 --> 00:07:47.360
It's still difficult,
but when I talked about it
00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:51.840
it was so important for me to
receive that amount of messages
00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:55.600
from girls who had lived
the same thing.
00:07:59.880 --> 00:08:04.280
That was for me like 'Boom!'
00:08:04.440 --> 00:08:09.840
I'm doing this because
I'm helping others.
00:08:10.440 --> 00:08:14.920
You opened a door
and many people approach you
00:08:15.080 --> 00:08:19.320
and share their story
and see themselves in you.
00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:21.880
Sure, it's heavy.
00:08:22.040 --> 00:08:23.640
- It's hard.
- Super hard.
00:08:24.440 --> 00:08:27.840
At least ten women talked about...
00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:33.160
what they lived,
thanks to a post, to an illustration.
00:08:33.400 --> 00:08:37.760
That's what's amazing
about illustration.
00:08:37.920 --> 00:08:45.320
You're literally transforming great pain
or anger in a drawing.
00:09:05.040 --> 00:09:07.600
I like to draw these giant women.
00:09:08.640 --> 00:09:10.720
Who look like they're gonna
come out of the frame.
00:09:10.880 --> 00:09:12.400
This room is very small
for my dreams.
00:09:12.560 --> 00:09:15.560
They seem too big
for the space that contains them.
00:09:20.200 --> 00:09:22.800
I also share photos of myself.
00:09:22.960 --> 00:09:24.240
Me as a little girl.
00:09:24.400 --> 00:09:26.440
Feeling everything very strongly
is my super power.
00:09:26.600 --> 00:09:30.040
Here is a letter
to the child I used to be.
00:09:30.240 --> 00:09:31.320
"Dear Mariana,
00:09:31.480 --> 00:09:33.560
Sometimes the world is going
to feel huge.
00:09:33.720 --> 00:09:35.920
And you'll feel very small.
00:09:36.080 --> 00:09:38.720
Feeling everything, strongly,
is your super power.
00:09:38.960 --> 00:09:40.280
Don't hide it.
00:09:40.440 --> 00:09:42.000
Feeling fear doesn't make
you a coward.
00:09:42.160 --> 00:09:45.440
Sometimes, accepting this fear
is braver than facing it.
00:09:45.920 --> 00:09:47.840
You don't have to be
anything other than yourself."
00:09:50.760 --> 00:09:52.320
I'm gonna cry.
00:10:00.680 --> 00:10:04.520
"Forgive me for treating us
so badly. I love you. Mar."
00:10:07.560 --> 00:10:10.680
Hello humans,
my name is...
00:10:11.600 --> 00:10:14.560
I come from space.
From a galaxy far away.
00:10:14.720 --> 00:10:17.200
To bring you
a very important message.
00:10:17.680 --> 00:10:19.480
This message is...
00:10:22.040 --> 00:10:23.840
Superheroes always pose
like this.
00:10:29.080 --> 00:10:31.960
I want to live forever
with this make-up on.
00:10:33.280 --> 00:10:38.000
I want to be a robot
from the future forever.
00:10:38.400 --> 00:10:41.840
With my gun
that I made myself.
00:11:27.240 --> 00:11:29.360
Yesterday I posted some pictures
and it was funny:
00:11:29.520 --> 00:11:34.120
a fight started in
my Instagram comments.
00:11:34.320 --> 00:11:36.720
Someone asked me
if I wasn't ashamed
00:11:36.880 --> 00:11:38.880
to have hairy armpits.
00:11:39.040 --> 00:11:40.440
If you never shaved your armpits
00:11:40.600 --> 00:11:43.360
and one day you feel like doing it,
great.
00:11:43.520 --> 00:11:47.480
If you've never shaved, great.
If you've always shaved, great.
00:11:47.640 --> 00:11:49.600
Do whatever you want with your hair
00:11:49.760 --> 00:11:52.480
but don't tell others what to do
with theirs.
00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:54.680
That's all. Kisses.
00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:09.240
Welcome!
00:12:09.400 --> 00:12:11.920
Are you Maremoto?
- Yes, that's me.
00:12:12.720 --> 00:12:14.560
Can I give you a hug?
- Of course.
00:12:14.720 --> 00:12:16.280
I love you.
00:12:19.680 --> 00:12:23.680
I love you, you've helped me so much.
- Thank you.
00:12:25.920 --> 00:12:29.520
It's the best day
of my fucking life!
00:12:30.680 --> 00:12:33.840
I had never done any art,
never made myself up this way.
00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:36.080
But then I started,
00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:45.240
I cultivated myself, I learned,
thanks to you, to deconstruct myself,
00:12:45.400 --> 00:12:49.600
to not judge but accept myself more,
and defend my ideas.
00:12:49.760 --> 00:12:53.160
It's okay not to be the standard,
I'm myself.
00:12:53.320 --> 00:12:58.360
I need to accept myself,
to accept my body the way it is.
00:12:58.520 --> 00:13:03.960
I learned so much just by following
you on Instagram.
00:13:04.120 --> 00:13:06.480
I feel very special today.
- Thank you.
00:13:06.640 --> 00:13:09.760
You are very special,
and we are always very special.
00:13:10.360 --> 00:13:12.680
Always, every day of our life.
00:13:14.280 --> 00:13:15.720
Thank you, Mar.
00:13:20.240 --> 00:13:23.640
It makes me feel that what I do
is important
00:13:25.560 --> 00:13:29.320
and that other people see it.
00:13:32.040 --> 00:13:35.560
It's really beautiful.
00:13:40.280 --> 00:13:44.840
Clothes, clothes! Crazy, extravagant,
elegant clothes!
00:13:45.080 --> 00:13:47.120
-It's very elegant indeed.
-Yes it is.
00:13:47.480 --> 00:13:49.200
He's not lying.
00:14:01.960 --> 00:14:05.400
Sometimes I don't realise
that they are looking at me,
00:14:05.680 --> 00:14:08.120
but if they start whistling...
00:14:11.480 --> 00:14:13.920
We have to put up with it.
00:14:14.200 --> 00:14:16.480
Kiss, kiss!
00:14:26.840 --> 00:14:29.600
Ovaries.
- Exactly. Ovaries.
00:14:47.160 --> 00:14:49.680
Women and children
under 12 only
00:15:10.800 --> 00:15:12.640
One day, when I was in high school,
00:15:12.800 --> 00:15:17.840
I took the subway with a friend
to go to the historical city centre.
00:15:21.640 --> 00:15:27.520
It was so full, we couldn't
not feel the other people's bodies.
00:15:30.440 --> 00:15:35.480
I felt someone grab my butt
and squeeze, hard.
00:15:37.160 --> 00:15:42.840
My heart skipped a beat,
I felt a paralysing fear.
00:15:43.160 --> 00:15:46.120
They make you feel like
your body doesn't belong to you.
00:16:07.880 --> 00:16:10.680
Public transport in Mexico city
00:16:10.840 --> 00:16:12.960
the subway, the bus,
are divided
00:16:13.120 --> 00:16:16.400
between mixed
and women-only carriages.
00:16:18.840 --> 00:16:23.000
For the time being, it's
important that it exists.
00:16:23.680 --> 00:16:28.880
But I think that it's a temporary
solution to a gigantic problem.
00:16:29.840 --> 00:16:35.600
Because even if you get out
of the subway, they harass you.
00:16:46.160 --> 00:16:47.800
I'm scared to get used to being scared
00:16:47.960 --> 00:16:50.960
and I'm infuriated when people
tell us that there's no other way.
00:16:52.200 --> 00:16:54.160
I live in fear of living in fear.
00:16:55.400 --> 00:16:57.320
I'm scared to raise my voice.
00:16:58.240 --> 00:17:00.680
Scared to remain silent.
00:18:04.320 --> 00:18:06.600
A lot of tears.
00:18:13.240 --> 00:18:14.680
She cries a lot.
00:18:15.760 --> 00:18:17.000
Just like me.
00:18:24.080 --> 00:18:27.160
All my life, I've been accompanied
by sadness.
00:18:27.320 --> 00:18:30.560
It's the emotion I am most
in touch with.
00:18:31.880 --> 00:18:34.520
Melancholy, sadness...
00:18:35.960 --> 00:18:39.480
I guess that a lot of people
are scared of these emotions.
00:18:41.960 --> 00:18:43.520
But they are close to me.
00:18:46.920 --> 00:18:53.560
My mum always tells me that I
shouldn't draw so many sad things.
00:18:53.720 --> 00:18:55.960
Cause people will think
that I'm depressed.
00:18:58.200 --> 00:19:01.000
She always keeps a
watchful eye on me.
00:19:05.680 --> 00:19:09.240
Sadness is always somewhere
with me.
00:19:11.120 --> 00:19:13.120
It's the way it is.
00:19:38.320 --> 00:19:41.000
Feel it all.
00:19:44.200 --> 00:19:46.520
From time to time,
something overwhelms me.
00:19:48.080 --> 00:19:50.280
It overflows me
from all sides.
00:19:51.960 --> 00:19:53.080
Storm.
00:19:53.560 --> 00:19:54.760
Monsoon.
00:19:56.840 --> 00:19:59.480
I want to be a river
and not a dam.
00:20:00.880 --> 00:20:03.840
To put an end to the lack of water
that dehydrates me.
00:20:05.160 --> 00:20:08.640
To irrigate the land
and feed the field.
00:20:15.720 --> 00:20:17.320
Let's add an emoji.
00:20:39.680 --> 00:20:44.600
Hi Mar. Your drawing touched me
to the core of my being.
00:20:45.560 --> 00:20:49.680
Something overflows me
and I can't breathe.
00:20:50.600 --> 00:20:52.880
As if my own tears
00:20:53.040 --> 00:20:55.680
penetrated my lungs
and suffocated me.
00:20:56.560 --> 00:20:59.400
I miss my mother
and my little sister so much.
00:21:01.800 --> 00:21:05.520
My mum and my little sister
had music in their veins.
00:21:05.880 --> 00:21:09.760
They would dance with such flow,
like a river becoming a waterfall.
00:21:11.280 --> 00:21:14.920
Two years ago, they went together
to my sister's first dance.
00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:18.600
But that night,
they got taken away from me.
00:22:27.200 --> 00:22:30.200
I was told
that they asked for this song.
00:22:30.360 --> 00:22:31.360
Really?
00:22:31.720 --> 00:22:35.480
It's called 'Sad Farewell'.
00:22:36.680 --> 00:22:40.320
When I watch it,
I feel very emotional.
00:22:42.320 --> 00:22:45.880
Since it was the last time...
00:23:01.040 --> 00:23:06.440
the last time they went
to a dance.
00:23:06.600 --> 00:23:11.880
I feel very emotional because
I remember them so vividly.
00:23:12.040 --> 00:23:13.920
Of course.
00:23:18.760 --> 00:23:22.920
It was the last video that
my mum and sister posted.
00:23:24.320 --> 00:23:27.680
They were found the next day.
00:23:28.760 --> 00:23:30.280
Did you find them?
00:23:30.440 --> 00:23:32.880
My cousin told me the news.
00:23:33.640 --> 00:23:37.160
We went to identify their bodies.
00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:43.680
That's my grandmother.
00:23:43.840 --> 00:23:45.400
Angelica.
00:23:49.160 --> 00:23:52.000
Who is it?
- Carlita.
00:23:52.160 --> 00:23:54.160
Carlita.
00:23:54.720 --> 00:23:57.440
And there are more of my mother.
00:23:57.600 --> 00:23:58.280
Show it to her.
00:24:03.440 --> 00:24:09.040
One of the killers will get out of jail
in just two years.
00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:13.360
His four-year prison sentence isn't
worth my mother's and sister's lives.
00:24:13.520 --> 00:24:16.480
Plus, I live with fear now.
00:24:16.640 --> 00:24:19.000
It's a fear I didn't use to have.
00:24:19.360 --> 00:24:23.400
I can't run errands without
my husband now.
00:24:23.560 --> 00:24:28.320
I don't dare to go out alone anymore.
00:24:28.480 --> 00:24:35.040
I'm very scared that something could
happen, to me or my daughters.
00:24:38.000 --> 00:24:42.920
The police asked us for 10000 pesos
to investigate the mobile phones.
00:24:44.040 --> 00:24:46.440
We didn't have the money.
00:24:46.600 --> 00:24:49.440
If we had, we would've payed.
00:24:49.600 --> 00:24:52.200
To see if they could collect
more evidence.
00:24:52.920 --> 00:24:58.720
But I will continue fighting and
shouting for my mum and sister,
00:24:59.400 --> 00:25:04.360
and keep demanding to see
justice done for them.
00:25:04.520 --> 00:25:06.480
Of course.
- Yes.
00:25:19.400 --> 00:25:22.280
The violence that persecutes
women in this country
00:25:22.520 --> 00:25:24.920
doesn't look like a huge,
invisible fist.
00:25:26.080 --> 00:25:31.120
But that’s the way it feels,
like a firm and crushing hand.
00:25:33.800 --> 00:25:36.680
I wish it looked
like the hand of a giant.
00:25:37.600 --> 00:25:41.600
Since it might be easier
to defeat than an entire country.
00:25:43.360 --> 00:25:45.920
I wish it looked more
like a giant's fist
00:25:46.080 --> 00:25:48.760
and less like the bloody
front pages of our newspapers
00:25:48.920 --> 00:25:51.360
and all the articles
about missing women.
00:25:55.040 --> 00:25:56.760
I wish it was just one giant
00:25:56.920 --> 00:25:59.680
rather than thousands of
stalkers, rapists,
00:26:00.080 --> 00:26:03.560
perpetrators of femicides,
police, judges,
00:26:03.720 --> 00:26:06.160
experts,
and those who look away.
00:26:07.080 --> 00:26:10.960
Fear of losing one's name
and becoming just another statistic.
00:27:44.360 --> 00:27:47.600
We are tired of saying 'please'!
00:27:47.760 --> 00:27:49.480
No more 'please'!
00:27:49.640 --> 00:27:52.240
Enough, Mr. President!
00:27:56.720 --> 00:27:58.240
We are your voice!
00:27:58.400 --> 00:28:01.080
I am Angelica's daughter,
and Carla's sister.
00:28:01.240 --> 00:28:04.520
A minor killed them and
only got a four-year sentence.
00:28:04.680 --> 00:28:08.280
The lives of my mum and sister
are worth more than four years!
00:28:08.720 --> 00:28:10.280
I demand justice to be done for them!
00:28:10.440 --> 00:28:13.840
Not all of us will be lucky.
00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:16.400
Being lucky today
is being alive.
00:28:17.200 --> 00:28:23.320
It's having a boyfriend who isn't
a rapist, an abuser, or a murderer.
00:28:24.200 --> 00:28:28.280
It's when 'Death' doesn't fancy
your waist size
00:28:28.440 --> 00:28:30.520
and doesn't follow you with his truck.
00:28:31.200 --> 00:28:33.960
I don't know what to do with this rage.
00:28:34.320 --> 00:28:37.640
My friends and partners don't either.
00:28:38.000 --> 00:28:41.000
Complaints and complaints
and complaints!
00:28:41.160 --> 00:28:44.400
But never anyone behind bars.
00:28:44.840 --> 00:28:47.960
They are free, outside,
getting some girl drunk,
00:28:48.120 --> 00:28:51.480
to see if they can 'seduce' her
in a few hours.
00:28:51.840 --> 00:28:58.120
Oh, dear Death.
00:28:58.600 --> 00:29:04.400
No, don't come today.
00:29:05.400 --> 00:29:12.000
Oh, dear Death.
00:29:12.160 --> 00:29:15.560
Don't come.
00:29:31.320 --> 00:29:33.440
I am a mother
and they killed my daughter.
00:29:33.600 --> 00:29:36.320
Yes, I am an empowered mother.
And a feminist.
00:29:36.680 --> 00:29:40.600
And I'm fucking angry. I have
every right to burn and break it all.
00:29:41.040 --> 00:29:45.360
Talk about the girls who are raped
in their cribs by their own fathers!
00:29:45.520 --> 00:29:51.120
And their families are forced to remain
silent because of the Catholic religion.
00:29:52.160 --> 00:29:56.800
Before murdering my daughter,
they murdered many, a lot...
00:29:57.120 --> 00:30:00.920
How were we, women, doing?
Crying and embroidering at home.
00:30:01.080 --> 00:30:02.880
Not anymore, gentlemen!
It's over!
00:30:13.160 --> 00:30:16.640
Women have taken over a building
00:30:16.800 --> 00:30:19.320
in the historic centre of Mexico City.
00:30:19.480 --> 00:30:22.600
It used to be the National Commission
for Human Rights.
00:30:22.760 --> 00:30:29.280
It has been taken over by women who
have turned it into a refuge, a squat.
00:30:29.440 --> 00:30:33.240
I'm sharing information
about what is happening
00:30:33.400 --> 00:30:36.440
and how to support these women
who are in the building.
00:30:36.600 --> 00:30:38.680
That's what we are
going to do today.
00:31:10.400 --> 00:31:14.560
I can feel the seeds growing
in all of us, women.
00:31:14.720 --> 00:31:17.560
We are putting down roots in this city.
00:31:20.320 --> 00:31:23.240
We all fight from our own battlefield.
00:31:23.840 --> 00:31:27.160
Some with words,
others with art.
00:31:28.400 --> 00:31:30.040
Some with direct action.
00:31:36.000 --> 00:31:38.360
This is the shelter.
00:31:39.240 --> 00:31:41.280
This is a room for female refugees,
00:31:41.280 --> 00:31:45.520
and on the other side there are also
rooms for female refugees.
00:31:46.040 --> 00:31:51.680
Usually, they are women fleeing
from their aggressors.
00:31:52.040 --> 00:31:55.080
The aggressors are usually
their husbands.
00:31:58.240 --> 00:32:00.080
And here are the hoodies.
00:32:00.360 --> 00:32:02.000
Hello hoodies!
00:32:02.160 --> 00:32:05.960
They are the strongest reason
for me to be doing this.
00:32:08.160 --> 00:32:12.800
When I found out about the squat,
I did this illustration inspired by it.
00:32:13.120 --> 00:32:14.520
This sentence...
00:32:14.760 --> 00:32:18.400
I always have it in mind:
"Resist, persist,
00:32:18.560 --> 00:32:20.120
never desist."
00:32:20.840 --> 00:32:25.320
That's the kind of thing
that tells us: "Keep going!
00:32:25.720 --> 00:32:27.200
Don't give up!"
Thank you.
00:32:27.360 --> 00:32:32.080
No, thank you. Really.
- Thank you very much.
00:32:33.920 --> 00:32:36.680
I'll offer it to 'la Flaca'.
- Sure.
00:32:36.840 --> 00:32:39.640
Here, look.
00:32:42.080 --> 00:32:47.440
The altar is composed of
our trophies, as offerings.
00:32:48.840 --> 00:32:51.760
I got some little things here and there.
00:33:11.880 --> 00:33:17.600
I know that I'm not the only one
who suffered abuse by police officers.
00:33:19.880 --> 00:33:21.200
They beat me.
00:33:21.360 --> 00:33:22.640
Tortured me.
00:33:23.080 --> 00:33:24.880
Raped me.
00:33:29.360 --> 00:33:32.560
The famous Rosario Piedra room.
00:33:33.320 --> 00:33:35.080
It's like our fortress,
00:33:35.240 --> 00:33:39.840
where we keep our supplies
to make Molotov cocktails.
00:33:40.200 --> 00:33:42.720
These are our weapons.
00:33:42.880 --> 00:33:46.840
Bottles, to be thrown...
00:33:47.080 --> 00:33:48.920
Gasoline...
00:33:49.160 --> 00:33:51.240
The 'little molotov cocktails'...
00:33:51.760 --> 00:33:57.280
With my 4.92 feet high,
when the cops see me, they run away.
00:33:57.440 --> 00:33:59.720
They leave their patrols
and flee.
00:33:59.880 --> 00:34:03.840
Fear has changed sides.
00:34:04.640 --> 00:34:08.400
These drawings, these lips
have been painted by my daughter.
00:34:08.560 --> 00:34:12.840
She is 7 and she is a victim
of sexual assault.
00:34:13.800 --> 00:34:18.160
Why is our president offended
by this painting?
00:34:18.400 --> 00:34:21.360
Why wasn't he shocked when
my daughter was raped?
00:34:24.920 --> 00:34:28.520
Today, like every day,
we wake up with the news
00:34:28.680 --> 00:34:30.800
that more femicides
have been committed,
00:34:30.960 --> 00:34:33.400
in a country where women
are killed
00:34:33.560 --> 00:34:36.480
just for being women,
00:34:37.720 --> 00:34:42.040
where impunity is absolute,
00:34:42.360 --> 00:34:48.480
where drug trafficking is more important
than thousands of women's lives.
00:34:50.720 --> 00:34:58.600
It is very difficult to get used to the
idea that if something happens to you,
00:34:58.760 --> 00:35:02.160
probably nothing will happen.
00:35:04.800 --> 00:35:06.800
Ruthless.
00:35:32.080 --> 00:35:35.400
Mexico is ruthless.
00:35:44.280 --> 00:35:47.560
It's chilling
to see these little dots.
00:35:47.960 --> 00:35:50.600
And to think that they are people.
00:35:54.400 --> 00:35:56.400
We have to remember
that this is not normal.
00:35:57.520 --> 00:36:01.360
It's something that is happening
every day.
00:36:01.800 --> 00:36:04.000
A lot.
But it's not normal.
00:36:21.560 --> 00:36:23.120
Hello.
00:36:27.760 --> 00:36:29.600
I'm so happy to see you.
00:36:33.440 --> 00:36:34.440
Have you eaten?
00:36:34.680 --> 00:36:35.680
Yes.
00:36:36.760 --> 00:36:39.920
Thanks, but I've eaten a lot.
00:36:41.040 --> 00:36:43.360
How are you?
- Good and you?
00:36:45.160 --> 00:36:48.480
She's blocked me on Instagram.
- Blocked you, why?
00:36:48.640 --> 00:36:50.520
I don't know, but she blocked me.
00:36:50.960 --> 00:36:54.280
Sometimes she would take
very explicit pictures.
00:36:54.440 --> 00:36:55.800
In her underwear.
00:36:57.680 --> 00:36:59.840
They don't exist anymore,
they're not there anymore.
00:37:00.160 --> 00:37:02.720
And so I thought:
"Oh, but..."
00:37:03.040 --> 00:37:08.480
As a parent, you...
How can I say?
00:37:08.640 --> 00:37:11.680
She's so spontaneous,
so natural...
00:37:12.200 --> 00:37:16.040
But as a parent, you think:
"Oh boy..."
00:37:16.200 --> 00:37:21.320
But then you realise
that all you see,
00:37:21.480 --> 00:37:24.720
is actually...
00:37:24.880 --> 00:37:28.320
your own taboos.
00:37:30.600 --> 00:37:32.920
Sometimes it's worrying,
00:37:33.600 --> 00:37:36.480
since there are so many
crazy and agressive people.
00:37:37.640 --> 00:37:39.080
I'm afraid.
00:37:39.240 --> 00:37:43.920
You talk about machismo and...
a lot of people don't like that.
00:37:44.640 --> 00:37:46.800
And they attack others.
We have told you:
00:37:46.960 --> 00:37:48.960
You must be very careful.
00:37:49.640 --> 00:37:52.160
Mexico City is very,
very unsafe.
00:37:53.160 --> 00:37:56.240
We never stop worrying
about Mar.
00:37:56.600 --> 00:37:58.880
Not just because of the city
but of the whole country.
00:37:59.040 --> 00:38:03.280
The whole country experiences
an impressive wave of violence.
00:38:05.600 --> 00:38:08.680
What about the defence classes
you'd mentioned?
00:38:08.840 --> 00:38:10.400
Self-defence?
00:38:10.560 --> 00:38:12.720
I'm going to a class tomorrow.
00:38:14.200 --> 00:38:15.440
To learn how to hit.
00:38:26.560 --> 00:38:31.120
As women, systematic,
sexist, patriarchal violence
00:38:31.280 --> 00:38:33.960
isn't only what we experience
at home.
00:38:34.120 --> 00:38:35.680
That's direct violence.
00:38:35.880 --> 00:38:39.520
The things that happen to us,
when we are beaten and hurt,
00:38:39.680 --> 00:38:44.280
that's direct violence. But there
is a whole system supporting it.
00:38:45.080 --> 00:38:48.760
This system includes
the violence against our bodies.
00:38:49.240 --> 00:38:52.040
We are kept in this dynamic
00:38:52.200 --> 00:38:54.040
of not expressing ourselves,
of not being.
00:38:54.920 --> 00:38:58.880
My first contact with self-defence
00:38:59.040 --> 00:39:01.880
happened when I looked
for resources for my daughter.
00:39:02.040 --> 00:39:04.000
Since we come from Ecatepec,
00:39:04.160 --> 00:39:07.960
another super violent place
in Mexico.
00:39:08.520 --> 00:39:11.440
I just moved and I'm living alone.
00:39:12.800 --> 00:39:16.080
So I really want to know
how to react,
00:39:17.400 --> 00:39:20.640
to feel safe in the streets.
00:39:20.880 --> 00:39:22.440
I've experienced many losses.
00:39:22.600 --> 00:39:25.960
But the one that hit me the hardest
was the loss of my sister.
00:39:26.320 --> 00:39:32.880
She died... precisely
because of physical abuse,
00:39:34.080 --> 00:39:36.560
by her ex-partner.
00:39:37.040 --> 00:39:44.440
I went through a terrible experience
where I didn't know what to do.
00:39:45.360 --> 00:39:51.080
That's what brings me here,
I want to learn how to defend myself.
00:39:51.360 --> 00:39:54.080
And become strong.
00:39:54.800 --> 00:39:59.400
And get over the trauma
of going out alone in the street.
00:40:01.560 --> 00:40:02.560
No!
00:40:03.960 --> 00:40:05.920
There are three levels
to say 'No'.
00:40:06.080 --> 00:40:09.640
A nicer 'No' can mean:
"Let me through.
00:40:09.800 --> 00:40:11.960
Move away, my friend. All good."
00:40:12.720 --> 00:40:14.720
The "No, please. Come on.
00:40:14.880 --> 00:40:18.600
Let us both go. I don't want
to have this conversation."
00:40:19.080 --> 00:40:21.480
Or the "No! That's it!"
00:40:21.920 --> 00:40:26.680
The last 'No!' has a strongest
volume and must be concrete.
00:40:27.240 --> 00:40:28.920
Starting position.
00:40:30.160 --> 00:40:31.840
Now.
- No!
00:40:56.880 --> 00:41:02.160
My sister was a municipal police
officer for 14 years.
00:41:05.640 --> 00:41:07.160
My mother...
00:41:12.000 --> 00:41:18.600
She called me around 10:30 pm or so...
00:41:19.480 --> 00:41:23.960
And said: "Your sister is dead.
00:41:25.720 --> 00:41:31.800
Your sister is dead,
because of a bastard.
00:41:33.120 --> 00:41:35.280
I've lost my daughter
because of a bastard."
00:41:35.440 --> 00:41:39.360
I said: "What? She's dead?
What happened?
00:41:39.520 --> 00:41:41.800
Are you lying?
00:41:41.960 --> 00:41:44.080
Why?
No..."
00:41:45.680 --> 00:41:51.040
She died wearing her uniform.
00:41:52.480 --> 00:41:55.040
We wonder why,
being a police officer,
00:41:55.760 --> 00:42:00.120
she didn't do something
or defend herself.
00:42:07.000 --> 00:42:09.480
It's not so much about
empowerment.
00:42:09.640 --> 00:42:11.400
No, that's not it.
00:42:12.280 --> 00:42:14.840
It's about how we see ourselves.
00:42:15.240 --> 00:42:18.320
Who we are, what we are worth,
and what we want.
00:43:36.000 --> 00:43:40.320
I feel divided, I have the feeling
that I'm not doing enough.
00:43:43.240 --> 00:43:47.840
I feel weird,
being here in my house, drawing,
00:43:48.000 --> 00:43:51.600
while these women
are going through these things.
00:43:54.800 --> 00:43:58.560
As a white privileged woman
from Mexico city,
00:43:59.720 --> 00:44:01.680
I feel like an imposter.
00:44:04.880 --> 00:44:09.880
Drawings won't prevent anybody
from being killed.
00:44:10.040 --> 00:44:14.760
Or put the guilty ones
in jail.
00:44:17.080 --> 00:44:19.520
I'm doing something but...
00:44:20.600 --> 00:44:22.400
it's not enough.
00:44:24.480 --> 00:44:26.520
The revolution belongs to all women.
00:44:30.400 --> 00:44:32.400
This 8th of March nothing
is holding us back.
00:44:33.440 --> 00:44:35.880
This Sunday 8th of March,
the country is going to shake
00:44:36.040 --> 00:44:38.200
with the sound of the women's
footsteps and shouts
00:44:38.360 --> 00:44:39.920
throughout the entire
Mexican Republic.
00:44:40.080 --> 00:44:42.560
We have had enough of the
systemic violence
00:44:42.720 --> 00:44:44.240
that stalks us every day.
00:44:44.440 --> 00:44:47.080
March 8th is International
Women's Day
00:44:47.280 --> 00:44:48.760
but it is not a celebration.
00:44:48.920 --> 00:44:52.080
Come walk, shout,
run, dance, cry,
00:44:52.240 --> 00:44:54.560
Come feel
surrounded by us all.
00:44:54.720 --> 00:44:55.880
And fill yourself with hope,
00:44:56.040 --> 00:44:58.880
for you too are part
of the feminist revolution.
00:44:59.040 --> 00:45:03.680
We're going to overthrow patriarchy.
And we'll be fine. We are together.
00:45:12.720 --> 00:45:16.760
On top of being a rapist,
you're a coward and a liar.
00:45:17.000 --> 00:45:19.720
Poor guy.
- Yes.
00:45:21.840 --> 00:45:24.000
My parents told me:
00:45:24.160 --> 00:45:27.880
"Take care of yourself,
you are not gonna change the world."
00:45:28.240 --> 00:45:34.840
I thought, only because I can't change
the world, I'm supposed to do nothing?
00:45:35.000 --> 00:45:41.160
I should stay seated, like that,
and simply... exist?
00:45:41.360 --> 00:45:45.960
We are very sad and lonely
after these last two years.
00:45:46.360 --> 00:45:51.840
We do this to tell ourselves that we're
not alone and that it's okay to be sad.
00:45:52.000 --> 00:45:54.520
And the sky is clearing up a bit.
00:45:54.680 --> 00:45:58.840
This protest, this day,
are like a promise.
00:45:59.880 --> 00:46:03.960
That things will get better. Maybe.
- Yes.
00:46:08.840 --> 00:46:10.440
No no no!
00:46:10.800 --> 00:46:12.840
This is not an isolated incident.
00:46:13.160 --> 00:46:17.320
Femicides are state crimes!
00:46:17.480 --> 00:46:19.080
No no no!
00:46:19.320 --> 00:46:21.360
This is not an isolated incident.
00:46:21.760 --> 00:46:25.840
Femicides are state crimes!
00:46:27.320 --> 00:46:31.280
We are bad but we can be worse.
00:46:31.480 --> 00:46:33.080
Those who don't like it...
00:46:33.240 --> 00:46:35.200
can go fuck themselves!
00:46:50.400 --> 00:46:51.360
Never yours.
00:46:52.200 --> 00:46:53.600
Always ours.
00:46:54.080 --> 00:46:55.160
We are united.
00:46:55.720 --> 00:46:57.400
We are the scream, the spark,
00:46:57.560 --> 00:46:58.680
we are the flame.
00:46:58.920 --> 00:47:00.120
We are fire.
00:47:00.480 --> 00:47:01.960
We burn.
00:47:02.520 --> 00:47:04.920
For those of us who are here
and for those they took away.
00:47:08.520 --> 00:47:10.560
Sister, here is your pack.
00:47:10.720 --> 00:47:14.280
Listen, woman, this is your fight.
00:47:15.840 --> 00:47:17.040
How are you?
00:47:18.640 --> 00:47:19.560
Can we take a picture?
00:47:19.720 --> 00:47:21.560
I hugged you without asking you.
00:47:21.720 --> 00:47:23.960
Me neither, sorry.
I'm a fan of your art.
00:47:24.120 --> 00:47:26.000
Thank you.
00:47:28.400 --> 00:47:31.640
Thank you for existing.
- Thank you for being here today.
00:47:32.000 --> 00:47:33.360
I love you.
00:47:33.800 --> 00:47:35.920
Can I give you a hug?
- Of course!
00:47:37.520 --> 00:47:38.920
You inspire us.
00:47:39.080 --> 00:47:43.360
You give young girls
a new perspective.
00:47:44.240 --> 00:47:46.120
So cool that you made this.
- Thank you.
00:47:46.280 --> 00:47:48.200
Thank you!
- Happy you like it.
00:47:48.400 --> 00:47:50.200
I love it!
00:47:51.480 --> 00:47:53.600
Bye.
- Bye!
00:48:03.200 --> 00:48:05.200
I want us alive and free
00:48:14.760 --> 00:48:18.800
I'm sick of people
defending violent men.
00:48:19.360 --> 00:48:21.560
Of men protecting each other.
00:48:22.840 --> 00:48:28.480
Of knowing that each and every corner
of this system is rotten inside.
00:48:29.400 --> 00:48:33.120
Of hearing women be accused
of 'having looked' for abuse.
00:48:35.200 --> 00:48:37.800
But we have started now
and we won't stop.
00:48:38.880 --> 00:48:40.800
We will never shut up again.
00:49:14.040 --> 00:49:17.520
It's very pretty.
- Yeah, they're beautiful.
00:49:24.680 --> 00:49:27.240
Today is my sister's birthday.
00:49:27.440 --> 00:49:32.200
I'm going to play her a song
00:49:36.080 --> 00:49:39.080
that I want to dedicate to her.
00:49:42.040 --> 00:49:49.080
Come back to me,
little piece of my soul,
00:49:53.080 --> 00:50:01.080
Come back to me,
I long for you.
00:50:04.160 --> 00:50:11.720
Come back to me,
little piece of heaven,
00:50:15.040 --> 00:50:17.920
Come back to me,
00:50:18.680 --> 00:50:21.840
You were my comfort
00:50:22.280 --> 00:50:25.680
For the pain I suffered
00:50:26.880 --> 00:50:30.560
In the last times.
00:50:43.960 --> 00:50:46.080
They wanted to bury us, but...
00:50:47.160 --> 00:50:49.960
they did not know
that we would be seeds.
00:50:50.360 --> 00:50:52.800
It's about that...
00:50:53.960 --> 00:50:59.920
The more they try to make us small,
the more violence there is,
00:51:00.600 --> 00:51:04.000
the more we'll keep on fighting.
00:51:04.360 --> 00:51:07.800
The women you murdered
will come back.
00:51:08.840 --> 00:51:14.560
It's about flourishing, growing,
growing roots.
00:51:14.720 --> 00:51:19.800
About keeping on growing
and moving forward together.
00:51:23.840 --> 00:51:29.200
Drawing is my battlefield.
00:51:36.600 --> 00:51:38.040
About being a seed
00:51:38.200 --> 00:51:41.160
and trying to germinate
in a soil that isn't mine.
00:51:41.800 --> 00:51:44.160
About releasing roots and branches
00:51:44.320 --> 00:51:46.880
with a little hope accompanying them.
Distributor: Pragda Films
Length: 53 minutes
Date: 2023
Genre: Expository
Language: Spanish
Grade: High School, College, Adult
Color/BW:
Closed Captioning: Available
The is title is available for licensing on the Pragda STREAM site.
Existing customers, please log in to view this film.
New to Docuseek? Register to request a quote.
Related Films
An insightful and educated exploration of Brazil at this stage and age.
Mothers, grandmothers, sisters, friends, workers, lesbians, transsexuals,…