REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE

Still image from the movie April by Dea Kulumbegashvili

This screening is part of a monthly film series presented by Soctalk and hosted and co-curated by WORM, exploring cinema through the lens of social reproduction feminism. In the words of Cindi Katz (2001), social reproduction is the fleshy and messy stuff of everyday life. The program invites audiences to look at film as a way of understanding the structures of regular practices that make life possible, while questioning whose labour remains unseen. Across four screenings, we explore how capitalist relations profit from the status quo and depend on keeping much of this work hidden.

The second screening focuses on reproductive justice, shifting attention from individual choice to the structural conditions that shape who is supported (or constrained) in their desire to have children and raise them safely. The program looks at biological reproduction, bodily autonomy, and the labour involved in navigating medical, legal, and bureaucratic systems shaped by gendered norms and patriarchal control.

The speaker for tonight’s screening will be Siggie Vertommen. Siggie Vertommen works as a lecturer and researcher in gender studies at the University of Amsterdam and Ghent University. Her work grapples with the global politics of (assisted) reproduction, from various feminist perspectives.

April
by Dea Kulumbegashvili
2024, Georgia/ Italy/ France, 134 min, Georgian w/ English subtitles
Nina, a skilled obstetrician-gynaecologist working in rural Georgia, sees her life and work thrown into crisis after a stillbirth leads to accusations and investigation. April quietly yet powerfully explores the social stigma, legal pressure, and moral judgement surrounding abortion and reproductive care, portraying a woman’s dedication to bodily autonomy amid isolation and scrutiny.

Soctalk is a junior staff initiative within the Department of Public Administration and Sociology at Erasmus University Rotterdam. The collective organizes workshops and courses both inside and outside the university. Soctalk aims to foster a culture of care that critically engages with institutional structures, while redistributing and collectivizing resources to support communities and initiatives in the city of Rotterdam.

Cineville avaiable at the door and online on the day itself!