Shot with an all-female crew, veteran filmmaker Claire Simon’s (I Want to Talk About Duras, IFI FFF 2021) latest documentary is an extraordinary human and cinematic journey. Engaging with the community and the everyday workings of the gynecological department of a Parisian public hospital, women’s bodies in all their diversity, singularity, and beauty become the centre of the story, unfolding desires, fears, and dramas. Simon’s own body eventually ends up becoming a part of the film. Simon offers a feminist dimension – examining and questioning the female condition, its powers, and its sufferings – and a political dimension, using a public hospital where a variety of social backgrounds come together.

Notes by Marie-Pierre Richard

Screening as part of the IFI French Film Festival, November 15 – 26.