Directed by Liane Brandon • 1972 • United States
This poignant tale of beauty, identity, and a dress is considered a classic of documentary filmmaking. It was the first independent film of the women’s movement to explore the issues of body image, self-worth, and appearance in American society. In this unconventional documentary, Betty tells her story of the search for the “perfect dress” twice—first as a humorous anecdote and again as her underlying feelings emerge. The contrast between the two stories is haunting.
Up Next in Tell Me: Women Filmmakers, Women’s Stories
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It Happens to Us
Directed by Amalie R. Rothschild • 1972 • United States
Released a year before Roe v. Wade, this short film by Amalie Rothschild lays out the dire realities of illegal abortion, interviewing women from a variety of backgrounds who made the choice to terminate a pregnancy.
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Chris and Bernie
Directed by Bonnie Friedman and Deborah Shaffer • 1975 • United States
Two young, frustrated single mothers join forces to make a new kind of family unit for themselves and their children.
