Eine Prämie für Irene

A Bonus for Irene

"Allein machen sie dich ein" ("They’ll get you if you’re alone") sang German rock group Ton Steine Scherben and the line would make a good title for both Helke Sander’s first medium-length film "Eine Prämie für Irene" ("A Bonus for Irene") and the documentary "The Woman’s Film" by the San Francisco-based Newsreel collective. Sander portrays Irene, a single mother who works in a washing machine factory. She doesn’t suffer fools gladly, whether in relation to unequal treatment at work or sexual harassment from men. But it’s clear she doesn’t stand a chance without solidarity from other women. The women in "The Woman’s Film" are already one step further: they have come together to form a women’s rights group and talk there about discrimination, racism and violent relationships. This slice of unfiltered oral history brings the militancy of the early 70s back to life.

Source: 70. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Catalogue)