''Brazen Hussies'' is a 2020 Australian documentary feature recording the history of the

Women's Liberation Movement The women's liberation movement (WLM) was a political alignment of women and feminist intellectualism. It emerged in the late 1960s and continued till the 1980s, primarily in the industrialized nations of the Western world, which resulted in g ...

in Australia from 1965 to 1975.

Synopsis

The film covers the evolution of

second-wave feminism in Australia Australia has a long-standing association with the protection and creation of women's rights. Australia was the second country in the world to give women the right to vote (after New Zealand in 1893) and the first to give women the right to be ...

. It includes footage taken by

ASIO ''Asio'' is a genus of typical owls, or true owls, in the family Strigidae. This group has representatives over most of the planet, and the short-eared owl is one of the most widespread of all bird species, breeding in Europe, Asia, North Ameri ...

, as well as actor

Sigrid Thornton Sigrid Madeline Thornton (born 12 February 1959) is an Australian film and television actress. Her television work includes ''Prisoner'' (1979–80), '' All the Rivers Run'' (1983), '' SeaChange'' (1998–2019) and '' Wentworth'' (2016–2018) ...

, then aged 12, waving a women's liberation flag with her mum,

Merle Merle may refer to: People and fictional characters *Merle (given name), a list of men, women and fictional characters *Merle (surname), a list of people Others *Merle (dog coat), a pattern in dogs’ coats *Merle (grape), another name for the w ...

, who started the movement in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

when she chained herself to a pub counter in which women were not allowed to drink. The movement coincided with the

anti-Vietnam war movement Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War began in 1965 with demonstrations against the escalating role of the United States in the war. Over the next several years, these demonstrations grew into a social movement which was ...

, the anti-

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

movement.

Production

It is Catherine Dwyer's first film as director and

Sue Maslin Susan Mary Maslin (born ) is an Australian screen producer. She is best known for her feature films '' Road to Nhill'' (1997), ''Japanese Story'' (2003), and '' The Dressmaker'' (2015), but has produced or executive produced more documentary ...

was

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

. Maslin later said that the filmmakers had great difficulty in getting it financed. The film was so named because the women's movement had reclaimed the formerly pejorative term, wearing it as a "

badge of honour The Badge of Honour, accompanied by the King's Certificate and Badge of Honour, is a civil award previously presented by the governments of British colonies and protectorates, and now by British Overseas Territories, to recognise loyal and valua ...

Release

Following screenings at both the

Brisbane International Film Festival The Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF) is an annual film festival held in Brisbane, Australia. Organised by the Screen Culture unit at Screen Queensland, the festival has taken place since 1992, with the program including features, doc ...

and the

Adelaide Film Festival The Adelaide Film Festival (AFF, formerly ADLFF) is a film festival usually held for two weeks in mid-October in movie theater, cinemas in Adelaide, South Australia. Originally presented wikt:Special:Search/biennial, biennially in March from 2 ...

, ''Brazen Hussies'' was released in cinemas on 7 November 2020, on 56 screens across Australia, lasting for three months on the big screen.

Reception and accolades

In a review in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', Kath Kenny wrote: "Dwyer has uncovered terrific archival footage and photos to complement contemporary interviews". Sally Breen, a senior lecturer at

Griffith University Griffith University is a public university, public research university in South East Queensland on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of Australia. The university was founded in 1971, but was not officially opened until 1975. Griffith ...

, writing for ''

The Conversation ''The Conversation'' is a 1974 American neo-noir mystery thriller film written, produced, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It stars Gene Hackman as a surveillance expert who faces a moral dilemma when his recordings reveal a potential ...

'', wrote that the film is: "A celebration of how far we’ve come and a warning of just how easily everything these women fought for could be lost." ''Brazen Hussies'' was nominated for the best documentary award at the

10th AACTA Awards The 10th Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (generally known as the AACTA Awards) is an awards ceremony to celebrate the best of Australian films and television of 2020. The main ceremony was held at The Star in Sydney and t ...

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, id=tt12960706 2020 films Australian documentary films 2020 documentary films 2020s Australian films