clips

"They Said If My Parents Didn't Give Them Money They Would Rape Me"

It was difficult to decide what to clip from last night's television premiere of the film The Greatest Silence, which documents the years-long epidemic of rape in the Congo. There were the dozens of adult victims...the rapists themselves...and of course, filmmaker Lisa F. Jackson, who, according to at least one female critic, shouldn't have inserted her own experiences into her cinematic story. (Whatever, lady.) In the end, we decided to focus on the following: Maj. Honorine Mungole, a one-woman SVU unit who investigates the despicable crimes; 12-year-old Safi — who was raped last year after soldiers entered her home to loot it; and Mathilde, 4, a large-eyed moppet who was assaulted by a man in her village. (A full HBO screening schedule for the film can be found here.)
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critical mass

Critics Find The Greatest Silence "Chilling" But "Frustrating"

In 2006, filmmaker Lisa F. Jackson went to the war-torn Congo on her own nickel to make a documentary about rape in the republic formerly known as Zaire. Her film, The Greatest Silence, which premieres tonight on HBO at 10pm, includes interviews with some of the estimated 250,000 women and girls who have been raped by soldiers over the past decade — as well as some of the rapists themselves — and the picture she paints is beyond grim. (Many women have been raped and injured to the point of lifelong incontinence, their vaginas rammed with sticks and other weapons until their uteri rupture). And though Jackson's personal history also plays a role in the film — she was raped by three men in 1976 — some reviewers find the inclusion of her own tragedy an intrustion. "She is motivated not simply by her reportorial instincts," notes NY Times reviewer Ginia Bellafante, "but also by her unfortunate wish to relate." More critical assessments of The Greatest Silence, after the jump. More »

living dolls

Lifelike Baby Dolls: The New Trend For Childless British Women

Remember that British documentary about men's relationships with their Real Dolls, the very expensive, ultra-lifelike designer sex toys? Well, there's a new British documentary about women's relationships with pricey realistic dolls — baby dolls. My Fake Baby takes a look at adult women who buy handcrafted dolls (called "Re-Borns") and treat them like real infants. I was kinda freaked out when I first watched this clip, but then I kinda had the urge to kiss a lil' guy on the forehead, and pet his hair. I don't know if it's some sort of hormonal thing, or the idea of a baby that doesn't cry or poop, but I wouldn't mind playing with a Re-Born for a little while.

My Fake Baby: Living Doll [Channel 4]

clips

Teenage Tourette's Sufferers Say What's On Their Minds

Above is a clip from a British documentary Teenage Tourette's Camp, which aired a few years ago on ITV. While it's hard not to laugh when someone utters curse words at random, we understand that these kids have a disorder. Still, we're a little bit jealous, because it seems like they're able to get away with saying whatever the hell is on their minds. (They reiterate that they don't mean what they say, but we sort of think that at least a part of them does.) Take Jessica, who yells the "N-word" at black people, or screams "bomb" in airports. Then there's Jen, a heavy-set girl who is used to being mocked for her tics in her hometown, but expected to be treated better by kids with the same disorder. Clip above.

Tourette Syndrome Information Page [National Institutes of Health]