CONTRACTIONS

Lynne Sachs • United States • 2024 • 12 min. • Digital

SYNOPSIS

In 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States ended a woman’s right to a safe and legal abortion in the country. The film takes us to Memphis, Tennessee where we contemplate the discontinuation of abortion services at a women’s health clinic. We listen to an obstetrician and a reproductive rights activist. We watch 14 women who witness and perform with their backs to the camera. In a place where a woman can no longer make decisions about her own body, they speak with the full force of their collective presence.

TRAILER

AWARDS

Best Documentary Short Film
Mimesis Documentary Festival. United States (2024)

FESTIVALS & ALTERNATIVE SCREENINGS

True/False Film Fest. United States (2024)
Cosmic Rays Film Festival. United States (2024)
Ann Arbor Film Festival. United States (2024)
Onion City Experimental Film Festival. United States (2024)
Prismatic Ground Film Festival. United States (2024)
Moviate Underground Film Festival. United States (2024)
Franklin Humanities Institute at Duke University. United States (2024)
DocumentaMadrid International Film Festival. Spain (2024)
VIENNA SHORTS International Shorts Film Festival. Austria (2024)
PHI Foundation for Contemporary Art | “Sentient Disobedients” Program. Canada (2024)
Duke University. United States (2024)
DC/DOX Film Festival. United States (2024)
Olhar de Cinema Festival Internacional de Curitiba. Brazil (2024)
Chicago Underground Film Festival. United States (2024)
Camden International Film Festival. United States (2024)
PerSo Perugia Social Film Festival. Italy (2024)
Brussels International Women’s Film Festival. Belgium (2024)
Denver Film Festival. United States (2024)
Women Make Waves International Film Festival. Taiwan (2024)
Indie Memphis Film Festival. United States (2024)
Other Cinema: SISTERS’ PICTURES, San Francisco. United States (2024)
AGX Boston Film Collective | Abortion Clinic Film Collective. United States (2024)
Nitehawk Cinema “The Future of Film is Female”, NYC. United States (2024)
San Francisco Film Festival “Doc Stories”. United States (2024)

CREW

DIRECTOR
Lynne Sachs

PRODUCERS
Emily Berisso
Laura Goodman
Lynne Sachs

CINEMATOGRAPHER
Sean Hanley

EDITOR
Anthony Svatek

EDITION ASSISTANT
Tiff Rekem

STUDIO RECORDING
Doug Easley

SOUND MIX
Kevin T. Allen

VOICES
Dr. Kimberly Looney
Jane

PERFORMERS
SaBrenna Boggan
Chase Colling
Shana J. Crispin
Kimberly Hooper-Taylor
Coe Lapossy
A. Lloyd
Audrey May
Vanessa Mejia
Natalie Richmond
Krista Scott
Neal Trotter
J. Wright
Nubia Yasin

FESTIVALS & SALES
María Vera (KINO REBELDE)