Cinenova: The Work We Share – Programme 3

A Question of Choice, dir. Sheffield Film Co-op, UK 1982, 18 min., English

Date: Sunday 20 March 2022

Time: 2:30

Venue: ICA, Cinema 1

BOOK

Films: A Question of Choice, Sheffield Film Co-op, United Kingdom, 1982, 16mm digital transfer, 18 minutes, English 

Sweet Sugar Rage, Sistren Theatre Collective, Jamaica, 1985, 16mm digital transfer, 42 minutes, English 

The third programme of The Work We Share, showcasing 10 newly digitised films from the Cinenova collection, brings together two works made by film collectives promoting awareness of women’s rights at work and exploring the potential for meaningful change.

The screening will be followed by a conversation with author and activist Marissa Begonia and filmmaker and artist Rehana Zaman.

The Sistren Theatre Collective, founded in Kingston in 1977, and working mainly in political theatre projects, sought to use their craft to develop social initiatives, of which Sweet Sugar Rage is a fine example. Within the film, members of the collective are shown interacting with Jamaican women who work on sugar plantations and raising awareness of the women’s labour conditions and daily experiences through discussion and performance. 

A Question of Choice by the Sheffield Film Co-op is a documentary portrait of two cleaners, a dinner lady and a lollipop lady, drawn in terms of the limited choices available to women with family commitments.