Women Talk: The Terrifying True Story Behind the Oscar-Nominated Film

What is it about? In 2010, women from an isolated religious community struggle to reconcile their faith with the reality of their existence.

It is based on a true story

Women Speak is adapted from the novel of the same name (translated into French in 2019 under the title what do they say) by Miriam Toews, published in 2018. It was inspired by the documented gang rape of women of all ages by men in an isolated Mennonite community in Bolivia from 2005 to 2009.

The women were treated with a veterinary anesthetic and woke up bruised, bruised and bleeding. The men convinced them that it was a figment of their imagination or the work of demons. Eight men from the colony were convicted of sexual assault by a Bolivian court in 2011. Unfortunately, this did not prevent new sexual violence in 2013, and the convicts were in prison. Miriam Toews herself comes from the Canadian Mennonite community, and this news formed the basis of the novel.

Adaptation initiated by Frances McDormand

Actress Frances McDormand has acquired the rights to adapt the Miriam Toews novel and has offered Plan B’s Dede Gardner to make the film with her. “I found it thought-provoking in surprising and nuanced ways, and fueled the conversation in my community. It was a debate tinged with humor, hope, and the possibility of the future, and that intrigued me.”

The actor explains: “I didn’t buy the rights to adapt the book thinking I’d be in a movie, but because I wanted to produce it with Dede and Sarah. But I love Yanzi, dramaturgically. She’s there to remind the audience that there are other women outside of Hay who They don’t want or are afraid to go.

Sarah Paul

The producers wanted the director of Women Talking to be the screenwriter as well. When they made a list of potential candidates, Sarah Paul’s name stuck out. “His work speaks volumes. He has read the book on his own and has already discussed how it could be made into a movie.”– says McDormand.

Miriam Toews, the author of the original novel, was delighted with the director’s choice. Both women are originally from Toronto. “I admire her in every way: her work, her experiences, her writings, her achievements, her feminism and her activism. Everything works here.”Toews notes.

statement of intent

If the background story of Women’s Talk is violent, the movie isn’t. Sarah Paul was careful not to show the actual assaults, favoring the observation of a community of women coming together to decide how they would collectively respond to this violence.

“When I read Miriam Toews’s book, it resonated powerfully with me, raising questions and thoughts about the world I lived in that I had never said; Questions about forgiveness, faith, systems of domination, trauma, healing, guilt, community, self. – Decision and the importance of self-determination. It also filled me with amazing hope.”Director and screenwriter confides.

A film by a woman about women

Claire Foy emphasizes the importance of a work like Women Talking, directed by a woman and starring female characters. This feature is neither limiting nor reducing: “Movies told us what was important and what wasn’t, almost from a one-sided male perspective. We saw Armageddon And other films of this genre where important men do important things in big rooms and go to war in monumental surveillance shots. This movie is extremely feminine, but why can’t it be just as monumental in cinematic language? The subject it deals with is monumental. “

All participants evoke the singularity of an inherently feminine stage presence. “I’ve never been involved in a film where an impressive majority of female characters talk about the status of women.”– says Jesse Buckley.