XVII Congress of the Brazilian Studies Association

#PrimeiroAssédio and Film: The Case of Paula Sacchetta’s Precisamos Falar do Assédio

• In Event: Woman-Centered Brazilian Cinema

Abstract

This presentation examines how feminist documentary filmmakers sought to put faces to the disembodied voices on social media as well as to bring visibility to feminist strategies for surviving and transforming rape culture. It does so by focusing on Precisamos falar do assédio (Faces of Harassment, 2016) directed by Paula Sacchetta. Produced on the heels of #PrimeiroAssédio as some powerful male voices continued denying the existence of rape culture in Brazil, Sacchetta’s film invited female survivors of sexual violence to speak out on camera. Drawing on recent feminist debates in antirape politics (Alcoff; Serisier), I analyze Precisamos falar do assédio as a positive example of the political effectiveness of centering survivors’ stories.
--Rebecca Atencio, Tulane University

Author

• Rebecca Atencio, Tulane