Persister: Films by women, about women speaking up and being heard
The Reykjavík School of Housewives has been teaching students the vanishing skills of cooking, cleaning, sewing and home economics since 1942. While the image of the housewife may have changed over the years, current students learn the handicrafts associated with the label without assuming the antiquated gender role. The school stands as a timeless reminder that the domestic arts of the past apply to the present and, increasingly, to the future—values such as conservation, efficiency and self-sufficiency, as well as useful competencies like the maintenance of clothing and food waste prevention. Students and instructors appear alongside an impressive archive of graduating classes past and present to prove that the more things change, the more they stay the same. The School of Housewives is a warm-hearted, hand-crafted and slyly feminist love letter to “women’s work” that breathes new life into making, sharing and caring for how things look and taste. Angie Driscoll
This film includes a pre-recorded Q&A.
Persister program presented in partnership with Oxfam Canada with the participation of the Government of Canada
The Embassy of Iceland supports Icelandic films at Hot Docs
MEDIA COVERAGE
- NOW - Top 10 Must-See Films
- POV - "A unique contemporary documentary"