The Films

For Kum-Kum, documentary filmmaking is a creative practice for sharing stories that bring intimacy, light, emotion and depth to her research.

Mirror & Hammer Films, her production company, builds on Bertolt Brecht’s idea that art can be a mirror to reflect social realities, and a tool for reshaping those realities.

  • The Shape of Water

    Khady, Oraiza, Bilkusben, and Gila create social justice in Senegal, Brazil, India and Jerusalem.

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  • Nothing Like Chocolate

    Mott and Nelice (Grenada) offer a new way of making chocolate based on a more fair and cooperative vision.

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  • Lutah

    A candid glimpse of a trailblazing architect who used her talents to challenge male-centric architecture and suggest new ways of being.

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  • We Are Galapagos

    Communities working with a light touch to protect the islands and life on the planet for all.

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  • You Think You Can't Dance?

    Glamourous costumes, intimate desires, and an intense weekend of dance competitions where the everyday becomes extraordinary.

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Films & Social Justice

The Mirror & Hammer team is dedicated to exposing some of the global injustices that are happening on a planet in crisis, starting at the local, community level.

Our mission is to illuminate the ways in which people and communities craft innovative relationships in the interests of social justice. 

 

 Mirror & Hammer Films

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Why we’re here…

While teaching Women, Culture, Development, a course focused on how women in the Third World create change, students shared their desire for more contemporary examples of women’s agency. From that push, I conducted research to find more recent examples for my courses. In the process, I had the idea to make a film myself. My first film, The Shape of Water (2006), is set in Senegal, Jerusalem, India, and Brazil. The documentary offers a peek into the lives of the women as they work in their communities to create social change.

Filmmaking is now integral to my research, teaching, and indeed my life. Because people respond unexpectedly to the injustices around them, my documentaries highlight the courageous and imaginative social justice struggles taking shape around the world.

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