Worldwide Burdens
Saturday 20th September 20:30pm (80m)
International stories that reveal shared struggles and strength regardless of where we are
Content Guidance: violence, gore, torture, racism
AT NIGHT YOU BECOME A MOTHER
A poetic journey through the night. Young single mothers share their stories and sorrows and show us how to get through and welcome the morning light after a tough night.
Director: Julia Roeselers
Writer: Julia Roeselers
Producer: Albert Klein Haneveld
HYSTERIA
Houda suffers from unexplained pain in her stomach and lower abdomen. She has consulted countless doctors over the past 10 years and been met with scepticism, dismissal and a misdiagnosis of menstrual pain. When Houda is found unconscious on the bathroom floor, will she finally be taken seriously?
Director: Miriam Carlsen
Writer: Ibbi El Hani
Producer: Sara Fathollah
THE BLISTERS
A 30-year-old girl who takes care of her elderly mother gets help from a strange man to move her mother around. The stranger helps him, but in the meantime, the man’s wallet is lost. This lost causes tension between the girl and the young man.
Director: Mina Hoseini Moghaddam
Writer: Mina Hoseini Moghaddam
Producer: Mina Hoseini Moghaddam
CLEANING
Cleaning follows a woman navigating a typical day filled with subtle yet impactful incidents. As she maintains her family’s façade of normalcy amidst her husband’s infidelity and her son’s identity, she struggles with societal expectations from both external pressures and women’s inner selves.
Director: Qimei Wang
Writer: Qimei Wang
Producer: Shiyi Qi
THE HUE OF RED (LAAL)
LAAL is more than a colour. It’s the pulse of life itself. It’s the colour of youth’s fire, love’s bond, the soul’s search, and the stillness of death... It burns in both life’s triumphs and its farewells, only to return with rebirth. Laal describes the eternal cycle of life and its journey through the colour RED.
Director: Maanavi Bedi
Writer: Maanavi Bedi
Producer: Maanavi Bedi, Karan Mally
NO. 302
In 1970s Finland, it is illegal to be homosexual. Elsie, who is confined in an institution because of her sexuality, decides to escape to Sweden. On a dark winter night, her best friend Majken helps her flee to the Swedish border against all odds.
Director: Cornelia Berg
Writer: Cornelia Berg
Producer: Sofia Palmén
Buy your tickets.
You can purchase a ticket to just this screening, or grab a pass to watch lots more films and attend events happening across the festival weekend.
Discounts for groups, families, students and those on low income support are available too.
Unlock the entire weekend of Women X Fest 2025. Your weekend pass gives you access to all our short film screenings, plus any special programmes. You’ll also be able to attend all our talks, film quiz night, networking events and our awards show.
Weekend passes do not include access to our family screenings.