Women Behind the Wheel
Synopsis
Their route brings them to the doorsteps of women from all walks of life, revealing a women's movement that's had as many ups and downs as the drive itself. A 78 year-old gynaecologist recalls the turbulent transition from Soviet rule to independence, and testimonies of domestic abuse, 'bride kidnapping' and religious extremism expose the region's complex attitude to women's rights.
But despite the evident patriarchal oppression in these countries, it's certainly not the whole picture. Stories of female empowerment against all odds emerge, from a group training Tajikistan's first ever female trekking guides to a feminist collective running workshops on sexual pleasure.
Cat and Hannah gain unprecedented access to over 50 women. Their testimonies shed light on a women’s movement largely ignored by Western media.
This is a story of female emancipation and solidarity across different cultures that have a lot more in common than they might have thought.
Details
- Year
- 2022
- Type of project
- Features
- Running time
- 97 min
- Director
-
Hannah Congdon, Catherine Haigh
- Producer
- Hannah Congdon, Catherine Haigh
- Executive Producer
- Christopher Hird, Cathleen Trigg
- Editor
- Anna Zavialova, Jake Kennedy
- Director of Photography
- Hannah Congdon, Catherine Haigh
- Composer
- Hollie Buhagiar
Genre
Categories
Production Status
Production Company
Dartmouth Films
Somerset HouseWest Wing, Room S12
Strand
London
WC2R 1LA
Page updates
This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.
See also
You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.
Stage
Director: Brett Morgen
Year: 2027
An arena-scale cinematic experience built out of long-lost, remastered 35mm footage originally shot by British director David Hemmings. The film features previously unseen concert footage of David Bowie from his 1978 Isolar II World Tour, in support of his landmark 'Heroes' album. Using a three-screen presentation, transparent LED screens and large-scale projections, it is described as an “immersive and sound light experience”. Official Selection Berlin International Film Festival 2027 - World premiere
India's Circularity: Not a Trend, But Tradition from Margins
Director: Purva Tavri
Year: 2026
Across India’s overlooked margins, India’s Circularity – Not a Trend, But a Tradition from the Margins reveals how reuse, repair, and regeneration are not innovations - but inherited ways of life rooted in culture, necessity, and care. Featuring voices across sectors - artists, makers, NGO leaders, entrepreneurs, government officials, planners, engineers, institutions, and homemakers - the film journeys through terracotta clusters in Rajasthan, bamboo-timber homes in Sikkim, palm-leaf artisans in Kerala, and community commons in Chhattisgarh. One story is deeply personal: the director’s mother, whose regenerative practices shaped the director’s own circular worldview long before her professional work in sustainability. With poetic narration, immersive visuals, and grounded research, the film reframes circularity as a lived tradition, not a future policy aspiration.
A Spirit, a Deity, a Barbarian? Captive in the Subterranean
Director: Hannan Jones
Year: 2025
In the subterranean archive of the National Roman Legion Museum, where artefacts and imperial debris trace Britain’s imperial past, the possible first depiction of a Welshmen or “barbarian” becomes a catalyst to unsettle imperial narratives and surface long-suppressed voices.