Co-presented by the Mayor’s Office of Women’s Advancement and CineFest Latino Boston.
Shorts lineup:
Free Joan Little
And Again I Dream
She Dared to Dream: Ayanna Pressley
Followed by:
Q&A with Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Catherine Gund, Mariah Norman, and Yoruba Richen.
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Directed by Yoruba Richen. (USA 2026. 38 mins)
The story of a Joan Little, a Black incarcerated woman in North Carolina who killed a white prison guard who was trying to rape her. The 1975 groundbreaking case was the first in U.S history where a woman was acquitted for using deadly force to resist sexual assault.
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Directed by Catherine Gund & Mariah Norman. (USA 2026. 39 mins)
The legacy of Black lesbian journalist and organizer Ivy Young (1947-2023) reveals how, in an age of systemic erasure and mass distraction, we can reclaim power and humanity through embracing our own complex experiences and narratives in order to build a shared future of resilience, compassion, and love.
English captions.
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Director Abby Ginzberg (USA 2025. 28 mins)
A film about Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley. A leader in reproductive rights, criminal justice reform, and opposition to Project 2025. She stands for abolishing capital punishment and solitary confinement, and shrinking the US prison population. She has also pushed for student debt relief during the Biden administration and is an outspoken advocate for the Green New Deal and Medicare for All. Pressley has broken through quintessential barriers for women of color in a state mostly known for dynastic politics. An activist politician, who believes “those closest to the pain, should be closest to the power”, her own path reflects the lessons learned as a Black woman and a committed representative in Congress.