Beryl Magoko
Womanhood
Part of
Womanhood

Womanhood

Beryl Magoko

2018
90 min.
Germany
German, English, Swahili and Kurdish
Subtitles: Catalan and Spanish

As a young girl growing up in a rural village in Kenya, Beryl thought that all women in the world have to be “circumcised”.

Topic:

Datasheet

Show
Direction
Beryl Magoko
Sound
Malin Schmid, Johannes von Barsewisch
Distribution
DocsBarcelona Distribution
Fotografía
Jule Katinka Cramer
Edición
Fani Schoinopolou BFS
Diseño de sonido
Tim Elzer
Música
Matthias Wittwer
Producción
Beryl Magoko, Jule Katinka Cramer, Academy of Media and Arts Cologne
Synopsis

As a young girl growing up in a rural village in Kenya, Beryl thought that all women in the world have to be “circumcised” by going through Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) at a young age; therefore she went through the ritual at attender age as a rite of passage. Little did she know about the effects of FGM/C.

Many years later she learns about a rather new reconstructive surgery that promises to give back what was lost once. In her author-driven documentary “Womanhood” (In Search…) she explores the emotional dilemma by talking to other women who went through similar experiences. Beryl is trying to find out whether she should undergo this surgery, a journey into the unknown for a second time: “Will I be making another terrible mistake?” or “Am I ready to face my trauma?” are the questions that drive this authentic and emotionally quest into the very self of a young woman.

About the direction
Beryl Magoko

Beryl Magoko

Filmmaker

Beryl Magoko is a Kenyan filmmaker. Her first film “The Cut” received several international awards....

DocsBarcelona Trajectory

2019
DocsBarcelona Festival · News Talent Award
Edició 2019
2019
Docs del mes · September
Edició 2019
2019
Audience Award · Docs del Mes
Edició 2019

Awards and festivals

Premio Nuevo Talento DocsBarcelona
Barcelona, 2019
Docs del Mes Award · DocsBarcelona
Spain, 2020
Premio Filmpreis Leipziger Ring, Dok Leipzig
Alemania, 2018
Premio Millor Documental d’Estudiants, IDFA
Amsterdam, 2018
Premio Mejor Documental de estudiantes, DOK.fest
Alemania, 2019
Premio Néstor Almendros, Human Rights Watch Film Festival
Estados Unidos, 2019
Nominación Mejor pel·lícula, International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights
Suiza, 2017
Beryl Magoko
Womanhood
Watch the trailer
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Reviews

Why were some five-year-old girls convinced that it was the most important day of their lives, and that if they so much as shed a tear during the “operation”, it would be considered a failure?

— Ola Salwa, Cineuropa
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