What It Takes to Be a Woman

Jaroslav Šikl / Czechoslovakia / 1975 / The film already had its Czech Premiere / 10 min.

synopsis

A mother of two children expends the same amount of calories caring for her family and household as a tractor driver does during eight hours of work. A scientific experiment based on data from the Occupational Safety Research Institute and the Institute of Hygiene and Diseases converts activities such as doing laundry, carrying groceries, and bathing children into numbers, thereby highlighting the amount of work that society overlooks as a gender-specific given.

biography

Jaroslav Šikl (1930–1985) was a director, screenwriter, journalist, writer, and teacher. He graduated from FAMU in 1953 and worked for Filmový týdeník, Zpravodajský film, and Krátký film Praha. He focused on crime themes and co-directed the series Kriminalistické sondy (Criminal Investigations, 1968) with Ladislav Kohout. Ji.hlava IDFF screened his films Divná pohádka (A Strange Fairy Tale, 1963) in 2023 and Stráž míru (Guardians of Peace, 1952) in 2010.