Sisters in the Struggle

The title says it all. From the very first seconds, the filmmakers immerse us in a collective, situated story: that of Black Canadian women determined not to be silenced. They are Anglophone and Francophone, embodying the diversity of experiences of marginalization in a country that likes to present and imagine itself as distinct from the United States—especially when addressing white supremacy as a political system. They stand together to speak their truth, unvarnished yet plural, reinforcing their humanity.

What strikes me every time is the way Ginny Stikeman and Dionne Brand engage with Sojourner Truth’s question (Ain’t I a Woman?) through their cinematic approach: two decades before Moira Bailey theorized misogynoir, they offer a formal and conceptual response to the intersecting discriminations experienced by Black women sharing their lives. The choice to set the participants’ themes to music, culminating in a literal choral sequence, is just one of many bold stylistic decisions that fill this documentary.

Every time I watch it (a film that greatly inspired my own first documentary, Speak Up: Make Your Way), what I hear is music: “Fight the power”, “Get up, stand up”, “Talking about a revolution.” The power of Sisters in the Struggle, even 35 years later, lies in its ability to make us want to rise, to never stop fighting for our right to dignity, creativity, and freedom.

Amandine Gay
Filmmaker