Can feminism and religion coexist? Girls & Gods is a new documentary that tries to tackle that answer spearheaded by Ukrainian FEMEN collective leader Inna Shevchenko. Instead of protests, Shevchenko travels the world to engage in dialogue with priests, imams, rabbis, theologians, and fellow activists in candid conversations. This is one of the two documentaries I got to screen in advance before their world premiere at CPH: DOX.

I am incredibly fortunate to have established a relationship with certain PR companies that give me the opportunity to screen films in advance. Similar to the one that I watched before from the same company, I love how they are focused on giving women a voice. Every single film I have seen from them has a prominent female perspective in the lead role. That is so rarely done. Films should be driving conversations, and I think this is a great film to add to the conversation.

Films like this that drive conversation is fitting since this film is geared towards driving conversation about the difference between religion and being a woman and how the two can exist in the same realm. As a male, I am not the exact perspective it speaks from. As much as I try to listen and do my part, I will never know the female perspective since I am not one. That is the truth. Even as a male, I do believe the world should be doing better to help women be more independent and not have to be forced into a situation based on the context of something else.

I am a firm believer in the difference between church and state. As much as we see that conversation being driven here in the United States, it’s an issue that arguably worse in other parts of the world. That’s where Inna Shevchenko is able to travel the world and get different perspectives of what women go through based on religion. I believe no what matter who you are nor what you believe in, the film offers a lot of great insight in the issues women face and how the issues can be fixed.

The film is certainly a necessary watch, but it’s also a tough one. Not due to the material presented on screen, but due to how people can be so fixed in their ways and how the issues presented by never be fixed. This is where I believe perspective is so vital. I think one thing the film could have done more of is having more conversations with men who think differently. It’s great to have Shevchenko give women something to think about. I would like to think more can be changed if men also listen.

I think what also makes this so tough to watch is how the dialogue can be overlapped instead of conversational at times. I could never personally get into debate, but that’s also because I am not an argumentative person. I was impressed by the way Shevchenko was able to remain calm with other people and still show love even when they disagreed on something. It does give something women to think about. People won’t just change over night. If you want to seek change, you have to drive conversation and give something for others to think about in order to seek that change.

The film is co-directed by Arash T. Riahi & Verena Soltiz, offering more insight into the importance of the documentary. For one, you can see how much energy is placed into the film. I don’t know much about how the two directors works, but I can imagine based on what I see here that they are able to inject so much energy into the editing and pacing of the film that drives home the importance of the subject, all while keeping the camera personal & intimate with whoever is on screen.

I think what was even vital about the importance of the story was how it was able to lean more into what happened with the Me Too movement through the conversations. We learned more of how it brought up necessary themes of the subject matter, but it never fully leaned into how it could have changed the world. The film tackles many perspectives from various side characters that help convey the importance of why things like the Me Too movement needed to happen.

Overall, Girls & Gods is a vital and importance piece in the documentary genre. Much like the film, I believe it will spark more conversations amongst viewers and share how we can talk without making it argumentative. I can’t wait for the whole world to experience this one.

VERDICT: 4/5 (Great)