Vulva 3.0

We live in hypersexualised times. The press, adverts and TV are constantly putting naked women and their genitalia on display. But many women are still deeply prudish when it comes to the relationship with their own body. In public we see airbrushed, de-individualised anatomies which conform to the standards of attractiveness used by the porn industry. The ideal image of the smooth, perfectly shaped vulva with symmetrical labia has little to do with the actual shape of most female genitalia. The resultant insecurity many women feel about their own bodies has proven to be a gold-mine for cosmetic genital surgery which promises to manufacture the perfect vagina via the surgeon's scalpel. With their comprehensive and unflustered research into the history of this particular aspect of the female anatomy in the 21st century, the directors shed light on every facet of the matter in hand, from sex education to censorship, from the airbrushing of "misshapen" labia in pornographic images to the work of activists against female genital mutilation - and in doing so celebrate the diversity of the female body.

details

  • Runtime

    78' min
  • Country

    Germany
  • Year of Presentation

    2014
  • Year of Production

    2013
  • Director

    Claudia Richarz, Ulrike Zimmermann
  • Cast

  • Production Company

    MMM Film GmbH
  • Berlinale Section

    Panorama
  • Berlinale Category

    Documentary Film

Biography Claudia Richarz

Born in 1955, she studied visual communications at the University of Fine Arts of Hamburg. She has been making documentaries for many years, either as a director or a cinematographer. In the year 2000 the ten-part WDR/arte series ABNEHMEN IN ESSEN received the Grimme Award.

Filmography Claudia Richarz

1985 Endlich eine Prinzessin | 1989 Das Nummerngirl | 1993 Die große Liebe | 1999 Abnehmen in Essen | 2004 Samba für Singles | 2005 Delphin-Kinder | 2012 Aupair-Omas

Biography Ulrike Zimmermann

Born in Hamburg, Germany, in 1960, she took her degree in film at the University of Fine Arts of Hamburg in 1988. She founded MMM film production in 1989 and has since worked as a production manager/line producer and independent

Filmography Ulrike Zimmermann

1985 Free Fucking | 1986 Touristinnen – Über und unter Wasser | 1989 Die erregte Frau in der Videothek | 1991 Venus 220 Volt – Lust im Haushalt | 2013 Reich werden im Irak