VIDEO. Documentary “Terre de femmes”: diving into a universe where life is built without men

In Occitania, at the foot of the Pyrenees, there is a land of refuge for women, on the hillside, in the middle of the woods, on the fringes of society where life is built without men. A place of collective and feminist transformation where a few cabins are built, to experience a new way of life.

The documentary takes us to the foot of the Pyrenees, to a place where women have built together, on the side of hills, among trees and bushes, huts on a land of refuge, without men. A place of collective and feminist transformation in the heart of nature, where these women, of all generations, from diverse and varied backgrounds and countries, pass, stop, build, settle and leave…

A new way of living and thinking

Among them, Eva, the director. In a period of transition, she questions her life as a couple and her certainties. In her film, the young woman tells us about the particularity of the place and the state of mind of its inhabitants, but through her story, she also tells us about her own transformation.

Every time I come here, it’s time stolen from routine (…) I feel guilty spending time without him, for me. But as soon as I arrive here, I forget her anger, her silences and I feel…light.

Eva Tourrent, director of the documentary.

Passing through this land of refuge, Eva wonders about her place as a straight woman, about her couple, the violence experienced, the desire and freedom to have a child, while wondering about the possibility of living in the place. alongside these women who continue to build.

A place of refuge for free women

A feminist place where, in the heart of Occitania, women, lesbians or not, often victims of homophobia or sexual violence meet there. Either a few days, a few months or even years, since some live there full time. Like Mayana, who after leaving for the Netherlands came back to settle there. At over 70, a hermit accompanied by her cats, she is one of the few to live there all year round.

Eva sees the place as “A border”. Being on the edge she explains”it means stepping back, while not cutting yourself off from the world. It’s the choice to be neither in the wild hedge nor in the cultivated field, neither lurking in the depths of the woods, nor exposed in the middle of the meadow.“. A need for non-mixing expressed differently according to the experience and personality of each “It’s a need for me to catch my breath, and then return to the world“says one of them.

Together, these women challenge domination and patriarchal societal norms. They try, through exchanges and community projects, to build other universes and other models, emphasizing ecology, collective life, creativity, spirituality, sexuality, the choice to be or not to be. not to be, woman, but also sometimes, mother…

We find them, in a circle, when several of them reflect on the future of the place. If their points of view sometimes diverge, the listening remains benevolent.

Women’s land and LGBT+

This land of women is part of the global movement of “Women’s Land”.

At the end of the 70s and 80s, particularly in Oregon in the USA, Denmark, Australia, Spain or Greece, lesbian women, wanting to free themselves from the partriarchal model, experimented, far from the cities, with feminist places , with a new way of living, in community and closer to nature.

Today, within the place of refuge, the old generations are joined by the new ones, some of whom come from Queer movements Or non binary, very committed to LGBT+ issues. These young women bring with them new questions and new exchanges,

“A land of women” a documentary by Eva Tourrent to discover on Thursday June 1, 2023 from 11:45 p.m.

A film to be found on our France.tv site

A GoGoGo Films, Survivance and France Télévisions co-production. With the participation of Tënk and En Rachachant