International Competition
The Strike
La Grève / Gabrielle Stemmer / France / 2025 / 55′
“One morning I realized I hadn’t made love in three months.” So begins Ovidie’s sex strike, recounted in her bestseller La Chair est triste hélas. Gabrielle Stemmer delves into the intimate and political journey of a woman revisiting her past, trapped in the prison of patriarchy. Through a mesmerizing blend of stock footage, TV archives and home movies, Stemmer’s political essay lays bare the cracks in the heterosexual model.
Director Miranda Pennell
Screenplay Miranda Pennell
Editing John Smith
Music Simon Fisher Turner
Mix Miranda Pennell
Archives Eye Filmmuseum
CINEMA INTRASTEVERE – Room 1, May 30, 12:00 p.m.
Q&A with the author
Gabrielle Stemmer
Gabrielle Stemmer (1991, France) studied literature and film editing. Her work as a documentary filmmaker focuses on exploring archival images, both historical and contemporary. In 2019 she directed Clean With Me (After Dark), selected and awarded at numerous festivals, and the series Femmes sous algorithms in 2023. In 2025 his film-essay La Grève, an adaptation of Ovidie’s book La Chair est triste hélas, premiered at the San Sebastián Film Festival.