JIFF26 Women on Trial

Starring French icon Charlotte Gainsbourg and premiering at Cannes, this true story about a landmark French abortion case and the powerhouse lawyer at its centre is a testament to the resilience of women and the power of female solidarity.   In 1972, a trial to convict 16-year-old high schooler Marie-Clair Chavalier of having an illegal abortion after she is raped by one of her classmates is shaking France. In a patriarchal society geared towards male dominance, the outcome seems inevitable: punishment for the female victim while the perpetrator gets off scot-free. Chavalier’s final hope is the firebrand lawyer Gisèle Halimi (Gainsbourg), a Sephardi Jewish woman whose conservative upbringing informs the fearlessness that helps to change the fate of the trial and transform the rule of law in France.   Told in an immaculately controlled, non-linear style, Women on Trial is a powerful portrait of an historic moment in the advancement of women’s rights.