Women's Empowerment Through Film

Conference – October 9, 2026

Under the scientific direction of
, Rémy Cabrillac, Professor, University of Montpellier (Private Law Laboratory),
, and Sandrine Roose-Grenier, Associate Professor, University of Montpellier (LICeM).

^{Photo credit: Sandy Blanco, Professor, University of Montpellier}

Cinema occupies a unique place in the history of women’s emancipation. Each film, in its own way, brings to light what the law sometimes struggles to articulate on its own: the evolution of a social status, the attainment of autonomy, and the recognition of a body, a way of thinking, or a work of art. It thus serves as a valuable tool, revealing the tensions, limitations, and challenges of the law, and contributes to a critical understanding of this emancipation.

Each presentation will draw on the analysis of a film to shed light on a specific legal aspect of this phenomenon, creating a dialogue between the rigor of the law and the evocative power of the image. This conference will thus provide an opportunity to assess how cinema, as a social and cultural phenomenon, addresses women’s emancipation in all its dimensions and serves as a relevant medium for analyzing the evolution of women’s legal status and rights.

The conference will also feature film segments devoted to in-depth analysis of evocative films and will provide an opportunity to understand what cinema reveals about women’s emancipation, even beyond the legal perspective.

By bringing together the perspectives of legal scholars and film enthusiasts, this conference aims to demonstrate that cinema is never merely a reflection of its time: it is also a space where women’s rights are considered, challenged, and, at times, anticipated.

Program