Plays March 7-9, 7pm at Winnipeg Cinematheque

The opening sounds and images of Anita: Speaking Truth to Power are of a phone in Anita Hill’s office playing back a voicemail. The voice on the recording belongs to Virginia Thomas, wife of US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Decades ago, Anita publicly revealed that she was sexually harassed by Clarence Thomas while in his employ. Today, Virginia is asking Anita to apologize for “what she did” to the Thomas’s for coming out as a victim of sexual harassment.

This scene sets the tone for the rest of Anita, a documentary about Anita Hill and the role the Clarence Thomas scandal has played in her life. As someone who is too young to remember the senate hearings at which Hill testified about her harassment at the hands of Thomas, Anita is a real eye opener. It’s a painful reminder that victim-blaming and victim-shaming can happen anywhere, even in government.

When Hill is forced to testify, in front of senators and on national television, she is made to recount her painful memories of harassment in graphic detail. Senators brand her a “scorned woman”, wonder if she has a “martyr complex”, and accuse her of fabricating the whole story. The film shows the way a non-partisan testimony quickly becomes a partisan witch-hunt, with Republicans performing an elaborate character assassination on Hill to protect their uber-conservative Thomas.

But Anita isn’t about victimization; it’s about empowerment. Anita Hill bravely stands up for herself and women everywhere. Director Freida Lee Mock (G-Dog) follows Hill after her infamous testimony, showing how Hill’s experiences in Washington motivated her to become a major activist for gender equality. Her current work is on full display here, and it’s inspiring stuff.

Cinematically, there’s nothing in Anita you haven’t seen before. But it’s a stirring portrait of a woman who gave a voice to victims of harassment, and who stood up for herself. It’s moving, and worth your time.

Published in Volume 68, Number 22 of The Uniter (March 5, 2014)