Cristina Perincioli facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Cristina Perincioli
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| Born | November 11, 1946 |
| Nationality | Swiss |
| Alma mater | Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin |
| Occupation | Film Director, Writer, Multimedia Producer, Webauthor |
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Notable work
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For Women: Chapter 1 |
| Awards | Award of the Film Journalists in 1972 |
Cristina Perincioli (born November 11, 1946) is a Swiss film director, writer, and creator of computer games and websites. She was born in Bern, Switzerland, and moved to Berlin, Germany, in 1968. Since 2003, she has lived in the Brandenburg region of Germany.
Perincioli is known for her films that supported the women's rights movement in the 1970s. Two of her most famous films are For Women: Chapter 1 and The Power of Men is the Patience of Women. These films were made in a special way, with many people working together. They have been recently restored so that new audiences can see them.
Starting in the 1990s, she began working with computers to tell stories. She created adventure games with interactive video and made several educational computer games. She also built websites to provide help and information about difficult topics like violence.
Contents
A Life of Creativity and Change
Early Films and Activism
In 1968, Cristina Perincioli moved to Berlin to study at the German Film and Television Academy. She became interested in making documentary films, which show real-life events. Her early films were about topics like politics and student life in the city.
Her 1971 film, For Women: Chapter 1, was a mix of documentary and fiction. It told the story of a women's strike and was one of the first films of its kind in West Germany. The film was a big success and won an award at a major film festival in 1972. The film critic Harun Farocki said about it, "You can see how much fun liberating knowledge can be."
During this time, Perincioli also helped start important groups. In 1972, she was a co-founder of a movement for women's rights. In 1973, she helped open the first "Women's Center" in Berlin. These centers were safe places where women could meet and support each other.
Making Films to Help Others
In 1977, Perincioli started her own film company. She made a famous film called The Power of Men is the Patience of Women. This film was about the problem of violence in homes.
To make the film, she interviewed women in Berlin about their experiences. She had learned about special safe houses for women in England and wanted to help women in Germany. Along with other women from the rights movement, she worked to make the public more aware of the problem. The first safe house for women in West Berlin opened in 1976.
For the film, women from the safe house acted out their own stories. This made the film very powerful and real. It was shown in many countries, including Australia, Canada, and the United States. The film's title became a well-known slogan for the women's safe house movement.
In 2024, this film and For Women - Chapter 1 were restored and shown at a festival in Belgium. The festival organizer said the films showed a forgotten way of making movies to create social change.
New Technology and New Projects
From the 1990s, Perincioli became interested in using new technology to tell stories. She developed interactive storytelling, where the user can make choices that change the story. She created two adventure games using this technology.
She also made seven educational computer games, often called serious games. These games were designed to be played in public spaces and taught people about important topics.
Perincioli has also worked as a teacher. She has taught filmmaking and media at schools in Germany, Switzerland, and even at the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication in Nairobi.
Later in her career, she began creating websites to help people dealing with difficult situations. She used simple and friendly methods to create websites that offered information and advice on preventing violence. Her work was supported by groups like the European Commission and the German government.
Important Writings
In 2015, Cristina Perincioli published a book called Berlin Goes Feminist. The Best of What Remained of the '68 Movement. In the book, she writes about the beginning of the women's rights movement in West Berlin between 1968 and 1974.
The book includes many documents, 80 photos, and interviews with 28 women who were part of the movement. Perincioli explains where their ideas came from and how they worked to make big changes in society.
One reviewer, Sonya Winterberg, said the book shows that the women's movement had "many mothers." She praised the book for giving an entertaining look into the creative projects and groups that started during that time.
Another reviewer, Claire Horst, called the book a "cultural history of the alternative Berlin of the 60s and 70s." She liked that Perincioli wrote with humor and was able to look back on the past in a self-critical way. An English version of the book is available to read online.
Awards and Recognition
- In 1972, Perincioli won the "Award of the Film Journalists" for her film For Women: Chapter 1.
- Her educational CD-ROM game to help keep children safe received top ratings in 1999 and 2000.
- In 2005, her website for preventing violence in relationships won an award for its new and creative approach.
- In 2007, her website for young people about preventing harm won a media award in Germany.
Works
Films
- Striking my Eyes (1966)
- Nixon Visit (1968)
- Occupation and Self-Administration of a Student Residence (1969)
- For Women: Chapter 1 (1971)
- Kreuzberg is Ours (camera) (1972)
- Anna and Edith (1975)
- The Power of Men is the Patience of Women (1978)
- Population Explosion (1985)
- With Woman's Weapons (1986)
Books
- Women of Harrisburg, Or: We don't let Us Talk Out of Fear (1980)
- Eye and Ear – Computer and Creativity. A Compendium of Computer Graphics, Animation, Music and Video (1990)
- Berlin wird feministisch. Das Beste, was von der 68er Bewegung blieb (2015)
Websites
Perincioli has created many websites to provide information and help on important social topics. Her sites cover subjects like support for victims of violence, preventing harm, and raising awareness for men about violence in relationships. She also has websites about her family's history as sculptors and about her work managing a forest.
See also
In Spanish: Cristina Perincioli para niños
- List of female film and television directors
- List of lesbian filmmakers
- List of LGBT-related films directed by women
