‘We Gather at Dawn (I have discharged you from our care)’ explores the reality of living with endometriosis through a feminist science-fiction lens. Endometriosis is a chronic condition affecting 10% of womb-holders that causes acute pain. It has been obscured, misdiagnosed, and under-researched for centuries.

A group of chronically ill women build, destroy, and rebuild columns as high as their bodies out of cob, a traditional building material made of clay, sand, and hay mixed by stomping. Breaking down the fruits of their labour themselves, they resist demands for productivity and build kinship. Throughout the film, four vignettes are enlarged to offer glimpses of the dystopian world these women navigate – gathering to resist invasive treatments and dialoguing with medical AIs.

The artist would like to thank the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ) for the financial support.

Write to me for a link to the full video

CREDITS

Written, directed & edited by Anouk Verviers
Performers and camera operators : Hsiao-Chien Chiu, Geraldine Hudson, Ellen King, Riley Tu, Anouk Verviers
Camera operators: Mehdi Moussaoui & Anouk Verviers
Music & sound design: Anouk Verviers
Audio mixing: Émilie Blaise - PRIM
Colour grading: Marianne Lévesque- PRIM, David Ferrando Giraut, and Anouk Verviers


Special thanks: Debbie Frame, Gwil Hughes, Ian Marshall, Mehdi Moussaoui, Fran Painter-Fleming, Charlie Pritchard, Tolga Saygin, St John on Bethnal Green, Vaste et Vague.

The production of this work was supported by a grant from Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ) (Canada), by ACME Studios (London UK) through the ACME Goldsmiths award 2023-2024 residency and by PRIM Centre d’artistes (Montréal CA).

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