The stars of Stacey Tenenbaum\u2019s documentary Tough Old Broads, playing at VIFF Centre March 14 and 17: Kathrine Switzer, left, Sharon Farmer, centre, and Siila Watt-Cloutier. <\/i>(screenshots from film)<\/i><\/p>\n
<\/i>If you\u2019re feeling hopeless about the state of the world \u2013 or you just want to know more about some incredible people who have spent their lives making the world a better place \u2013 head to VIFF Centre March 14 or 17 to see Stacey Tenenbaum\u2019s Tough Old Broads<\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The feature-length documentary features Sharon Farmer, the first woman and first person of colour to be director of White House photography; Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon; and Siila Watt-Cloutier, the first woman to connect climate change to human rights (garnering a 2007 Nobel Peace Prize nomination for that work).<\/p>\n Watt-Cloutier, who calls Kuujjuaq, Que., home, also lived in Iqaluit, Nunavut, for 15 years or so. She was a pioneer in fighting for environmental protections, starting in earnest in the 1980s, when it was realized that pesticides and other toxic chemicals were poisoning the marine mammals that the Inuit were eating, ending up in the breast milk of Inuit women. At the time, Watt-Cloutier was head of the Inuit Circumpolar Council, which represents Inuit from Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Chukotka, Russia, on international matters. She has been instrumental in several actions that have changed how people think about climate justice.<\/p>\n In the documentary, she talks about negotiating with the United Nations from the perspective of being a mother. She says, \u201cHow could Inuit women be carrying this burden of, if I eat my country food, I\u2019m going to poison myself and my children? At each UN talk, I continuously intervened to educate people on the importance of Inuit culture and how the world needs to do things differently.\u201d<\/p>\n More than 40 years later, she continues to speak internationally, educating people about Inuit culture and the environment. In the film, at a conference, she shares one of the lessons she has learned: there will always be tough moments and \u201cit is really about sticking with it and not giving up during those periods of time because those are the moments that you are meant to be at to raise your next level of consciousness, those are the moments that are making you, not breaking you.\u201d<\/p>\n Not giving up is a key message from Farmer, too. The photographer was part of the civil rights movement in the 1970s, capturing images of the protests at Ohio State University; she was a student there at the time. Her career was spent fighting for social justice and documenting key moments in American history with her camera, including when she was at the White House (during the Clinton administration). She continues to do so.<\/p>\n Right after the 2024 election of Donald Trump, Farmer, who lives in Washington, DC, comments on the lack of people at the White House gates.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you don\u2019t register displeasure,\u201d she says, \u201ceverybody thinks what happens is OK \u2013 and I mean around the world, too. I don\u2019t want that tale of woe to be our legacy. Our legacy should be we still have courage, we still don\u2019t like what\u2019s going on and we\u2019re not giving up. I don\u2019t see that happening down here today, and that\u2019s the disappointing part.\u201d<\/p>\n The third subject of Tough Old Broads<\/i> is Switzer, who, while running the Boston Marathon in 1967, was literally attacked by race official Jock Semple, so outraged was he by her participation. Switzer\u2019s coach, Arnie Briggs, running alongside her, body-checked Semple out of the way and she finished the race. This was the seminal moment in her life of activism, which has included helping bring the women\u2019s marathon event to the Olympics (1984) and founding the nonprofit 261 Fearless, \u201c261\u201d having been her bib number in the 1967 marathon.<\/p>\n Switzer continues advocating for and mentoring women, pushing for equality. She says in the film: \u201cThere is so much to do and I still feel responsible\u2026. It hasn\u2019t been finished yet, and it is very simple. If you put the hard work in, if you pay attention, if you \u2018work the phones,\u2019 as we used to say, if you show up, is the biggest thing. That is the key point. It\u2019ll happen. I\u2019m not saying you have to be patient, I\u2019m just saying we have to be persistent.\u201d<\/p>\n Watt-Cloutier and Farmer would likely agree.<\/p>\n Tenenbaum, who is a member of the Montreal Jewish community, said in the press release: \u201cI made this film to share the wisdom and experience of older women with a new generation and to inspire all people to remain vital and outspoken as they age.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n