Franzis Kubisch is a filmmaker, writer and artist researcher. Based in Vienna and Berlin her films mainly explore themes of body politics from the topic of abortion to queer and feminist film.

In Getty Abortions, Kubisch explores how abortions are represented and illustrated in the media. She explores the ways in which the topic of abortion is written about as well as how the depiction of women is depicted in photographs that accompany these texts.

Clicking through a variety of found material from her desktop screen, we get to watch a visual exploration and critique of image politics. Kubisch not only uncovers how such images push feelings of guilt and shame on women, but also how they shape the ways society views the topic of abortion as well. By finding the hidden tactics in media material ranging from 2000’s girl’s magazines to 19th century articles, Kubisch manages to shed light on the power that photographs and scripts have on shaping the social stigma surrounding abortion. By linking the personal with the universal, humor with critique and visual with text, this essay film investigates and shares with the viewer the importance of always being wary of media images.

This film has been selected in collaboration with Filmexplorer from their online Video Essay Gallery.