South Africa / 1998 / 28mins / Documentary / English and Xhosa

Can new laws change old ways? A Woman's Place presents the question by exploring the conflicts between tradition and change through the stories of women using the legal system to secure newly won rights. In this film, a town's first female magistrate of a small rural South African town fights to guarantee women the right to property and independence.

Catherine Stewart

Catherine Stewart is a South African freelance director, screenwriter and script editor. She has written and directed television drama series, mini series and short films for over 25 years. She graduated from Stanford University in 1988 with an honors degree in Literature and Film and received a Master’s degree in Screenwriting and Directing from Columbia University. She worked for Tristar/Columbia’s Feature Film Development Office in New York before returning to South Africa. She lectured at Wits University in screenwriting and has directed documentaries for SABC. While You Weren’t Looking (2015) was her first feature film. Learn More

Patricia Van Heerden

Patricia Van Heerden grew up on a cattle farm in the Northern Cape of South Africa. She received Bachelors’ degrees in social science and teaching at the University of Cape Town, and a Masters in history and documentary film. She co-directed A Woman’s Place, screened on PBS stations across America, India and South Africa. She has taught history and film at New York University, as well as the University of the Witwatersrand. Learn More