Silence, Disagreement, and Something Worth Saying

Read Time:5 Minute, 20 Second

MOVIE REVIEW
Girls & Gods
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Genre: Documentary
Year Released: 2025
Runtime: 1h 43m
Director(s): Arash T. Riahi, Verena Soltiz
Where To Watch: shown at CPH:DOX 2025

RAVING REVIEW: GIRLS & GODS doesn’t just raise a difficult question—it reframes it, then invites everyone to stay in the conversation. With clarity, depth, and a fearless sense of purpose, it pushes boundaries in all the right ways. Its refusal to rely on outrage or surface-level aesthetics makes it feel so revolutionary. It offers a rich, layered exploration—less a lecture, more a thoughtful unraveling of deeply rooted systems. It opens doors, sparks dialogue, and reshapes our thoughts about power, belief, and progress.

Feminist icon Inna Shevchenko’s presence gives the film momentum, but the framework built around her keeps everything dynamic. Once known for headline-grabbing acts of protest, she now steps into a new kind of role—still defiant but more reflective. The shift isn’t a softening of her politics; it’s an evolution of her voice. There’s power in how she listens, asks, and engages. And the film mirrors that same approach—never rushing to conclusions, always making space for complexity.

The structure unfolds more like a mosaic than a straightforward narrative. Rather than centering a transformation arc or climax, GIRLS & GODS thrives in tension in moments where voices challenge one another, and no one walks away with the last word. That choice feels deliberate, not unfinished. It honors the subjects and the audience by trusting both to accept contradiction without immediate resolution.

Arash T. Riahi and Verena Soltiz's direction heavily relies on visual storytelling, crafting an atmosphere that feels just as vital as the conversations themselves. Whether inside sacred spaces or surrounded by public demonstrations, the film maintains a steady sense of emotional grounding. Locations are not just backdrops—they’re part of the dialogue, echoing the themes of identity, resistance, and transformation.

One of the film’s most striking elements is how it gives art and symbolic protest equal footing in the conversation. Feminist sculptures, murals, and visual installations aren’t used as background—they carry their own weight. They provoke without a word and assert presence in spaces where women’s voices have long been silenced. A standout moment early in the film shows a provocative art installation of a sculpture inside a European cathedral, triggering public backlash and support alike. But perhaps even more unforgettable is the archival footage of Shevchenko herself, years earlier, bringing down a massive crucifix with a chainsaw in Kyiv—a protest of solidarity with jailed Russian activists that sent shockwaves through both religious and political circles. That moment—radical, visual, unapologetic—remains one of the boldest acts of symbolic defiance captured on film. Together, these sequences reflect the heart of GIRLS & GODS: the audacity to question, disrupt, and reclaim space—whether through sculpture, silence, or a chainsaw.

Soltiz’s influence in highlighting visual expression is especially effective. Art isn’t treated as supplemental—it’s treated as testimony. When French cartoonist Coco appears, her presence alone speaks volumes. A survivor of targeted violence, her work threads humor and criticism with elegant precision. That kind of narrative confidence—letting imagery speak as loudly as interviews—is one of the film’s standout achievements.

Shevchenko’s evolution as an activist quietly parallels the narrative. Becoming a mother during production doesn’t become a dramatic turning point but adds dimension to her journey. Her fire hasn’t dimmed—if anything, it burns more clearly. Her activism gains a new kind of gravity, one shaped by the understanding that change isn’t always about volume—it’s about endurance.

GIRLS & GODS also takes a direct shot at structural power, though it does so with thoughtfulness, not hostility. It raises the question: how do systems maintain their grip on authority, and who gets to decide what evolves? The film doesn’t present institutions as monoliths but as places already shifting under pressure—slowly, unevenly, but undeniably. The women in these spaces aren’t waiting for permission to speak; they’re already speaking. The outside just finally caught up.

The closing images capture the spirit of this journey perfectly. A once-sacred building now reclaimed by nature—decayed, alive, and open to interpretation. It’s not a symbol of destruction; it’s a vision of possibility. Maybe systems don’t need to be torn down to change. Perhaps they must be seen, challenged, and imbued with imagination.

That’s where the film finds its spark. It’s not trying to be the definitive answer. It’s trying to be honest. It isn’t offering a solution—it’s offering momentum. The kind that stays with you. The kind that doesn’t fade when the credits roll. This happens when a film trusts its audience to think, feel, and ask better questions. And that alone makes it something worth showing—and sharing.

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[photo courtesy of GOLDEN GIRLS FILMPRODUKTION, AMKA FILMS PRODUCTIONS]

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