“Bertha Lutz” movie
A voice that refused to be drowned out. An important chapter that has been erased from history. An intercontinental investigation by two researchers to recover the memory of a Brazilian woman.
The documentary follows the research by Fatima Sator, from Algeria, and Elise Dietrichson, from Norway, who came in contact with a series of original letters written by Bertha Lutz. She had been the Brazilian delegate at the Conference that laid the foundations for the formation of the United Nations in 1945. The letters shine a light on Bertha’s contribution to a historic achievement for the feminist movement: winning a tough battle against representatives of others countries to include important women’s rights language in the UN “constitution”.
TEDx Place des Nations Women
In this project, Fatima Sator and Elise Dietrichson uncovered the forgotten story of four Latin American women who ensured that gender equality was written into the UN Charter in 1945. Through historical research and storytelling, they revealed how these delegates challenged a male-dominated system and changed the course of international law. The project reframes women’s role in diplomacy—not as passive participants but as decisive architects of global rights—and inspires audiences to recognize and continue their legacy of equality and inclusion.
Book: “Women and the UN”
The project focuses on the rediscovery of Latin American agency in the creation of the global hegemonic norm of gender equality provides additional evidence to shatter the hegemonic myth that international agency—especially progressive and feminist agency—was and is Western. Findings resulted in a book (Chapter 2, specially), a TEDx talk, an HBO documentary (see above), extensive media coverage, addition to the UN training material and several training in diplomatic schools.
