Film screening "The Day Iceland Stood Still" and panel discussion
To mark International Women's Day, the Culture and Equality unit invites you to a film evening followed by a panel discussion with sociologist Emma Dowling and historian Paula Lange (moderator: journalist and author Bianca Jasmina Rauch). Barrier-free access: Right side entrance, lift in courtyard 4, 2nd floor
Hörsaal 50 (Hauptgebäude Stiege VIII, 2. Stock)
Universitätsring 1, 1010 Wien
To mark International Women's Day, the Culture and Equality unit invites you to a film evening followed by a panel discussion with sociologist Emma Dowling and historian Paula Lange (moderator: journalist and author Bianca Jasmina Rauch). Barrier-free access: Right side entrance, lift in courtyard 4, 2nd floor
Universitätsring 1, 1010 Wien
Beschreibung
To mark International Women's Day, the Culture and Equality unit invites you to the film screening of The Day Iceland Stood Still (German title: Ein Tag ohne Frauen). At the beginning, vice-rector Manuela Baccarini and the Equal Opportunities Working Party will give a short welcome note. After the screening, there will be a panel discussion with sociologist Emma Dowling and doctoral candidate in history Paula Lange, moderated by Bianca Jasmina Rauch, journalist, author and researcher specialising in film, University of Vienna alumna.
About the film
The Day Iceland Stood Still is a documentary film about 24 October 1975 – the day that catapulted Iceland to the top of the list of the best countries in the world for women. Since then, it has ranked first in the Gender Equality Index year after year. When 90 per cent of Icelandic women downed tools and left their homes on an autumn morning in 1975, refusing to work, cook or look after their children, they brought their country to a standstill and catapulted Iceland to the status of ‘the best place in the world to be a woman’.
Told for the first time by the women themselves and featuring playful animations, The Day Iceland Stood Still is subversive and unexpectedly funny. ‘We loved our chauvinistic pigs,’ recalls one of the activists, ‘we just wanted to change them a little!’ Released on the 50th anniversary of the strike in 2025, the film's message about the collective power of women to change their Society encourages us to rethink what is possible.
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, Iceland's president from 1980 to 1996 and the world's first democratically elected female head of state, plays a role, as does pop superstar Björk, who contributed the song for the credits. The film was directed by Emmy Award-winning US filmmaker Pamela Hogan and produced by Hrafnhildur Gunnarsdóttir. Iceland/USA 2024, 71 min, English OV, German subtitles (Film distribution Polyfilm).
Panel discussion with:
- Emma Dowling, Associate Professor of Sociology of Social Change, University of Vienna
- Paula Lange, doctoral candidate at the Institute of History, University of Vienna
- Moderation: Bianca Jasmina Rauch, journalist, author and researcher specialising in film, University of Vienna alumna.
Snacks and drinks
Barrier-free access: Right side entrance, lift in courtyard 4, 2nd floor
The event is free of charge. However, we kindly request that you register in advance.
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Veranstalter
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Kontakt
Human Resources and Gender Equality
University of Vienna
Culture and Equality unit
+43 1 4277 18431
equality(at)univie.ac.at
Erstellt am Montag, 16. Februar 2026, 09:53
Letzte Änderung am Mittwoch, 25. Februar 2026, 14:09