CPH:DOX 2026: Scarlet Girls (dir. Paula Cury Melo) | Review
Through a mosaic of poignant testimonies, Paula Cury Melo reveals the deep pain and injustice that Dominican women are forced to live with.
Whether the pregnancy is the result of incest or rape, or poses a life-threatening risk to the mother, in the Dominican Republic, the voluntary termination of pregnancy is prohibited and punishable by imprisonment. The country reaffirmed this ban during the adoption of a new penal code in the summer of 2025. In a climate of palpable tension, director Paula Cury Melo met with Dominican women directly or indirectly affected by this absolute ban on abortion. She presents their testimonies in Scarlet Girls, which had its world premiere at CPH:DOX 2026 in the HUMAN:RIGHTS AWARD section. Blending cinéma vérité with stylized staging, the Dominican filmmaker delicately manages to preserve the dignity of those who agree to share their stories.
Through the voices of these women, who come from diverse profiles and social backgrounds, Paula Cury Melo highlights the extreme suffering they endure in the name of a patriarchal religious and cultural heritage that continues to be taught to younger generations. “Abstinence is the best method for the prevention of teenage pregnancy. […] Of course you will have these emotions, […] but what you should do is abstain from sexual activity and wait for the proper time, […] until you marry.” This is how a teacher in an all-girls sex education class presents abstinence as the solution to unwanted teenage pregnancies.
But can abstinence still be brandished in case of rape and incest? Many women are subjected to forced sexual encounters to which they in no way consent. Yet, Dominican society remains deeply fragmented over the question of decriminalizing abortion, as the director shows on several occasions by capturing public and school debates, as well as more intimate conversations. Deprived of the fundamental right to bodily autonomy, women are condemned to keep carrying, alone, the burden of motherhood.
Scarlet Girls reminds us of the approach of Subina Shrestha who, in her film Devi, sought to give a voice to Nepalese women who were victims of rape during the civil war and to expose the social mechanisms that reduce them to silence.
CPH:DOX is currently taking place in Copenhagen from March 11 to 22, 2026.
