GIRLS & GODS

A film by Arash T. Riahi & Verena Soltiz
Feature Documentary  |  104 min |  AT/CH 2025
A co-production with Amka Films

SYNOPSIS

Can feminism and religion coexist? Girls & Gods is a fearless journey spearheaded by Inna Shevchenko — the project’s author and initiator — to explore this very question. Once renowned for leading FEMEN’s topless protests against patriarchal power structures, Shevchenko now trades protest for dialogue, engaging priests, imams, rabbis, theologians, and fellow activists in candid conversations. Together, they confront the divide between women’s rights and religious tradition, asking if age-old faiths can embrace gender equality and whether feminism can find a place within sacred halls.
Directed by Arash T. Riahi and Verena Soltiz, Girls & Gods is more than a visually striking film— it is an artfully crafted narrative that challenges long-standing traditions and hierarchies. The directors weave a compelling and provocative journey, inviting the audience to reimagine sacred iconography through a feminist lens and transform symbols of faith into powerful visions of female empowerment. The result is an accessible yet provocative documentary that invites viewers to witness a transformation—one that could reshape the relationship between faith and feminism.

DISTRIBUTION

WORLD
CAT & DOCS

AUSTRIA
FILMLADEN

PRESS RELATIONS

IMDB

FESTIVALS

CPH:DOX 2025
Human:Rights Section

DOK.FEST, MUNICH 2025

DIAGONALE 2025

BIOGRAFILM 2025 

SOTTO LE STELLE DELL'AUSTRIA, ROME 2025

GALWAY FILM FLEADH, IRELAND 2025

INT. HUMAN RIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL, ALBANIA 2025

SOFIA DOCUMENTAL, BULGARIA 2025
International Competition

FESTIVAL DE CINÉMA DE LA VILLE DE QUÉBEC, CANADA 2025

BUDAPEST INT. DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL 2025

BERGEN INT. FILM FESTIVAL, NORWAY 2025
Checkpoint Competition

KAPITTEL FESTIVAL, NORWAY 2025

ZURICH FILM FESTIVAL, 2025
Border Lines Section

AWARDS

VIENNA FILM AWARD '25
Special Price of the Jury

DIAGONALE '25
Best Score

BIOGRAFILM '25
Best Film in International Competition

QUOTES

"GIRLS & GODS feels revolutionary. It pushes boundaries in all the right ways, opens doors, sparks dialogue, and reshapes our thoughts about power, belief, and progress."
- OVERLY HONEST REVIEWS

"A stylishly crafted philosophical investigation that addresses an intriguing question both timely and timeless."
- FILMMAKER MAGAZINE

"It is a documentary that understands the need for radicalism and collectivism to generate change."
- LA ESTATUILLA

"Girls & Gods effectively, bluntly, and fairly engages in discussions with women to ask a very complicated question: can feminism and religion coexist?"
- LOUD & CLEAR

„A Necessary Documentary"
- TAXIDRIVERS

INFO

RUNNING TIME – 104 minutes
ORIGINAL LANGUAGES – English, French, German, Russian
SUBTITLES – English, German
LOCATIONS – Austria, USA, UK, Switzerland, Germany, France, Netherlands, Hungary
SHOOTING FORMAT – Digital 2K
SCREENING FORMAT – DCP DCI Flat
SOUND FORMAT – 5.1
ASPECT RATIO – 1:1,85 2K
PICTURES/SEC – 24

CREW

DIRECTORS                  
Arash T. Riahi
Verena Soltiz

WRITTEN BY
Inna Shevchenko

CINEMATOGRAPHY                   
Simone Hart
Anna Hawliczek

EDITING
Lisa Zoe Geretschläger
Elisabeth Pucar

SOUND                                             
Anna Maria Bühlmann
Barnaby Hall
Jan Gubser
Nadine Häusler
Claus Benischke-Lang
Eva Hausberger
Reinhard Lehninger
Benjamin Simon

MUSIC
Alicia Mendy
Baby Volcano
ANOHNI

SOUND DESIGN                       
Gina Keller

MIXER
Daniel Hobi

COLOURS
Susi Dollnig

JUNIOR PRODUCERS
Julia Horvath
Jona Simon
Sara Schiesser

LINE PRODUCER
Peter Drössler

PRODUCERS
Arash T. Riahi
Peter Drössler
Sabine Gruber
Rhea Plangg
Amel Soudani
Michael Katz
Veit Heiduschka

and many more...

WITH

Coco
Maryam Namazie
Khadija Khan
"Modern Geaisha" Nicolle Rochelle
Shanon Sterringer
Christine Lumetzberger
Frieda Vizel
Halima Salat
Elisabeth Gangloff Parmentier
Lauriane Savoy
Jamie L. Manson 
Michele Sterlace
Emily Cappello
Avigaiyl Halpern
Leïla Tauil
Khola Maryam Hübsch
Lauren Booth
Rifka Simon
Vazista
Yasaman Aryani
Masih Alinejad
Abdullah al Andalusi
Shiva Mahbobi
Mahshid Turner
Abby Stein
Bettina Schaller
Nadya Tolokonnikova
Seyran Ates
Taslima Nasrin
Bertold Höcker
Lior Bar-Ami

Artworks by

Ina Loitzl
Rada Akbar
Ina Loitzl
Victoria Guggenheim
Bissane al Charif
Lalla Essaydi
Courtesy Edwynn
Lizzy Alejandro
Fay Ku
Erre
Klára Kuchta
Hagit Hollander
Silke Grabinger

PARTNERS