Synopsis
China's one-child policy led to millions of female infanticides—except in a lush valley known as the “Land Where Women Rule.” Located in the foothills of the Himalayas, Lugu Lake is home to China’s Mosuo matriarchy. The region's 40,000 denizens have come up with a unique own family structure that puts women in charge. The Mosuo's “walking marriages”—in which women can have as many boyfriends as they want throughout their lifetime—replace traditional monogamy and inheritance passes from mother to daughter. But are the women really in control—and how are men fairing under their rule? Broadly correspondent Milène Larsson spends a week in Lugu Lake with three generations of Mosuo women to find out what life is like in one of the world’s last matriarchies.
Director Biography
Milène Larsson
Milène Larsson is an award-winning, seasoned international news, current affairs and documentary producer/director/reporter with a decade of experience. She has made more than 50 films in 20 countries covering issues spanning from the environment and civil rights, to LGBTQI issues, culture, travel and migration, which she has reported on extensively in the British Media Awards winning documentary series Europe or Die, born out of an on-going commitment to document the efforts of those risking their lives to reach Europe and the forces tasked to keep them out. She also investigates gender norms and women’s social status around the world for VICE’s women’s interest channel Broadly.