Outstanding documentarian Kim Longinotto - a director of compassionate studies of women's lives and the pull between tradition and change, in such multi-award-winning films as Divorce Iranian Style, Gaea Girls and Eat the Kimono - turns her lens on the judicial system in Cameroon. Vera Ngassa, the state prosecutor, and Beatrice Ntuba, a judge in the magistrate's court, are assisting women who are determined to put a stop to the abuse in their personal lives. They face cases like that of six-year-old Manka, who has run away from home, fleeing her violent aunt; Sonita, who dared accuse her neighbour of rape; and Amina, who decided to end her brutal marriage by taking her husband to court.

"I am constantly frustrated by the fact that Africa is consistently portrayed as a place of perpetual misery and despair", says producer Florence Ayisi. "Our film presents a different reality, a perspective that moves beyond the negative stereotypes."

Sisters in Law, which premiered at Directors' Fortnight in Cannes this year, encompasses courage, hope and the possibility of change.

In an ironic twist, the prosecutor and judge were almost forbidden to leave Cameroon to attend the film's premiere.