"I was in China last year... Someone there said a phrase that stuck with me. They said that in Latin America women are the social force for change. I had never thought that, but it is true." said Pia Figueroa, executive director of Pressenza, a news agency that co-produced the documentary "They Sense it is the Dawn" (Ellas sienten que amanecera) with CGTN.

Having already aired in China, the documentary premiered in Latin America in Santiago, Chile on November 15.

"We wanted to show women who have pushed the boundaries and done what is not thought possible. Each one in their field has done something a man has never done. Their discoveries and their work could change all of our lives," said Figueroa. 

Commenting on the documentary, Director Anibal Feres said, "This project was commissioned by CGTN who identified women in Latin America as an element of change."

In the documentary, journalist Tanya Hirsch travels to meet some women who are pushing the boundaries: Astrophysicist Barbara Rojas at the space observatory in the Atacama Desert in Chile, bioclimatic architect Jessica Alvarez in Peru, and marine geologist Ligia Perez-Cruz in Mexico. 

"There has been a major shift in gender issues in Latin America," said Hirsch. "All the advances women have made when it comes to political representation, in the labor market, socially and at grassroots, are an example in the world. I am proud to be part of this generation," she said, adding, "I think it is something Latin America should be proud of that and it is important to show that abroad."

(Cover image: Crew of They Sense it is the Dawn)