Hitler hated red lipstick.
So Allied women wear it as a statement against fascism, a sign of patriotism to their country, and to show resilience in the face of conflict. Fashion becomes a weapon in world politics, and in the later years of the war, German women adopt red lipstick as a form of rebellion against Hitler and his ideals.
Against this backdrop of symbolic defiance, women from Australia, Canada, the US and UK, India, Pakistan, Ceylon, and Singapore, are deployed to work within the Allied power’s top-secret signals intelligence network. From the home front to the forefront, these women embody the confidence, capability and feminine rebellion that Hitler despises.
While breaking the Enigma code and Bletchley Park are world renowned, little is publicly known about the groundbreaking signals intelligence work in the Pacific Theatre undertaken by the Allied women.
These intelligence units worked in silos so the enemy couldn’t access the full scope of communications, and this documentary joins these networks together by highlighting the work of these Allied women in signals intelligence.
Told with candid interviews from the last surviving servicewomen (more than half of whom have passed since we interviewed them), as well as perspectives from contemporary female leaders and young women currently working in coding and cyber intelligence, we reveal and connect the secret history of these young WWII servicewomen with what it means to be a woman in these fields today. Seamlessly illustrating these stories with previously unseen archival material, recently declassified documents, and vibrant reconstructions, this documentary celebrates the ingenuity and verve of young female codebreakers from Australia and around the world, united by their shared experience: a common enemy and their parallel wars against misogyny, conservatism, and racism.
Flourishing in non-traditional roles and keeping their top-secret work from their partners, family and friends, these women endure the economic and personal loss of war, as they work in the shadows, making history that has never been exposed—until now.
After almost a lifetime of carrying around the secrets of their involvement, the lips of the women in WWII Allied signals intelligence are no longer sealed.
