The documentary “A Powerful Noise” by Tom Cappello had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival this week. It follows three women in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Mali and Vietnam as they try to effect change in their communities.

In Vietnam, Bui My Hanh founds a support group for people living with HIV/AIDS. She herself is HIV positive and has lost a husband and young daughter to the disease. When she plans a lecture at a coal mine she is turned down at the last minute. In the aftermath of war, Nada Markovic tries to unite Bosnian and Serb women through agricultural cooperatives and Madame Urbain Dembele preaches the importance of education for girls in her African country.

The film moves easily between each story, letting the quiet power of these women speak for itself. They confront years of cultural and traditional opposition in their painstaking battles, yet represent the future of their countries. It’s a somber, but inspirational first film.