Arab Female Directors are Shifting Narratives in Arab Cinema
Source: Albawaba Magazine. Mai Masri interview: 3000 Nights is based on a real story
Words by Janine AlHadidi, edited by Evar Hussayni
The presence of Arab women on the silver screen has historically been punctuated with the repression of female participation in public spaces, and the absence of female led narratives in Arabic popular culture. Throughout the golden age of Arab cinema in the 1940s and 1950s, icons such as Faten Hamama, Soad Hosny, and Hind Rostom represented the epitome of glamour and desire. Millions of female Arab viewers would settle themselves in front of the television screen in awe, attempting to embody the beauty that was presented to them on screen. Yet, the male gaze would remain ever-present in these films, as little to no women took charge behind the camera to help shape female stories in cinema and inspire change.
The first recorded feature film ever directed by a woman was only in 1975 by Tunisian director Selma Baccar. Baccar directed her first full-length feature film in 1975 titled Fatma 75; the film served as a trailblazing moment for female Arab filmmakers. Today, female led film projects are vastly growing in number with international hits such as Capernaum, 3000 nights, and Amreeka that all received regional and international critical acclaim.
Capernaum, a film directed by Lebanese director Nadine Labaki, debuted at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival; the first film of its kind to compete for the Palme d'Ord. It also marked the first Oscar-nominated film by an Arab woman. The film captures a heartbreaking journey of a neglected Syrian child, Zein, living in the streets of Lebanon loosely based on the actor’s lived experiences in Lebanon. The film was not only critically acclaimed for its cinematography and score, but it was also an invocation of new modes of storytelling aimed at uncovering the pain of children left to fend for themselves in a merciless world. The film ended up winning the prestigious Jury Prize. There was not a dry eye in the room, receiving a near 15-minute standing ovation after its premiere at Cannes.
When asked about the inspiration behind the film, director Nadine Labaki attributed the making of the film to her own innate sense of responsibility to protecting any and all children, “It began with feeling responsible, with wanting to become the voice of these kids. I thought: if I stay silent, I’m complicit in this crime – and it is a crime that we allow this to happen”. Although the film is set in Beirut, it paints an agonizingly authentic image of the suffering of children everywhere, invoking audiences with a collective poignancy surpassing the boundaries of subtitles.
The timelessness of films like Capernaum emerges from its inextricable ties to the day to day lives of women and children in the Middle East. It acts as a precursor for women to recognize their own worth in this world, and the immense value of their visceral lived experiences, characterized by their own familiar accents, hometowns, and collective memories of trauma.
On the other hand, directors such as Cherine Dabis offer different insights into the Arab female experience – namely one that is diasporic. This is explored through her own perspective as a Palestinian American that pushed her to write and direct her feature film“Amreeka”. The film surrounds the paradox that exists in the duality of identity; Arab in one hand, and American in the other. Inspired by her cultural experience, the Sundance success Amreeka uncovers the cultural shock experienced by a strong Palestinian mother and her son when moving to the United States after the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Dabis aimed to spark a conversation on depictions of Arab women in cinema that stray away from stereotypes of subordination or fear. Rather, she exhibits powerful and joyous reflections of her own life existing as an Arab woman, “I feel like my entire quest as a filmmaker has been about showing different aspects of life in the Arab world”, she explains in an interview with Bustle magazine. She goes on to say that her “experience for what it means to be Palestinian is one that is full of love and culture and language”. This translates seamlessly on screen with heart-warming scenes capturing the catharsis of leaving one’s homeland and heading to a foreign land or الغربة (al-ghur-ba) in Arabic, conveying the intimacy of a close-knit Arab household. The movie went on to earn Dabis the Fipresci Prize in the Cannes Film Festival.
When asked about her portrayal of Arab womanhood in her films, Dabis explains that her experience as an Arab-American woman does not reflect the assumptions that people may possess, “I want to portray the kind of Arab women that I know - the strong, feisty, survivor-type women that I love in the Arab world” she says. Today, Cherin Dabis continues to fight for more female participation in Arab cinema, starting by employing and training hundreds of women in her crew and cast for her current and future film projects.
Source: Photo by Fares Sokhon featured in Variety Magazine Film Review: "Capernaum"
Lastly, Mai Al Masri’s film 3000 Nights provides an insight into the world of incarceration in prison in Palestine, and the plight of women’s experiences that are often ignored within wider discussions of violence. It follows the harrowing journey of Palestinian teacher imprisoned that discovers that she is pregnant and forced to raise her child behind bars. It offers a unique female perspective that grapples with themes of motherhood, confinement, and occupation. “It’s a universal story. It looks at something that so many people have been through and understand, and so it hits a deep chord" Al-Masri explains. The feature has won 22 awards including the Circle Jury Award at the Washington, DC International Film Festival, and premiered in the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. She expresses that she “want{s} the audience to be touched by the strong human touch which dominates [the film], and be inspired to contribute to change in their own way, just as I was inspired when I listened to [Palestinian] women recount their stories”. She describes the origin of the story as being inspired by her hometown, Nablus, during the Intifada upon meeting a Palestinian woman that was forced to give birth to her child within an Israeli prison. Five years later and Al-Masri is still committed to showcasing Arab female narratives in future projects and endeavors.
Are women making a comeback in film?
Although the 21st century saw a huge surge in Arab female directors, a study conducted by Northwestern University reported that only 26% of independent Arab filmmakers are women, When observing trends in Arab countries such as Morocco, Tunisia and Lebanon, the study also found that 25% of all new directors are women. Nevertheless, the representation of Arab women leading behind the screen remains relatively low. The reason why can be attributed to the lack of cinematic and production-based skills taught to women in the Arab world, as women are often encouraged to pursue roles that highlight their acting skills within the male gaze of the director. For more Arab women to take on more roles behind the camera, visibility is only the start; we need to actively work to provide Arab women with the opportunity and funding to lead.
The work of up-and-coming Arab directors expresses a liminality that is neither the beginning of a female dominant film industry in Arab cinema, or the end of male governed films in the region, but rather an exciting in-between that honors a paradigmatic shift in the ways that female narratives are portrayed on screen; written, performed and orchestrated by Arab women for Arab women. The real-life stories and experiences of women reflected on screen evokes a common memory amongst Arab woman that is both poignant and powerful. As the number of Arab female directors and filmmakers increases, their films continue to make their mark on audiences and critics alike around the world.
To read more from Janine, please visit her socials @janinealhadidi