Camera/Woman

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Camera/Woman

A film by Karima Zoubir

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SYNOPSIS

Working as a videographer at weddings in Casablanca, Khadija Harrad is part of the new generation of young, divorced Moroccan women seeking to realize their desires for freedom and independence while honoring their families' wishes. Mother of an 11-year-old son and primary breadwinner for her parents and siblings as well, she navigates daily between the elaborate fantasy world of the parties she films and harassment from her traditionally conservative family, which disapproves of her occupation and wants her only to remarry. CAMERA/WOMAN, shot in vérité style, follows Khadija on the job, at home, and with supportive women friends who are divorced and share similar experiences. As it unveils the issues that confront working-class Muslim women in societies now undergoing profound change, this arresting film reveals that for Khadija, unbowed in the face of overwhelming odds, the camera becomes a liberating force.

PRESS

“Moving and amazing....Camera/Woman is shot in a strikingly intimate style...These are women desperate to provide for their families whose brains cannot collude in the fiction that they can’t do anything, just because they’re women.”

Nisha Lilia Diu The Telegraph, UK

“It is a world of great beauty and sweet dreams in the videos that Khadija’s films, but in reality the weddings are an expression of the struggles women face in contemporary Morocco to combat exclusion and oppression and somehow move beyond them.”

Brit Doc

"Zoubir masters this film by breaking the fourth wall and allowing us to delve into the intricacies of Khadija's life..."

Fariha Roisin Indiewire

"Zoubir’s exploratory documentary pays homage to the strength of Moroccan women who are forging a space for themselves in their society, despite everyone’s condemnation."

Wided Khadraoui Al Jadid

SCREENING HIGHLIGHTS AND AWARDS

International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), WorldView Award
International Documentary Festival in Agadir, Human Rights Award
Cinemed, Ulysses Award for Best Documentary
Jean Rouch International Film Festival of Ethnographic Cinema, First Appearance (Premier Film)

Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
DOXA Documentary Film Festival
NY/London Human Rights Watch Film Festivals

ABOUT FILMMAKER(S)

Karima Zoubir

Karima Zoubir: Director and Screenwriter of "Camera/Woman" (working title: "A Woman With A Camera") nominated for IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary award. Winner of IDFA Academy Worldview Award. Winner also of the Puma Creative Catalyst Award, a grant for development, at the pitching forum organized by Durban FilmMartin July 2011for her project of documentary “Woman with A Camera”. Andin March 2011, winner also of “Tamkeen”, Grant for Best Arab Doc Project at Dox Box Pitching Forum in March 2011 for the same project.

Karima, with her current editor SofiEscudé, attended editing consultancy at the IDFA academy summer school in June 2012, again with her project of documentary "Woman With A Camera"

Karima has been working as a freelance documentary filmmaker and script girl since graduating cum laude in 2005 from the Audiovisual Department of Casablanca University. In Nov. 2005, she attended her first masterclass on filmmaking given by Martin Scorsese and Abbes Kairostami and organized by Marrakech Tribeca Filmmakers Exchanges. These last few years, she was invited to workshops and markets such as Berlinale Talent Campus, and Greenhouse, Access, Medimed, Durban FilmMart with her project "Woman With A Camera." (4/13)

Subject Areas

Unveiled Views

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Mother, Lebanon & Me

A visually striking meditation on loss and a perceptive political critique, this deeply personal work has two subjects: filmmaker Olga Naccache’s ailing mother and the chaotic country where Naccache was raised. Both fell sick in 1975, the onset of incurable depression for one and a bloody civil war ushering in deep divisions for the other. In this sequel to LEBANON: BITS AND PIECES (1994), Naccache ponders the plight of the country she clearly loves while honoring the mother dear to her. Her montage draws on conversations with Naccache's mother toward the end of life, along with footage of this beautiful, accomplished woman and ardent secularist in more physically robust times. Stunning scenes of tranquil Beirut and southern Lebanon contrast with close-ups of a nation under siege from within and abroad. Recent interviews with two longtime friends—a leftist teacher of philosophy in a Christian village school and a Shiite Muslim viewing Hezbollah as Lebanon’s only hope—raise crucial questions about the nation’s identity and precarious future.

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Voices Unveiled: Turkish Women Who Dare

Can Islamic values co-exist with full equality for women? VOICES UNVEILED examines this timely issue through portraits of three women pursuing life paths and careers of their own choosing in present-day Turkey. Each has defied social expectations in a democratic, secular nation where religious fundamentalism has re-emerged as a political force and patriarchal values still prevail. Well-known textile artist Belkis Belpinar, whose work combines science and kilim rug traditions, resisted her father’s wishes that she study engineering. Dancer and psychologist Banu Yucelar braved family opposition to modern dance, widely perceived as a form of prostitution. Women’s rights activist Nur Bakata Mardin helps women in underserved communities, where old beliefs hold sway, form small business cooperatives. As engaging as its subjects, VOICES UNVEILED punctuates its in-depth portraits with insights from other Turks and lively discussions that include intergenerational debates over veiling. The film is a valuable companion to WOMEN OF TURKEY, which offers a different take on gender roles that embrace modern lifestyles and Islamic culture.

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Rights & Wrongs

By returning to the roots of Islam and understanding how societies have found justification for their treatment of women within Islamic sources, this thoughtful and far reaching film is an essential resource that debunks myths about women and Islam. Renowned Muslim feminist scholars and journalists, including Asra Q. Nomani, Mona Eltahawy, Azadeh Moaveni, Dr. Amina Wadud, Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl and Asma Gull Hasan, detail how from early on very different understandings of the Qur’an lead to vastly different translations, with enormous repercussions for women living in different Islamic societies around the world. The film alternates between the history of Mohammad and issues facing Muslim women today—from the wearing of the veil, to praying in the mosque, and attitudes towards domestic violence and honor killings. It also looks at how feminism works within Islam in the modern era. RIGHTS & WRONGS is indispensable for courses on Islamic and Middle Eastern studies, comparative religion, women’s studies and more.

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The Mosque in Morgantown

THE MOSQUE IN MORGANTOWN follows one woman’s campaign for change against extremism in her West Virginia mosque, throwing the community into turmoil and raising questions that cut to the heart of American Islam. When former Wall Street Journal journalist and single mother Asra Q. Nomani returns from working in Pakistan to her hometown mosque in Morgantown, West Virginia, she believes she sees signs of trouble: exclusion of women, intolerance toward non-believers, and suspicion of the West. She finds such signs particularly alarming and determined to halt the ‘slippery slope’ that she maintains leads from Islamic intolerance to violence, she begins a campaign to drag the mosque’s practices into the 21st century, triggering a heated battle between tradition and modernity. Nomani’s activist tactics alienate would-be allies in the mosque, leading many to wonder who most deserves the label of “extremist.” Director Brittany Huckabee takes a balanced view of the tensions dividing this community, exploring both sides from a neutral standpoint. This riveting Emmy® Award nominated film is not only about women’s rights in the mosque but about the struggles of a Muslim community faces as it strives to be a part of American life.

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Casablanca Calling

As political conflict and change sweep the Arab world, CASABLANCA CALLING highlights a quiet social revolution under way in Morocco, where 60% of the women have never attended school. For the first time, Moroccan women are trained and employed as official Muslim leaders or morchidat. Charged with teaching an Islam based on tolerance, compassion and equality, they provide vital support and guidance to communities, especially to girls and women. At the film’s heart are Hannane, Bouchra and Karima, three morchidat assigned to mosques in different parts of Morocco. CASABLANCA CALLING follows them for a year on rounds to schools and other sites to provide advice on marriage and employment; champion education for girls and women; caution against early marriage; and help resolve personal problems. Offering unique access to a story we rarely see, this illuminating documentary demonstrates how women’s empowerment through moderate Islam is transforming a nation.

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Playing With Fire: Women Actors Of Afghanistan

In Afghanistan, women deciding to be actors make a dangerous choice. Banned under Taliban rule (1994-2001), Afghan theater is experiencing a comeback with many women at the forefront. But with powerful forces of Islamic fundamentalism, a resurgent Taliban, and patriarchal traditions in play, actresses often face the harshest criticism and are even sometimes viewed as prostitutes. Socially ostracized, and pressured to abandon their careers, they receive beatings and death threats for them and their family. Some are forced to flee the country and some are even killed. PLAYING WITH FIRE introduces us to six courageous Afghan women who share their passions for acting, dreams, and difficult realities. They include Sajida, a student targeted by extremists; Monirah, besieged co-founder of an innovative women’s theater troupe; Tahera, forced into exile because of award-winning work at a theater festival; Roya, whose TV career brings her constant harassment; and Leena and Breshna, unprotected by their stage and motion picture fame. Filmmaker Anneta Papathanassiou exposes pervasive erosions of Afghan women’s rights. Her timely, eye-opening documentary perfectly captures art’s transformative power and the dangers these courageous women face to do the work they love.

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OUR CATALOG

Camera/Woman

SYNOPSIS

PRESS

SCREENING HIGHLIGHTS AND AWARDS

ABOUT FILMMAKER(S)

Subject Areas

RELATED LINKS

YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN

Unveiled Views

Mother, Lebanon & Me

Voices Unveiled: Turkish Women Who Dare

Rights & Wrongs

The Mosque in Morgantown

Casablanca Calling

Playing With Fire: Women Actors Of Afghanistan