Cairo, January 25, 2013: An explosion of sexual assaults takes place in Tahrir Square on the second anniversary of the revolution. In response, a massive outpouring of enraged women fill the streets. Director Samaher Alqadi picks up her camera as a form of protection and begins documenting the growing women’s rebellion, not knowing where the story will lead her. When Samaher becomes pregnant during filming, she starts to re-examine the constructs of her own childhood in Palestine and what it means to be a woman and a mother in the Middle East.
Through a joint screening and subsequent dialogue, the event will be a virtual encounter between citizens engaged in a transatlantic exchange.
TAVMA’s mission: to question familiar narratives and discover new types of storytelling. The As I Want Watch Party is a hybrid format that takes place simultaneously off- and online. They are not screenings where you leave the room after the film. You come as a stranger and leave with friends, because there is time and space here to let interpersonal relationships grow in a sustainable way.
The Palestinian filmmaker and screenwriter Samaher Alqadi was born one of nine children and grew up in the Jalazone refugee camp near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. She first worked for the Palestinian Ministry of Culture before being accepted into the Egyptian Higher Institute of Cinema in Cairo. An emerging voice in Arabic documentary, her films focus on the evolving status of women and dissident artists in the Middle East. As I Want is her first feature-length documentary.
Besan Jaber is a gender consultant and a published researcher in cultural anthropology and social studies with a focus on globalization and gender studies. Her background is mainly in the development and management of gender and human rights-based projects. Prior to working with Arab Reporter for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ), she worked and consulted for Mercy Corps, International Rescue Committee, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Taqatoat, and Kvinna Till Kvinna.
The screening will be followed by a discussion with the guests, the audience and the hosts, Manal Fakhouri and Willy Rollé. The film crew and streaming audience will join in online.
Out of respect to some of the characters wishes and the producer’s concerns over their personal safety, the film will not be shown in Egypt.
Film in Arabic with English subtitles
This event will be held in English
