In her first documentary feature “Miradas desveladas (Unveiled Views), director Alba Sotorra Clua explores the lives of five women bravely defining themselves through their art in often repressive regimes. Crafting such a narrative means that Clua is also defining herself through work
Clua’s film inaugurated the second edition of Entre Cineastas (Among Filmmakers) Arab-Hispano American Film Festival at the Cairo Opera House’s Artistic Creativity Center on Monday.
Amal Ramsis, filmmaker and Cineastas festival organizer, said that the primary objective of the festival was for women in the Arab-Hispanic world to get to know each other. Women in the Arab world “are not just veiled women without power, or women that stay at home, Ramsis, who studied cinema in Madrid, told Daily News Egypt.
“Miradas unveils the talents of a group of women from five Muslim countries: Bosnia, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. As Clua’s first documentary venture, “Miradas shows immense promise.
The women depicted enhance their presence through their expression – as a dance icon in conservative Pakistan, or a poetess in Taliban-led Afghanistan – it is through her self-effacement, and letting the women and their art speak, that Clua shows her true talent as a documentary filmmaker.
The stories are punctuated with fleeting moments that stand out: birds flying across the sea; a curtain the wind blows at a doorway, slippers outside; a bread-maker in Turkey finally deciding it is time to take his wares home as dusk approaches. Accompanying these postcards-in-motion is the subtle and unimposing original score of a friend, Xavi Macaya.
In these moments, Clua reveals her true talent as an observer. The documentary itself was a result of a 13-month expedition around the world, where she had little idea of the resulting product.
Produced on a limited budget, the film was shot on a small digital camera. The editing executed on her laptop, said Clua.
Clua’s adventures and discoveries found their way into the documentary. Clua hitched a ride with young Iranian women. The women put up a feisty display calling out to nearby cars, and eventually landing into trouble when police happen to be at the scene. Clua revealed after the screening that she herself landed into trouble with the authorities.
Another form of resistance was presented in the poetry of the younger sister of an Afghani filmmaker Clua originally intended to film. With lines such as “Remember the day when we could conquer hearts with a sunrise? the poetess proved to be a promising talent nurtured through education.
In a system where education is hard to come by, the youngster expresses maturity beyond her years: “If I was a marble, they would call me stone, she says in another poem.
Clua’s subjects also refuse to play disempowered victims. A woman that works in Bosnia reworks history through her art – capturing minefields in bottles, reminding that women fought in wars by posting their poetry on maps.
In a departure from the other vignettes, the Turkish woman seemed more of a political scientist ruing the political status in her country, rather than artist. At the very end of her section, a talent in singing is revealed.
Art itself becomes protest for the Pakistani dancer who would rather die than give up her calling. “Dance, she says, “is the only way to sail through life.
Prior to the festival, Ramsis also conducted a workshop entitled “Women in Correspondence in which participants produced one-minute videos over the course of five days.
These documentaries will be taken to Granada and later Bolivia where female filmmakers will respond to these “letters through documentaries of their own.
The workshop intended to convey that making short documentaries “doesn’t need a lot of money. Collaborative mechanism brings things together, said Ramsis. “A small camera and an idea, even without montage can tell a lot of things, she added.
“The fact is that anyone can do anything they want, said workshop participant Nagham Osman, “You don’t have to go to film school.
“The collaboration of friends is very important, said Osman, “If you want to do something you can just call your friends, get someone to do their make up and get the story done. The videos themselves were indeed akin to exchanging “letters between women, she said.
The workshop revealed themes of frustration, harassment, alienation. “It is empowering in its own way that you express these ideas and go beyond them, Osman added, “In itself it’s change, in itself it could be – it was a learning experience.
The one-minute videos entitled “Women in Correspondence will be screened as part of the festival tonight, 8 pm. Entre Cineastas wraps up its activities on June 13. For more information, visit www.entrecineastas.com.
