A Woman's Word

(Palabra de Mujer)

A film by Silvia G. Ponzoda

Spain/Egypt/Lebanon/Morocco | 2004 | 52 minutes | Color | DVD | Arabic | Subtitled | Order No. 07923

SYNOPSIS

Beautiful and intimate, A WOMAN'S WORD depicts the life and writings of three exceptional authors of the Arab word – Nawal Al Saadawi from Egypt, Hanan Al Shaykh from Lebanon, and Janata Bennuna from Morocco. For all three women, becoming a writer was never a choice but a necessity – a vocation fought for and hard won. In her own way, each writer struggles as an Arab woman in a society that often wants to shut down her powerful voice. Conveying the intense drive of these women to write as a way to make sense of the world, to battle their sense of alienation or to express their political dissent, this documentary shatters the clichéd image of the oppressed and helpless Arab woman too often portrayed in the media.

A WOMAN'S WORD deftly weaves together interviews, family photos, voiceovers of each author reading from her work, and lingering, sensual footage of the cities each woman lives in. Each author discusses her childhood, her development as a writer, and the political and cultural forces that have shaped her life and work. By allowing the viewer to enter, for a moment, into the vibrant lives of these authors, this film offers an accessible introduction or insightful companion piece to the works of these authors.

PRESS

“What is the purpose of literature within a world that suffers from so much destruction? A Woman’s Word attempts to answer this thought provoking question through the wise voices of three Arab women who share their experiences as writers living in oppressed societies. Together these strong women help shatter the powerless stereotypes of Arab women, and provide memorable perspectives on the art of writing. Recommended.”

Educational Media Reviews Online

SCREENING HIGHLIGHTS AND AWARDS

  • San Diego Women Film Festival, Jury Award
  • Femmes en Resistance Film Festival
  • Int'l Women's Film Festival, Florence
  • Festival Internacional de Documentales "Santiago Alvarez in memoriam", Havana, Cuba
  • Docupolis, Festival Internacional Documental de Barcelona, Spain
  • Festival Cinema delle donne, Torino, Italy
  • Women Make Waves Film Festival, Taipei, Taiwan
  • Filmmor Women's Film Festival, Istanbul, Turkey

ABOUT FILMMAKER(S)

Silvia G. Ponzoda

Silvia G. Ponzoda is a photographer, film director and journalist. She studied Photography at the Institut d’Estudis Fotogràfics of Barcelona and journalism at the School of Information Sciences at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. She has worked as press photographer, in publicity and major reports that she has made in countries such as Chile, Argentina, Lebanon, Ghana, Cameroon, Egypt and Morocco, among others. Her work has been exhibited in galleries in Spain and France, where he won the prize Martin Chambi of Photography, which gives Unión Latina with Radio France International.

As director, her documentaries have been seen at festivals around the world, such as Taipei, La Habana, Florence, Barcelona, Turin, Istanbul and Washington, also the film A Woman’s Word was awarded with the Jury’s Film Festival Women in San Diego.

Nowdays, she is part of the panel of professors from title Diploma in Visual Arts ‘Photography and Creative Action.’ (8/14)

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