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3 Times Divorced
Israel/ Palestine, 2007, 74 minutes, Color, DVD, Arabic, Hebrew, Subtitled
Order No. W09933
How does a Palestinian woman in Israel survive an abusive husband? When Gaza-born Khitam’s abusive Arab Israeli husband divorces her and gains custody of her six children, she suddenly finds herself fighting two heart-breaking battles: against the Sharia Muslim court to get her children back, and against the state of Israel, which considers her an illegal resident and denies her protection in a shelter for battered women.
3 TIMES DIVORCED is a fascinating and disturbing look at a civil and religious legal system that denies women the right to get a divorce independent of their husbands. It highlights the bind that abused women find themselves in when their immigration status is contingent upon marriage. With remarkable access and an unflinching lens that never sensationalizes, award-winning filmmaker Ibtisam Salh Mara'ana captures Khitam’s astonishing courage as she faces an impossible situation with no country or court to protect her.
AWARDS, FESTIVALS, & SCREENINGS

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Doc Aviv Film Festival, Best Israeli Documentary |
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FIPA-Biarritz, FIPA D'ARGENT Special Prize |
- New Orleans Middle East Film Festival
- DOK Leipzig
- CPH:DOX (Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival)
- Birds Eye View Film Festival
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QUOTES

"A powerful story of a woman trying to stand up for herself in a country whose legal system does not see her as an equal."
Gordon Quinn
Executive Dir., Kartemquin Films
"An important, disturbing document by a courageous filmmaker in search of justice. The film is immediate and raw, but Mara'ana also finds meaning and poetry in simple act[s]."
Glenn Sumi
NOW, Toronto
“This excellent and concise docu-drama is highly recommended for classes interested in social and gender relations as well as legal systems dealing with rights between men and women. Political science professors may use this film to demonstrate religious/social constraints upon law and social order.”
Malcolm L. Rigsby
Educational Media Reviews Online
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3 Times Divorced is included in the following Special Collections.
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RELATED LINKS

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