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VALLETTA 2018

Review: The Poetess

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- The documentary by German directors Stefanie Brockhaus and Andreas Wolff portrays modern-day Islamic society through the bravery of the poet Hissa Hilal

Review: The Poetess

In 2010, a competition broadcast on TV in the United Arab Emirates, Million's Poet – a Got Talent style programme focusing on traditional Arabic poetry – allowed something almost unheard of since it was first broadcast. For the first time ever, a woman was selected to compete in the contest and ended up participating in the final. Saudi-Arabian poet Hissa Hilal, who had already published poems under the pseudonym "Remia," challenged the patriarchal and religious society’s strict religious conventions in order to speak out and be heard. The Poetess [+see also:
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, directed by German directors Stefanie Brockhaus and Andreas Wolff, documents this important moment in the fight against the hegemony of machismo and religion in the Arab world, and it does so through the voice of Hilal herself, who lends her voice to the documentary, not just so that she can talk about her own personal experience, but so that she can talk about the wider historical-social context preceding and surrounding her.

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The documentary – presented last year at Locarno Critics' Week and now selected to compete in the Documentary Competition at the 4th edition of Valletta Film Festival – uses the emblematic courage of women to portray modern-day Arab society. Brockhaus and Wolff use the televised competition as a starting point, with inserts showing Hilal at auditions covered by a full veil (suggested by her husband – a journalist in full support of her cause – in order to avoid retaliation in her entourage), where she is barely allowed to read her poem and find the stage exit. As the contest progresses, Hilal replaces her full veil with a niqab, which at least allows her to see through a single slot. People turn up their noses when her poems start to address the negative attitudes of men towards women and end up earning death threats from extremists when dealing with fatwas and Islamic sentences, with the occasional accusation of inciting terrorism.

Footage from the competition is accompanied, in a somewhat questionable rhythm, by a more intimate setting, showing the poet travelling by car, in shopping centres and at her hotel (in an interesting sequence in her hotel room, only the women's feet are shown when not covered by a veil). Hilal, who also participates extensively with statements on camera, is confident and categorical in defending her ideas, fighting against injustice and extremism, and protecting her ideas behind a pure love for Islam.

It’s with her words, and archival footage, that Brockhaus and Wolff attempt to explain modern-day Islamic society, from the liberals of the '70s to the loss of freedom, passing through the boom in oil and materialism, and events like the occupation of the Great Mosque of Mecca in 1979, which led to the rise of fundamentalism. This decision proves that the documentary has a lot to offer its audience when focusing on Hilal's voice over its attempts to tell the entire story of Islam in a matter of minutes; something that, however, does not diminish its status as a highly inspirational film.

The documentary, produced by Brockhaus/Wolff Films, is being sold internationally by CAT&Docs.

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(Translated from Spanish)

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