How to combine modernity and fundamentalist Islam. "Saudi Solutions" is a unique and revealing documentary about the lifestyles and attitudes of ambitious career women in conservative Saudi Arabia -- the only country in the Arab world where women are obliged to cover themselves in abayas and aren't allowed to drive cars. Because of the strong influence of fundamentalist Islam on society, filming is severely restricted in Saudi Arabia. With unique access to the Kingdom, Backlight had the opportunity to film the daily routines of Saudi working women. This documentary features a top gyneacologist, a TV news anchor woman, a photographer, and a university professor. It also introduces the wealthy Prince Al-Waleed, who passionately promotes the acceptance of women into the workforce. He kindly invites Backlight to his luxury desert camp, but there are no women to be foundonly thousands of men.
View Saudi Solutions. Video hosted on Youtube. Two unique documentaries that refute the stereotypical image of the Arab woman as subservient and illiterate. Personal portraits of strong and ambitious women in a dynamic region, currently at the center of public attention. Women are equal to men. Or as the prophet said: Worthy men honour women, only unworthy men despise them._Mohammed VI, King of Morocco
Part one profiles four extraordinary women in executive positions in Morocco, presently one of the most tolerant and liberal countries in the Arab world. Personal portraits of strong women in a dynamic region that is currently receiving a lot of attention. Part two presents for the very first time footage of daily live in Saudi Arabia, exploring the lifestyles and attitudes of career women in this closed and conservative Muslim country.
Led by the young King Mohammed VI, a small revolution is taking place in Morocco and women are at the center of it. A new family law gives women far more rights and there are now 35 women in Moroccos parliament. Also, theres a huge increase in the number of women in managerial positions. Who are these new leading ladies with energy and influence? Femmes Fatales profiles a vanguard of well-educated and self-confident Muslim women with excellent credentials and busy schedules: a banker in Casablanca, the CEO of a construction company in Fez and the first two female mayors in Moroccan history; one is mayor of a rural area in the central Atlas Mountain region and the other is mayor in the tourist resort of Essaouira. The film also covers the lively editorial staff meetings of Nissae Min Al Magreb, the most popular magazine for young women in Morocco. A unique and moving documentary about a new generation of women leaders in Morocco. How do they feel about work, family and religion? What do they actually think about husbands? And how do they organise their time? An introduction to the new role models in Morocco.
In Saudi Arabia, women cannot vote or drive a car. They must cover their heads and bodies in public and male guardians make most decisions for them. Saudi Solutions features personal profiles of ambitious women in Saudi Arabia, one of the most closed and conservative Muslim societies in the world. Filmmaker Bregtje van der Haak was the first to be granted permission to film the lives of working women in this fascinating country, where only five percent of women has paid employment. In a personal road movie, she explores how working women in Saudi Arabia search for new opportunities, combining Islamic tradition and the latest technologies. Accompanied by a minder of the Ministry of Information, she meets a gynecologist and IVF-specialist, a journalist for the Saudi Gazette, a photographer, the first female airplane pilot, a university professor and a newsreader for Saudi state television. Step by step, she tries to understand what it means to be a modern woman in a country steeped in religion.
Searching for the forces of change, the film leads to Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, the fifth richest man on earth, who is using his personal capital to passionately promote the acceptance of women in the Saudi workplace. Inside his Kingdom Holding and in his private palace, half of the employees are women, unveiled and dressed to the latest fashion, but in his luxury desert camp, the filmmaker meets only thousands of Saudi men. This documentary gives a unique insight into the lives of Saudi working women, while also providing a personal account of filming with restrictions in a society in transition, that has so far chosen to remain largely invisible to the West.
 |
Subscribe to this comment's feed
