Palestinian Writers

Production by: RTSI-Televisione svizzera
Director:Matteo Bellinelli

This is a portrait of two important women writers from the West Bank: Sahar Khalifah and Liana Badr. Sahar Khalifah, a feminist and revolutionary, is considered by some to be the most prominent Palestinian novelist. Her novels, including Wild Thorns, The Door of the Sirens and The Sunflowers, reflect her opinions calling for a revision of the male dominated hierarchy in Arab society.
After studying in the U.S. for eight years, Sahar returned to Nablus in the West Bank to start a center for Arab women. The documentary follows her as she walks through the old streets of Nablus, talking about her views on religion: "New interpretations of the Koran are needed if women are to advance in the Arab world...If change does not come through Islam, we will find other ways - perhaps through international law". She also discusses her criticism of the Palestinian Authority and its aging leadership: "How ironic that the Intifada has encouraged women to study at the university but has not freed them from being oppressed and exploited. In fact, Palestinian men who say they are fighting for freedom, equality and justice, deny those rights to women and practice discrimination against women in private."
Liana Badr, an intellectual who has experienced several dislocations in her life as a result of being part of the Palestinian Establishment, returned to Palestine after the Oslo Agreement of 1993. She now works for the Palestinian Culture Ministry, writing on themes of Palestinian history and memory and producing films. She recently filmed the Palestinian poet Fadwa Touquan, now in her eighties, well-known as an eminent Palestinian intellectual of the 20th century.

50 min. Video or DVD. Sale $295. Video rental $75.