Hidden Faces

Synopsis

Originally intended as a film about feminist writer Nawal El Saadawi, the film is portrayal of the lives of modern Egyptian women in Islamic society. Safaa Fathay, a young Egyptian woman living in Paris, returns home to interview Nawal El Saadawi, but becomes disillusioned with her. Illuminated by passages from El Saadawi’s work, the film follows Fathay’s journey to her family home to discover similar complex frictions between modernity and tradition. Her mother’s decision to return to the veil after 20 years and her cousins’ clitoridectomies reveal a disturbing renewal of fundamentalism.

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Medium

Film; Video; Film. 16mm. col. 52 min. Videocassette. Standard formats. col. 52 min.

Technical information

Black-and-white / Sound

Year of production

1996

Availability

Hire (film or video - Cinenova only)
Sale (video); 1997 film hire: £50.00 (+p&p) 1997 video hire: £30.00 (+p&p) 2000 sale: £50.00 (+VAT +p&p) (RAI)

Subjects

Women’s studies

Keywords

Egypt; El Saalawi, Nawal; female genital mutilation; feminism; Islam; religious fundamentalism; women’s rights

Credits

Director

Claire Hunt; Kim Longinotto

Cast

Nawal El Saadawi
Safaa Fathay

Distribution Formats

Type

Film

Format

16mm

Distributor

Name

Cinenova

Email

info@cinenova.org

Web

http://www.cinenova.org External site opens in new window

Address

Waterlow Park Centre
Dartmouth Park Hill
London
N19 5JF

Notes

Films made by, and predominantly for, women. The collection is browsable by title or director and includes experimental films, narrative feature films, artists’ film and video, and documentary and educational videos. Hire or sale on film and video.

Name

Royal Anthropological Institute

Contact

Susanne Hammacher (Film Officer)

Email

film@therai.org.uk

Web

https://www.therai.org.uk/film/film-sales External site opens in new window

Phone

020 7387 0455

Fax

020 7388 8817

Address

50 Fitzroy Street
London
W1T 5BT

Notes

The Institute sells more than 250 anthropology and ethnology titles on video and DVD, including some produced by students and staff of the Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology. There is also a large library of internationally produced film and video productions from which items may be borrowed within the UK.