Opening Doors
Fall Grant 2014 - Development Stage
Nora Al-Subai / Short Narrative / Qatar, Canada / 15 min / Original Language: Arabic / Interests: Based on a True Story
Synopsis
‘Opening Doors’ tells the true story of Amna Mahmoud who, from her early childhood, dreamed of teaching the Holy Qur’an to Qatari girls. A devout Muslim, she began her teaching career when still a girl, holding informal classes in her home, teaching girls to memorise the Qur’an. Later, she began a struggle to open a formal school for girls. In the face of strong opposition from some voices in the community, she persevered, until a fatwa was issued by the country’s leading Imam, declaring that education for girls and women was not prohibited by the Qur’an. The Emir of Qatar supported Mahmoud, and her school for girls became an important breakthrough in the education of women in Qatar.
Credits
- Director
- Nora Al Subai
- Screenwriter
- Annemarie Jacir
- Producer
- Juan Andy Hodgson
- Production Company
- Red Castle Films
- Production Company
- Red Castle Films
About the Director
Nora Al-Subai is a Qatari writer/director, born and raised in France. She graduated from Carnegie Mellon. Her short film, 'My Hero' (2013), premiered at the Ajyal Youth Film Festival where it won Best Short Film. The film also showed at the Cannes Film Festival, Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival, Children's Film Festival in Seattle, and the Latin Arab Festival in Buenos Aires. She also wrote and directed 'Al-Johara' (2016), which premiered at the Ajyal Film Festival 2016, where it won the Special Jury Award, and appeared in other prestigious film festivals, including the Cannes Film Festival, Sarajevo Film Festival, and Florence Film Festival.
Contacts
-
Main Contact
Martha Villagomez
- Company:
- Red Castle Films
- Phone:
- 6047270319
- Email:
- highdeafdoha@yahoo.ca
-
Screenwriter
Annemarie Jacir
- Company:
- Philistine Films
- Email:
- annemarie@philistinefilms.com