Arab Film Festival Texas

I attended the only Arab Film Festival in Texas tonight at the Angelika in Dallas. They screened a documentary filmed in Syria, The Light in Her Eyes by directors Julia Meltzer and Laura Nix. Julia was in attendance and did a very informative question and answer session after the film.
This film was shown on the PBS show POV. Click Here to go to PBS Page

I have to be honest and admit that I am not that familiar with Syrian or Islamic culture. The film follows Houda al-Habash a Muslim preacher in Damascus, Syria. She opened up an all girl school to teach the Qur’an. That in itself was a surprise as I was under the impression that only men could be preachers. Therein is the value of this documentary.  It does not just focus on the school but also goes into the lives of the parents and kids outside the school. In seeing the kids interacting with each other, hanging out, going to the mall, and having ice cream it makes one realize that kids are kids no matter where they are from. In one part a teenager sneaks in an mp3 player on a bus ride.

The film does a good job in explaining and showing, through Houda and her daughter, that times are changing. Houda's daughter goes to University and studies politics. Education and women having choices and options are discussed throughout this film. I don't want to give much away about the film but there are lots of things that surprised me that I didn't know. This film is very educational but at the same time very personal and definitely left me wanting to learn more.

Arab Film Festival Texas, More info