Heiny Srour
Heiny Srour | |
---|---|
Born | Beirut | March 23, 1945
Nationality | Lebanese |
Occupation | Film director |
Known for | First female Arab filmmaker to have a film chosen for the Cannes Film Festival |
Notable work | The Hour of Liberation Has Arrived, Leila and the Wolves |
Heiny Srour (Arabic: هايني سرور, born March 23, 1945[1]) is a Lebanese film director. She is best known for being the first female Arab filmmaker to have a film, Saat El Tahrir Dakkat or The Hour of Liberation Has Arrived, chosen for the Cannes Film Festival.[2] Srour advocated for women's rights through her films, her writing, and by funding other filmmakers.[3]
Career
Born in 1945 in
In 1974, her film The Hour of Liberation Has Arrived, about the
Srour was also vocal about the position of women in Arab society, and in 1978, along with Tunisian director
Her 1984 feature film, Leila and the Wolves, also reflects feminist politics. The film charts the story of Leila, a young Lebanese woman from London who travels through time through twentieth-century Lebanon and Palestine.[8] Srour's first feature film, Leila and the Wolves utilizes the art of documentary with the intricacies of Arabian mythology. Although fictional, she employs a symbolism that parallels an authentic narrative constructed from experience. Archival footage is woven into the composition to strategically emulate the complex, historical narratives. Further, Srour shares a feminist perspective that echoes the colonial past. In a 2019 interview with Mary Jirmanus Saba, Srour shares,"...when I saw 8 ½, I realized that cinema was a very powerful medium that could express everything I wanted to say. But my main motivation in overcoming so many hurdles was feminist."[8] Additionally, she invites audiences of every background and gender to deeply immerse themselves in the courageous events of the time, and aims to inspire other filmmakers to share their historically-rich stories as well.[8]
Style and visual aesthetics
Srour is highly influenced by European art cinema, cinema verité, and anthropological filmmaking. She cites Federico Fellini’s 8½ as a significant influence on her first film, The Hour of Liberation Has Arrived.[7] Additionally, Srour started making films through her PhD program in Social Anthropology under French Marxist historian and sociologist, Maxime Rodinson, who greatly influenced her aesthetics and politics.[7] She also cites Latin American “Third Cinema” as an important influence, namely, Octavio Getino’s The Hour of the Furnaces.[7]
Political views
Srour considers herself to be a feminist and a socialist.[7] She also considers herself a "defeated feminist," directing her films towards “the Arab Left,” who “kept closing the subject” of feminism until “the main enemy, Imperialism, is defeated.”[9][7] Additionally, Srour sought to address European anthropological filmmakers, who “were paternalistic with the so called primitive societies” and “often observed them like insects.”[7] Instead, Srour hoped to depict the “so-called primitive societies” with greater nuance, showing how “the so-called underdeveloped people were more mature in terms of feminism and democracy than the citizens of industrial nations.”[7]
Awards and accolades
Srour was the first female Arab filmmaker to have a film, Saat El Tahrir Dakkat or The Hour of Liberation Has Arrived, considered for the Cannes Film Festival. Gleaning much of her stories from those of her ancestors, Srour often credits her grandmother for the success and recognition of her films.[8]
Filmography
Short films and documentaries
- The Singing Sheikh (1991, 10', video)
- Rising Above - Women of Vietnam (1997) Director and Producer[10]
- The Eyes of the Heart (1998, 52', video)
- Women of Vietnam (1998, 52', video)
- Woman Global Strike 2000 (2000, video)
Feature films
- The Hour of Liberation Has Arrived (1974, 62',16mm) Director, Editor, and Script Writer[10]
- Dhofar/Omar - The Guerillas of the Arabian Gulf (1973)
- Leila and the Wolves (1984, 90', 16mm)[1][11] Director and Script Writer[10]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-977-424-943-3.
- ^ a b Sandra Brennan (2015). "Heiny Srour". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
- ^ a b Srour, Heiny; Baccar, Salma; Wassef, Magda (Fall 1979). "For the Self-Expression of Arab Women". Cinéaste. 9 (4): 37.
- ^ Clarke Fountain (2015). "Saat El Fahrir Dakkat". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
- ^ "Heiny SROUR". Festival de Cannes. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
- ^ Stone, Rob, with Paul Cooke, Stephanie Dennison, Alex Marlow-Mann. The Routledge Companion to World Cinema, Routledge; 1 edition (October 3, 2017), page 209
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Heiny Srour on The Hour of Liberation Has Arrived". Screen Slate. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
- ^ a b c d Museum, Block (2020-10-05), Heiny Srour and Rebecca Johnson, retrieved 2021-03-21
- ^ Museum, Block (2020-10-05), Heiny Srour and Rebecca Johnson, retrieved 2021-03-20
- ^ a b c "Heiny Srour". BFI. Archived from the original on April 16, 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
- ISBN 978-0253355188.