Filmmaker Tala Hadid’s documentary focuses on a pair of teenage sisters living in an Amazigh community in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. Sixteen-year-old Khadija has her mind set on becoming a lawyer while her older sister Fatima is being made to quit school because her family has arranged for her to be married to a man she barely knows. Fatima would like to continue her studies and enter the workforce after marriage, but she has no idea if her husband will allow that. The sisters’ relation will also be tested because Fatima is set to move with her new husband to Casablanca. Until that time, the film follows the siblings as they engage in their family’s farm work, which includes harvesting, milking goats, and collecting grass in large baskets. But they also see the outside world via TV and are made aware of the more progressive policies that guarantee equal rights for women in their country. Despite its rather quotidian title, House in the Fields is a very insightful and captivating film about the complexities of modern Islamic society as it relates to the rights of women and the educational aspirations of teenage girls. Hadid’s film beautifully frames the sisters within their domestic setting and the wider Moroccan society, and handles the balance between daily chores and personal dreams with grace and sincerity. A powerful documentary filmed in a section of North Africa rarely seen in the media, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)
House in the Fields
(2017) 86 min. In Tamazight with English subtitles. DVD: $34.95: individuals; $160: public libraries; $320: colleges & universities. DRA. Documentary Educational Resources. PPR. Volume 34, Issue 5
House in the Fields
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