The Film Class

This compelling documentary follows filmmaker Uri Rosenwaks as he engages in a unique social experiment: teaching filmmaking to a group of black Bedouin women in the Israeli city of Rahat. The women are descendants of Africans brought to the Holy Land by Arab slave traders, yet in today's modern Israel, they are still subject to racist treatment by the white Bedouins who enslaved them up until 50 years ago. The women use their newfound filmmaking skills to address the erasure of their history from Bedouin tradition, as well as the taboo against interracial marriage (they even travel to England to interview a black Bedouin man who was forced to flee when he dared to marry a white woman). The Film Class offers a fascinating look at a barely-acknowledged aspect of Israeli society while quietly questioning basic hypocrisies within a highly subjective interpretation of Koranic laws. If the film has a flaw, it's that the 53-minute running time doesn't really allow us to get to know the women in-depth (and we never see their reaction to the finished film). Nonetheless, this is a provocative celebration of empowerment through digital cinema, and is recommended for both Israeli and Islamic studies. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)