 'in/tangible cartographies – new arab video' was commisioned by World Wide Video Festival 2001, and especially curated by Jayce Salloum.
With subtle twists and turns we follow down the road with Soumicha who after the death of her husband has to make some money to support herself and her children. As most jobs are normally reserved for men, she takes a chance and becomes the only woman taxi driver in Sidi Bel-Abbès, Algeria, where tradition still reigns and extremist political violence takes place. The taxi is used as a 'vehicle' for encountering other women and the stories of their struggles to have fair work and more freedom. The public spaces are occupied by men but women are at the foundation of society. Men's control is threatened and the 'rules' challenged when women enter the public sphere. Soumicha is soon feared to be another casualty of contradictions and injustice.
– Jayce Salloum
|
Anouar Brahem and Belemou Messaoud, production Les Films de la Passerelle
Belkacem Hadjadj ° 1950 Tizi Ouzou, Algeria
Lives and works in Algeria and Belgium
|
|
2 0 0 1 
