GNRD Congratulates Khadija Al-Salami, Director of “I Am Nojoom: Age 10 and Divorced” gnrd.net/seemore.php?id=1244 Dubai, U.A.E., January 6th, 2015 – A standing ovation was awarded to the DIFF debut of, I Am Nojoom, Age 10 and Divorced, a film based on the life of a 10-year oldgirl, whose name means “like the stars.” In the movie, the child-bride’s name was changed from Nujood, which means “to hide”, a name she was originally inculcated with, due to the shame her father felt when he was informed at birth, that his newborn baby was a girl. The film features Nojoom, played by first-time actress Rieham Mohammad, who does an impressive job of illustrating this deplorable situation and this child bride’s life, when she is forced to marry a 30-year-old man. Nojoom refuses to continue in that misery, begins to fights for her rights – and eventually demands a divorce. Nojoom’s husband is depicted as a mixed-up, unschooled young man who is not aware that raping a young girl is a crime. He looked authentically confused when by the judge informed him that he was hurting his child bride. The film was selected for DIFF’s Muher Award for Best Fiction Feature. To see a preview of the film, click here: Trailer for I am Nojoom. Nujood’s story hit the global headlines in 2009 after her court battle came to light, making her a central figure in the movement against child brides in Yemen. According to United Nations and Yemeni government data, nearly 50 percent of girls in the country are forced into marriages before they turn 18 and 15 percent are child brides before the age of 15 years old. Being a victim and ultimately victor of child marriage herself, Khadija Al Salami was determined to shine a light on the dark corners of this gross violation of human rights. And she succeeded in making this film and showcased it at DIFF, despite massive odds and seemingly perpetual setbacks. She filmed the movie in Yemen where the crew faced a plethora of obstacles ranging from villages playing the drums loudly so the movie crew could not sleep at night, to basic technical issues like purchasing a generator that was eventually “kidnapped” and having to pay to get it back – as well as a steady stream of security issues. Street fights would break out in the middle of villages, as the some of the villagers protested and claimed it painted a bad image of the country. “I want people to fight ignorance and tell them that we cannot put our daughters in such a difficult position where they go through so much trauma,” Khadija Al Salami said on the red carpet. Ms. Salami is a newly appointed Consultative Committee member with GNRD-W. Ms. Salami continued: “I was very happy of the turnout of the people in Dubai and their positive reaction to the film. This subject matter means a lot to me personally and is close to my heart. Like Nojood, I have also lived through this painful experience when I was a child. Since, I have dedicated my life to combat against the conditions that young girls and women in traditional societies must endure. For this reason, I would like to communicate a vision of truth, strength and one that has no wrong notes. I have made several documentaries films on the subject, and finally decided to make this feature film in Yemen despite many risks we had to face and putting our life on the line for something worth doing. I am hoping this film will reach as many people as possible, whether they are educated or not. The effect of the images will draw their attention and speak louder than words. Hopefully, the film will carry the weight of my personal experience to transmit it to young girls living under the burden of this culture in different part of the world and heighten the spectators awareness of the trauma that is related to forced and child marriages, which unfortunately still exists today.”
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 13:56:45 +0000
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