The Hour of Liberation Has Arrived (Arabic: ساعة التحرير دقت) is a 1974 documentary film directed, written, produced and edited by Lebanese filmmaker Heiny Srour.[1] The film is notable for being the first film directed by an Arab woman to be shown at Cannes.[2]
| The Hour of Liberation Has Arrived | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Heiny Srour |
| Written by | Heiny Srour |
| Produced by | Heiny Srour |
| Cinematography | Michel Humeau |
| Edited by | Heiny Srour |
Production company | Srour Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 62 minutes |
| Countries | France Lebanon United Kingdom |
| Language | Arabic |
Srour was compelled to make the film during her work as a film critic for AfricAsia in 1969, she was interviewing a male delegate of the PFLOAG. She was interested in the feminist description of the Oman liberation group, a moment that Terri Ginsberg describes as "revelatory" for Srour and thus she shifted her focus to documenting the Omani struggle for liberation.[2] She and her crew traveled 500 miles across the desert and mountains and under the bombardment of the British Royal Air Force so that they can shoot the film in Dhofar.[3]
Plot
editPer Terri Ginsberg in her book Films of Arab Loutfi and Heiny Srour: Studies in Palestine Solidarity Cinema, The Hour of Liberation Has Arrived, "....focuses on the struggle of the Omani people, represented by the DFLP-allied PFLOAG, for their liberation from the oppressive, British-backed Sultanate of Qaboos ibn Sa‘id, a notorious collaborator with neocolonial oil interests."[2] Beginning as a contemporary news report, the film later portrays the guerilla fighters, primarily focusing on female participation in the movement.[4]
Reception
editThe film was awarded the Grand Prix du Scenario by the Tunisian Agence de coopération culturelle et technique (ACCT).[2]
References
edit- ^ Hillauer, Rebecca (2005). Encyclopedia of Arab Women Filmmakers. American University in Cairo Press. pp. 183–184. ISBN 9789774249433.
- ^ a b c d Ginsberg, Terri (2021). Films of Arab Loutfi and Heiny Srour: Studies in Palestine Solidarity Cinema. Cham, CH: Springer International Publishing AG. p. 25. ISBN 9783030853532.
- ^ "SAAT EL TAHRIR DAKKAT (THE HOUR OF LIBERATION HAS ARRIVED)". Film Fest Gent. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
- ^ Shafik, Viola (31 March 2023). Resistance, Dissidence, Revolution: Documentary Film Esthetics in the Middle East and North Africa. Taylor & Francis. p. 133. ISBN 9781000824766. Retrieved 26 August 2024.