still courtesy of SocDoc Studios
Speed Sisters (2015)
dir. Amber Fares
If you didn’t already know, this was a big year for women at Toronto’s Hot Docs Documentary Film Festival; forty percent of the films included in the festival were made by women! Considering that women only accounted for 16 percent of major production roles like director, writer, and producer for the top 250 domestic grossing films of 2013, this representation of female filmmakers is something celebrate.
Let’s talk about Amber Fares’ Speed Sisters. The film follows the first all-female race car driving team in the Middle East, defying obstacles and confronting stereotypes of Arab women. These women are bad-ass. Competing fearlessly against each other and against men too, and for no financial gain, just for the love of it.
Our preconceptions of Middle Eastern women don’t necessarily coincide with burning rubber, kicking ass and taking names, but alas here we find ourselves. The MUFF Society is all about community and we see that same idea in this film. This team of women work to support and push each other in order to advance the sport in its inclusion of female drivers. That’s pretty awesome. The film stands for exactly what MUFF Society is: championing and supporting women in whatever they do—whether it be in car racing, filmmaking, whatever.
Though there are currently no plans for the film’s distribution in Canada, I urge you to be on the lookout for it. In the meantime, check out Amber Fares' documentary short Ghetto Town (2009) here.
Editor's Note: Stay in touch through the website. And also do yourself a favour and watch to this Tedx talk with director Amber Fares.
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