Filming Against the System in North Africa: Pioneering Women Documentary Makers and their Common Aesthetics

Abstract

This article draws attention to the pioneering women of North African documentary making, and specifically their work in addressing the image of women on screen in rapidly changing societies. Highlighting the creativity of the filmmakers in defying the contemporary censor or addressing taboo topics such as women’s rights, the history of women contributing to politics or women’s roles in the wars for independence, this article uncovers neglected ‘feminist’ histories and the ways in which women documentary makers tackle audio-visually challenging topics. The films under discussion show their creative potential to address difficult themes through a poetics of permissibility. This is echoed in the filmmaker’s sensitive approach to the subjects’ expression and voice, and in particular of the non-vocal expression – the gaze.