The High Falls Women's Film Festival kicks off with a screening of We Are Not Princesses (Bridgette Auger, Itab Azzam, UK 2018, 75 min.))

The Syrian refugee crisis is on the world stage. But We Are Not Princesses shows a personal side of the crisis most have never seen, following the daily lives of four remarkable women, whose extraordinary struggles and strength tell a different kind of story, about obedience and defiance, resilience and reconciliation.

With intimately revealing footage and evocative animation, filmmakers Bridgette Auger and Itab Azzam follow how the women as they navigate new lives and small freedoms in exile, adapting to new roles: in their families and in a theater production of the Greek play, Antigone. Through the film, we see revealing glimpses of lives under siege, as these mothers, sisters, and wives grapple with past trauma and express themselves openly, often for the first-time, on camera. As they learn to question cultural norms, and stand up to societal and patriarchal pressures, they form friendships and bonds with each other. Never far from the surface are the horrific backstories which brought the women to Beirut. Their stories provide context for the Syrian war, and also establish the women's point of access into the story of Antigone, through which the women begin the work of processing their personal and national wars. Behind the scenes, they discover a kinship with the ancient princess, whose tragedy mirrors their own. While Antigone's story is legend, theirs are still being written.

[source: High Falls Women's Film Festival website, 2019-Oct-29]