Maria’s Grotto 2007
Distributed by Typecast Releasing, 3131 Western Ave., Suite 514, Seattle, WA 09121; 206-322-0882
Produced by Buthina Canaan Khoury
Directed by Buthina Canaan Khoury
DVD, color, 52 min.
Sr. High - Adult
Domestic Violence, Human Rights, Middle Eastern Studies, Women’s Studies
Date Entered: 05/20/2011
Reviewed by Kathleen Spring, Nicholson Library, Linfield College, McMinnville, OR“One’s honor and one’s land are the things people are defending and living for,” says one interviewee in the documentary Maria’s Grotto. This film, which looks at the practice of honor killings in Palestine, interweaves four different stories in an attempt to explain why some women are killed in order to set examples for other women in their communities.
In one segment, we learn what happened to Hayim, a seamstress who worked for Thakla and who became pregnant out of wedlock. Because sex outside of marriage is not allowed and a family’s honor must be preserved, Hayim’s family forced her to swallow poison, and she subsequently died. But the tragedy did not stop there – one of Thakla’s sons was arrested for murdering Hayim and her family compound was torched in retaliation.
In another segment, we meet a mother and her two children. The daughter was stabbed multiple times by her brother, but she survived the attack and now lives with her family once again. Like others in the documentary, this family talks at length about the psychological toll which crimes of honor inflict on families, as well as external stressors that compel some individuals to commit these crimes.
A third segment in the film looks at honor killings from the perspective of two Palestinian youths. Abeer is a female hip hop artist whose sister witnessed an honor killing. Abeer has been prevented from performing a song about the incident with her band and has actually received death threats, yet she continues to insist that the first right for all human beings is the right to live.
One theme that permeates many of the stories is the tension existing between tribal law and the Palestinian legislative authority. This tension, coupled with the Israeli occupation of Palestine, provides a political, social, and cultural framework that is increasingly complex for families to navigate. Maria’s Grotto also explores themes of strength versus weakness and shame versus honor.
Some of the English subtitles (the film is in Arabic) contain misspellings, but overall the film is well crafted and the stories are compelling. A haunting soundtrack accompanies portions of the film, and although the camera work is occasionally shaky, it is appropriate for this subject matter and documentary style. Maria’s Grotto would be a useful addition to academic, public, or school libraries, and it provides a lengthier treatment of honor killings than Ricardo Lobo’s documentary Dishonorable Killings: Punishing the Innocent(2008).
Recommended
Awards
- Winner, Silver Award, Dubai Film Festival