Jordanian short film addressing gender-based violence wins int’l award

AMMAN — A Jordanian short film has received recognition in an international competition that encourages young people to creatively express their vision for positive change in their local communities.

“Meter x Meter” received the Adobe Youth Voices Awards in mid-July for the animated films category, according to director Hiba Nabulsi, who was among the six Jordanians between the ages of 18 and 20 who were involved in making the short film, which combined live action with animation, challenging the patriarchal views common in society.

Nabulsi said the four-minute animated film tackles the idea of “wiping the identity of females” in local societies by tracking lives of different females living in a Middle Eastern community.

“We aim to show the other side of violence practised against women in societies. In addition to physical violence, women in societies are often marginalised and ‘made smaller’ in order to ‘fit’ into stereotypes. This is yet another type of violence,” Nabulsi told The Jordan Times in a recent interview.

“We traced the lives of several women narrating events from the moment they were born until the stages of decision making in real life to raise awareness about gender-based violence and sexism,” she added.

As the narrator speaks, animated slides are shown behind the actors.

“The combination used in the film helped in sending a message to the public in an entertaining yet practical way,” Nabulsi said.

“Many posters and campaigns aim to raise awareness about this kind of violence, but we thought of doing that in a different way; instead of stating facts and documents, the narrator tells life stories to the audience. It is more personal like that.”

She added that the topic chosen was not only for the Middle East; it is a worldwide problem, and something women experience on a daily basis.

“Anyone can relate to it.”

The movie was first posted online in October 2014, and was nominated for the competition in May 2015 after receiving positive feedback from social media users, according to Nabulsi.

“Meter x Meter” was also screened in schools, companies, and universities around the Kingdom aiming to raise awareness about gender issues.

“Most of the male students we met with know the struggle of women in societies and interpreted the themes of the movie as they are,” she said.

In addition to Nabulsi, Balqees Muhaisen, Ghazal Hasan, Abdullah Sharrw, Muhammad Hawwari and Tala Maragha were also involved in the making of “Meter x Meter”.