Shelley Saywell Movies
- 2010
Aqsa Parvez was a sixteen-year-old girl from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada who was strangled to death by her father in December 2007. Amina Said and her sister Sarah Said died of gunshot wounds in Dallas, Texas in January 2008; the man who pulled the trigger was their father. And Fauzia Mohammed is a nineteen-year-old from Rochester, New York who was brutally attacked by her brother in July 2008; despite being stabbed eleven times in the chest, she survived. These women were all victims of the phenomenon of "honor killings," which is not sanctioned by any recognized religion but accepted in some cultures. "Honor killings" occur when women do something that is thought to bring shame to their family, and the male relatives retaliate with violence. These sort of attacks are becoming more common in North America as young women raised in one culture are expected to conform to cultural and religious strictures that are foreign to them; in some cases, young women face death for simply having boyfriends, wearing western clothing or going to school. Filmmaker Shelley Saywell, who previously examined honor killings in the Middle East in her film Crimes of Honor, looks at these three cases and how this form of violence against women is becoming increasingly common in the West in the documentary In The Name Of The Family. The film was named "Best Canadian Feature" at the 2010 Hot Docs International Documentary Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- 2006
"Martyr Street" is the name locals have given to a road that cuts through Hebron along the West Bank, near what's said to be the final resting place of Abraham. It's been called the most dangerous road in the world, with Palestinians and Israelis in a nearly constant state of battle over possession of the area. Filmmaker Sherry Saywell brought a camera crew to Hebron to chronicle life along this bullet-strewn path, and her documentary Martyr Street focuses on two children who live on opposite ends of the road -- Najlah, a girl from a Palestinian family, and Neria, whose parents are part of a small Jewish settlement whose members refuse to leave the area despite legal decrees ordering them to move on. As these two girls, so outwardly similar, grow over the space of five years, the bitterness of their people become deeper and deeper, as the Palestinians fall under the influence of radical Hamas extremists, and Israelis embrace terrorist violence to promote their cause. Martyr Street was Saywell's second film about violence in the Middle East and it's impact on young people, following her acclaimed documentary A Child's Century Of War. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- 1988
In this documentary, a young anthropologist learns about a remote tribe living in the Sahara, whose members are in danger of dying out due to the construction of the Aswan Dam. Egyptian officials had never heard of the Bishari, even though they had inhabited their territory for over 5,000 years, and were reluctant to give support. The Bishari, who lived without knowledge of modern agricultural methods, were starving when Shahira Fawzy found them. Through her determined efforts, the tribe learned how to sustain their culture and lifestyle, and gained recognition from the government. ~ Alice Day, Rovi
Rating Systems
Blockbuster
BLOCKBUSTER name, design and related marks are trademarks of Blockbuster L.L.C.
2013 Blockbuster L.L.C. All rights reserved.
Portions of Content Provided by Rovi Corporation. 2013 Rovi Corporation.