Directed By: Isabelle Lavigne and Stéphane Thibault
2010 | 90 min
Canada, Egypt

Sunday, November 13: 6:30 pm

Linder Theater
New York Premiere

Belly dancing's origins are unknown, but its roots reach as far back as 12th century bc Persia and 14th century bc Egypt. For some, it is a complex form of female expression, for others a fertility dance designed to seduce men. For the matriarch Reda, who lives amid Cairo's urban sprawl, it is a way for her and her daughters to earn a living. Whether negotiating with disreputable thugs or arguing with her disapproving mother, Reda exhibits the slippery logic and shrewd instincts that have allowed her and her daughters to survive thus far. Sought after by the closed society of men, these women are marginalized by society as a whole, while still managing to pass down this ancient art to the next generation of girls.