Female suicide bomber (archives)
Photo: Reuters
Pretty, feminine, delicate terrorists
Documentary film about female security prisoners to be showcased at Berlin’s International Film Festival. Director Natalie Assouline describes these women as ‘wonderful women cooperating with the society they live in’
For two years Natalie Assouline would visit the Sharon Prison, heading straight for the isolated maximum security unit where security prisoners are typically detained.
The documentary film director knew exactly which prisoners she was looking for: Female would-be suicide bombers who, carrying several pounds of explosives on their person, had attempted to launch terror attacks on Israeli citizens; female terror operatives who had set out on missions of death and destruction.
Female Bombers
(VIDEO) Islamic Jihad warns Israel of 'surprises' should IDF invade Gaza Strip; dozens of female suicide bombers eager to blow themselves up, take soldiers with them
For two and half solid years Assouline tried to understand what motivated these women to set out to kill, injure and maim, and now the product of her labor, the documentary film "Shahida - Brides of Allah", will premier at the Berlin International Film Festival.
“I had set out to meet these women who ‘are a threat to my life and safety’ and see what their thoughts and feelings are beyond the headlines in the press and the PR slogans about occupation,” said Assouline. “I was curious to see what can sway a mother and wife to leave everything behind, including her family and children, and set out on suicide mission. I wanted to know how these women lived with their decision.”
Assouline is a 35-year-old documentary film director who is a graduate of the Midreshet Rupin film school. She had previously worked as a researcher on a documentary television program, but decided out to set out after her own dreams and vision instead of fulfilling that of others.
Her debut film, "Final Goodbye", tells the story of Assouline’s ill fated love affair with an Irish Catholic flame. It won first place at the 2002 DocAviv Film Festival for best student film. The director’s current film, Shahida, also will be screened at this year’s Doc Aviv Film Festival, where it is nominated for top honors.
'I looked these women in the eye'
When asked what she expected to encounter in the maximum security unit, Assouline stated that “she expected to find very gruff, hostile women, just as stereotypes and preconceptions would dictate.” The director reveals, however, that she instead encountered “beautiful, feminine women that I could not possibly associate with cold blooded murder.”“These two years have been a journey of sorts for me,” said Assouline. “I began filming with the notion that these women were freedom fighters of sorts, but it turns out that I gave them more credit than they deserve. These are wonderful women who cooperated with the society surrounding them, often reluctantly, and paid a heavy price for their decision.”
What does Assouline say about Israeli viewers who feel that these women do not deserve to be heard? “I am very curious as to how this film will be received,” she said. “Every viewer will come to watch this film with his own thoughts and preconceptions, and hopefully the movie will give him some additional food for thought.”
As to her own political affiliations, the director noted that “The whole issue of whether or not to give back territory is really a moot point. We must approach the (Palestinian) problem from a completely different angle by taking the time to really learn who these people are, just as the Palestinians must make an attempt to get to know us. This is what I did for two years: I looked these Palestinian women right in the eye."
