EL-BANATE DOL (THESE GIRLS)

"Most people don't see these girls, they give them a pound and half a glance, and that's it", explains the Egyptian filmmaker Tahani Rached whose powerful film makes visible the marginalised existences of young teenage women who live on the inhospitable streets of Cairo.

Along with her mostly female crew Rached enabled a group of these homeless girls to tell their stories. We hear of abuse and degradation, daily threats of rape and violence, and the young women's struggles to provide for themselves and their children, but the film also forces us to remember that the girls are children too still capable of love and laugher. In a memorable opening scene one of the girls, Tata, rides a horse joyfully through the city streets. The film’s playful score also adds an uplifting feel to what might otherwise be a bleak picture.

These Girls is an unsentimental piece, which refuses to judge and treats its subjects with dignity and respect. "… the girls wanted the film. Tata said she wanted people to know about them. She accepted to be the heroine of the film. The responsibility was shared between us - it was not me that was making a film, we were working on something together." Tahani Rached



Awards: Prix Ulysse at Festival Cinéma Méditerranéen, Montpellier 2006; Jury Award, Carthage Film Festival 2006