This documentary on Palestinian 'Speed Sisters' is exactly what the world needs to see

Speed Sisters is the first all-women race team in the Middle East. By speeding their way into the male-dominated Palestinian street car-racing scene, they are challenging social barriers and preconceptions based on gender. Film director Amber Fares followed the girls for a number of years and has just released a documentary, Speed Sisters, which is currently opening at film festivals across the globe. Your Middle East caught up with Fares for a quick chat.

How did you come up with the idea?

I didn’t actually come up with the idea, I met them. I heard about these girls when I was doing photography for the UN in Ramallah, and my driver at the time, who himself was a racer, told me about these incredible girls and that caught my interest. It was a twist of faith that brought me there in the first place, and I just had to tell their story to the world.

What drove you personally to cover this story?

There was something about the conflict and excitement embedded within sports that interested me, and sports is such a great equalizer that I think everyone can relate to. Despite the limitation of movement and limitation of speed in Palestine, these girls allowed themselves to be competitive, to be ambitious and to be bold. But I also wanted to tell a story about a place that in traditional media is portrayed in a different way. It is important to not only see one narrative, but to give credence to the multiple voices, as one single story cannot capsulate what life is in Palestine. By creating alternative narratives and showing other points of view it is possible to give life to alternative realities and to show the other side of the lives of these people. By doing this we can create a paradise of difference.

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This documentary on Palestinian ‘Speed Sisters’ is exactly what the world needs to see