Past screening

The Poetess

Directed by: Stefanie Brockhaus, Andy Wolff
Runtime: 1hr 30min Year: 2017
Watch trailer

Details

Directed by: Stefanie Brockhaus, Andy Wolff
Runtime: 1hr 30min Year: 2017
Country: Germany
Last Screened: Wed 23rd May 2018

Speaking out against oppression, extremism and her patriarchal society, Saudi poetess Hissa Hilal storms her way through the rounds of the Arab world’s biggest televised poetry competition in this inspiring film.

In 2010, Saudi Arabian writer and activist Hissa Hilal did something unimaginable – she starred in the Arab World’s biggest televised live poetry competition. In a society where the art of poetry is alive and well, ‘Million’s Poet’ is a hugely popular X-Factor style talent show.

Storming through the rounds, and becoming progressively more political in her critique of religious extremism and her patriarchal society, Hilal became the first woman to reach the show’s final – speaking with wit and lyricism on live tv to an audience of 70 million.