First International Women’s Festival in Damascus highlights women’s great role in societies

Within the activities of the 1st International Women’s Film Festival, organized by the Ministry of Culture in cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines and the Diplomatic Club of Syria, 15 films were screened that reflect many important issues facing women in general.

The Indonesian movie “MARS”, screened on the last day of the festival, depicted the struggle and sacrifice of the mother to support her beloved daughter in achieving her dream of completing higher education.

The movie is about the struggle of an uneducated poor mom living in a remote rural area in Indonesia and trying her best to make her daughter obtain a higher education and better living.

 Radianti Fauzi, the wife of the Indonesian Ambassador to Syria, Member of the Diplomatic Club, told Syria times (e-newspaper) that “the most important message of the movie is that any mother, no matter the society or country she belongs to, will sacrifice herself to help her children become the best version of herself and live a better life than her.

“Despite all the obstacles that may face her, she will continue working and sacrificing tirelessly and limitlessly”. she added.

On her opinion about the festival, Mrs. Fauzi said: “the festival in general highlights the idea of women empowerment and that every woman can make change to achieve her goal no matter her background and position”.

Wajid Fauzi, the Indonesian ambassador to Syria said:”It is a great honor for me as the Ambassador of Indonesia in Syria to screen an Indonesian movie in this event. I would like to underline that women in Indonesia, together with men, play an important role in building the country with the same responsibility and the same rights. Therefore, we have women who are ministers, ambassadors, and even parliamentarians. The role of women is very great and the festival is a very good opportunity to enhance our awareness about the important role of women.”

Ms. Reneva Fourie, the President of the Diplomatic Club, and the wife of the South African Ambassador in Damascus said that: “The film festival was deliberately scheduled to take place in March, as part of a series of activities aligned to celebrate the International Women’s Day.

“The Festival hoped to contribute to transcending stereotypes and removing the many false barriers that prevent us from uniting. The various films and documentaries assisted us to learn more about each other, and in so-doing hoped to get us closer to recognizing that we truly are one humanity; and that we have so much more in common, than we realize. Ms. Fouri added.

“The festival was received very positively and will hopefully be repeated next year,” she concluded.

 On her part, Shukriya Al-Mikdad, the Honorary President of the Diplomatic Club of Syria, said, “I think that the film festival achieved its goals because we were able to find out about the experiences of women in different countries and the ideas about women’s submission. I think that the festival was an opportunity for participants to exchange experiences and to see how women can convey their messages through cinematic works”.

Rima Abbsi, the vice president of the Diplomatic Club said, “The success of this activity will encourage us to hold more activities that introduce cultures from different countries in order to acquaint people with other cultures and to exchange experiences”.

Ghada Al-Amin, a member of the Diplomatic Club, said “we are in the month that celebrates women in recognition of their great role in society. The festival focused on the struggle and suffering of women in all over the world and I am very proud of participating in this event.”

Interviewed by: Nada Haj Khidr