Archive of films Arab Attraction / Arab Attraction

Austria
2010, 118 min

Section: Documentary Films - Competition
Year: 2011

Barbara Wally, the protagonist of this captivating documentary, was one of Austria’s most outspoken feminists; a few years before retiring, she set out for Yemen where her life underwent a dramatic shift. She fell in love with Khadher, a Yemeni driver 20 years her junior, and became his second wife.

Synopsis

For decades Barbara Wally was one of Austria’s most outspoken feminists. Some years prior to retiring as director of the International Summer Academy of Fine Arts in Salzburg, she set out for Yemen where her life underwent a dramatic shift. She fell in love with Khadher, a Yemeni driver 20 years her junior, and became his second wife. And because Khadher insisted that she join his religion (because she would otherwise "end up in hell”), she became a Muslim. She exchanged atheism, radical feminist theory, and her beloved bacon for a headscarf, the humble status of second wife, and praying five times a day. Directors Andreas Horvath and Monika Muskala follow the untraditional couple’s lives in Salzburg and Yemen, capturing the most varied nuances of their multicultural conflicts, and clearly demonstrating that only life can come up with the craziest scripts.

About the director

Andreas Horvath (b. 1968, Salzburg, Austria) studied photography in Vienna and multimedia art in Salzburg. His short film Views of a Retired Night Porter took the prize for the best short documentary at KVIFF 2006. Another work, This Ain’t No Heartland (2004), won the Grand Prix at the Chicago IDFF and Best Documentary at Barcelona’s L’Alternativa Independent Film Festival, both in 2004. Further filmography: Clearance (1998), Poroerotus (1999), The Silence of Green (2002), The Passion According to the Polish Community of Pruchnik (2009), Arab Attraction (2010). Monika Muskala (1966) is a Polish writer, translator, and dramatist. Her stage plays have received many awards and have been translated into several foreign languages. She has worked on various projects with Andreas Horvath, including documentaries and photo albums.

Contacts

Autlook Filmsales
Spittelberggasse 3/14, 1070, Vienna
Austria
Tel: +43 720 346 934
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.autlookfilms.com

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About the film

Color, HD CAM

Section:	Documentary Films - Competition

Director:	Andreas Horvath, Monika Muskala
Dir. of Photography:	Andreas Horvath, Monika Muskala
Music:	Richard Wagner
Editor:	Andreas Horvath
Producer:	Andreas Horvath
Contact:	Autlook Filmsales

www:	www.autlookfilms.com/en/films/arab-attraction/

Guests

Andreas Horvath

Film Director / Producer

Monika Muskala

Film Director