Freedom Fields

Freedom Fields is a 2018 documentary film by Libyan filmmaker Naziha Arebi. The film is about soccer, feminism, and the revolution that toppled Muammar Gadaffi's rule in 2011. Background Arebi's father is Libyan, and she grew up in the United Kingdom. Until the 2011 revolution, she had never been to her father's native land, but found herself fascinated with the sweeping changes overtaking the nation following the Arab Spring, and decided to fill in this gap in her personal history. The film, Freedom Fields, is the result of her personal and documentary investigation. Contents The film follows three friends, Naama, Halima and Fadwa, who met on the soccer field. Their stories are told in three parts: The first occurs in 2012, a year after the revolution - a period of great hope for change, democracy and gender equality. The second part takes place in 2014, when the spirit of hope has evaporated, and is replaced with a sense of confusion and loss, after ISIS establishes their presence in Libya. The last part is in 2016, and describes the great sadness of the Libyan people as they realize the revolution was a complete failure, and if anything, they are worse off. And yet, not everyone has lost all hope, and some are still committed to the struggle for change. The film opens with a quote from Audre Lorde's canonical feminist book from 1984, Sister Outsider: