Duah Fares is the first girl from the Druze culture an Islamic branch living chiefly in Israel, Syria and Lebanon to participate in the Lady kul-el-Arab beauty pageant for Arab women in Israel. Guided by fashion designer Jack Yaakob, she outshines all her rivals, and under her stage name Angelina, she also takes part in the more prestigious Miss Israel contest. Its winner might move on to the worldwide Miss Universe pageant and an international career. But what begins as a fairytale turns to harsh reality when Duah hears that for the Miss Israel contest, she has to walk the catwalk in a swimsuit. This results in death threats to her and her family from their strictly Islamic fellow villagers. Like her mother before her, Duah/Angelina is caught between her youthful ambitions and the restrictions imposed on her by the older generation.
Ibtisam Salh Mara'ana
Ibtisam Salh Mara’ana, a Palestinian Israeli citizen, was born in 1975. Graduated the school of cinema and television at the Jewish-Arab academic center of Givat Haviva. She directed a number of reports for the ‘Feminine Outlook’ and ‘Arabeska’ programs on Israel’s Channel One. ‘Paradise Lost’ is her first full-length film. Her filmography includes ‘Wake up to the Native Land’ (1999).
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Lady Kul el Arab
Israel
2008, 56', color, video
Directed by:
Ibtisam Salh Mara'ana
Cinematography:
Ibtisam Mara'ana
Edited by:
Miri Laufer, Erez Laufer
Producers:
Timna Goldstein, Barak Heymann
Produced by:
Heymann Brothers Films
