PRESS & PRODUCTION NOTES THREE YEARS. SIX REVOLUTIONS. NINE WOMEN. FIGHTING FOR PEACE IN A STATE OF WAR. Press contact: BoomGen Studios, [email protected] PUBLICITY CONTACTS MEDIA/OUTREACH/EDUCATION: PEACE IS LOUD JAMIE DOBIE JOANNA HOFFMAN [email protected] [email protected] 212.782.3733 212.782.3733 MEDIA: BOOMGEN STUDIOS MAHYAD TOUSI READ EZELL [email protected] [email protected] 718-360.9284 718.360.9390 FORK FILMS CORPORATE: OBSCURED PICTURES RJ MILLARD KORY MELLO [email protected] [email protected] 212.620.0727 718.360.9284 WELCOME TO THE TRIALS OF SPRING Three years. Six revolutions. Nine women. Fighting for peace in a state of war. Do women’s voices matter? The Trials of Spring is a major documentary event that chronicles the stories of nine women who played central roles in the Arab Spring uprisings and their aftermaths in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Syria, Bahrain and Yemen. It includes a feature-length documentary, six short films, articles by award-winning journalists, and a robust social media conversation about women and their unwavering quest for social justice and freedom. The Trials of Spring launched as a special event on The New York Times homepage on Sunday, June 7. Six shorts in six days, culminating with the World Premiere of the feature documentary at the 2015 Human Rights Watch Film Festival on Friday, June 12. The project has been traveling at various festivals and with the Human Rights Watch Film Festival across the world. The Trials of Spring is created by Oscar Nominated Gini Reticker and Abigail Disney, the team behind the award-winning documentary, Pray the Devil Back to Hell, and Executive Producers of the celebrated PBS special series, Women, War & Peace. The team is comprised of top American and local crews, whose credits include The Square, We Are the Giant, Bully, Lemon, and Watchers of the Sky."" Executive Producers ABIGAIL E. DISNEY SALLY JO FIFER GINI RETICKER REGINA K. SCULLY Logo Design and Digital Art Direction THOMAS COBB GROUP Digital Campaign MEDIASTORM Film Title Design and Art Direction MONIKER NEW YORK Composer BLAKE LEYH Shorts Directors DALIA ALI MONA ELDAIEF CAMERON HICKEY Digital Director LAUREN FEENEY Film Cinematographers MOHAMED S. AMIR TAMER ASHRY AIDA ELKASHEF MUHAMMED HAMDY Film Editor JENNY GOLDEN Producer BETH LEVISON Film Director GINI RETICKER Outreach PEACE IS LOUD Film is a co-production of ZAG LINE PICTURES, LLC and INDEPENDENT TELEVISION SERVICE (ITVS), with funding provided by CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING (CPB); in association with FORK FILMS, ARTEMIS RISING FOUNDATION and CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT DOCUMENTARY | Shorts are a production of ZAG LINE PICTURES, LLC in association with FORK FILMS, ARTEMIS RISING FOUNDATION and CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT DOCUMENTARY| Major funding provided by 20X50, a group of donors providing key support; NORWEGIAN MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS; 25X25, a group of donors providing important support; INDEPENDENT TELEVISION SERVICE (ITVS) / CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING (CPB); ARTEMIS RISING FOUNDATION; STARRY NIGHT FUND; PIERRE N. HAUSER; SILICON VALLEY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION and MARY D. FISHER | Supported by INDEPENDENT LENS, CHICKEN & EGG PICTURES; GUCCI TRIBECA DOCUMENTARY FUND; NATHAN CUMMINGS FOUNDATION, with the support and encouragement of JANE SAKS; IFP and additional foundations and individuals THE TRIALS OF SPRING FEATURE DOCUMENTARY Hend Nafea: “I knew that people would one day take to the streets, and I knew that I would participate.” Mariam Kirollos: “...what I didn’t know is that our bodies would become the battlefield.” Logline: Unbreakable, an unlikely young activist sets out on a search for freedom and justice in a country gripped by a dangerous power struggle where there is little tolerance for the likes of her. Synopsis: When 21-year-old Hend Nafea travels from her village to Cairo to add her voice to the hundreds of thousands of Egyptians demanding an end to sixty years of military rule, she is beaten, arrested, and tortured. After her release, she is punished and imprisoned by her family for daring to speak out and shaming their name. Unbreakable, she sets out in a search for freedom and justice in a country gripped by a dangerous power struggle. Buoyed by the other activists she meets along the way, she forges ahead despite the odds mounting against her. Hend's story mirrors the trajectory of the Arab Spring—from the ecstasy of newfound courage to the agony of shattered dreams. In the end, despite crushing setbacks, it is resilience that sustains the hope for reform for Hend and her fellow activists, even during the darkest hours of their struggle for a better Egypt. DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT In a 1995 speech, Hillary Clinton declared, “women’s rights are human rights.” It was a simple phrase, but a powerful idea. It made me question whether the First Lady’s words actually rang true in the United States and, ultimately, it led me to create Asylum, a short documentary about a young woman seeking political asylum in the United States. Asylum was nominated for an Academy Award in 2004 and, thus, began my journey to document women’s stories in different parts of the world. Before witnessing conflict firsthand, I thought of war as a battle fought between groups of men in different uniforms. That changed when I met Leymah Gbowee and other Liberian women, who successfully heralded an end to their nation’s fourteen-year civil war. Rather than falling victim to conflict, these women forged a solution to it. While their incredible success amazed and inspired me, their story was unknown outside of Liberia. And so, my next documentary was born. Pray the Devil Back to Hell didn’t just document the success of these women— it broadcasted their victory. And in 2011, Leymah Gbowee received a Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her extraordinary efforts. It has been said that the world knows little about its greatest heroes. It knows even less about its heroines. With the eruption of the Arab Spring, I watched with enormous curiosity as country after country joined the universal call for “Bread, Freedom and Social Justice.” My past experiences made me curious about the role of women in these extraordinary revolutions. I wasn’t surprised to find that they not only participated in the front, but, in many cases, they were pioneers. I wanted to know more about their stories. During numerous scouting trips, I met woman after woman who stood in utter contrast to the stereotype of Arab women as oppressed and downtrodden. They challenged widely held assumptions about gender, religion, the veil, and political participation of women in the Arab world. In making this film, I have come to learn that Arab women are more than powerful agents of change in their own communities. In a region gridlocked between religious and military conflict, women do not need saving; women are the saviors. They just might be the best answer to the violent radicalism that plagues the region and inspires fear and prejudice around the world. Gini Reticker is the Oscar Nominated and Emmy Winning Producer and Director of Pray the Devil Goes Back to Hell, Asylum, and the celebrated PBS Television Series, Women, War & Peace. She is the Executive Producer of The Trials of Spring, and directed the feature documentary layer of the series. THE SHORTS TUNISIA SYRIA LIBYA BAHRAIN YEMEN EGYPT TUNISIA: KEEPING THE PROMISE In the mining region of Gafsa, Ghazala Mhamdi – a seasoned anti-government activist – goes door to door, person to person in her quest to achieve what was previously unimaginable—a seat in Tunisia’s Parliament. Five years earlier in 2008, riots broke out in the small town of Redeyef in Gafsa, after security forces killed four protesters at a sit-in for better wages. Ghazala was beaten and intimidated for documenting the violence and on many other occasions since. This film follows her as she campaigns in Gafsa, marking her transformation from activist to politician, from the riots to Election Day, to reveal the essential role of women like Ghazala in these events. “When I filmed Ghazala Mahmdi during her run for a parliament seat in Tunisia, I followed her for five days, traveling approximately 200 kilometers to cities and small villages to meet the people. Every politician hits the campaign trail in this way, but what struck me about Ghazala was the authenticity of her message and her urgency to connect with disenfranchised Tunisians— because she is one of them. As a woman from the remote mining town of Gafsa, representing a small independent political party, Ghazala’s chances of winning a political seat in a country ruled by a patriarchal establishment were slim. But as I filmed her , I realized that despite the daunting odds, her parliamentary run shifted the political discourse in her country, and her courageous activism inspired hope for change. I could see this grassroots empowerment in how Tunisians— women and men, young and old— reacted to Ghazala with such warmth and affection on the campaign trail. When we entered a village, it surprised me to see crowds of men swarming her like she was a hero, proudly retelling how she never backed down even when she was brutally beaten for standing up against injustice. These men bragged about her like she was a boxing champ. Maybe that is because Ghazala is a fighter— “the queen of resistance”— who is not defeated, even though she lost the election. She continues to be an example for Tunisian women to stand up, give voice to the voiceless, and work together be a force for change. “ — Mona Eldaif, director Egyptian American filmmaker Mona Eldaief is the director of the award winning documentary Rafea: Solar Mama, the story of a Bedouin woman from the Jordanian desert who struggles against the patriarchal rules of her society to receive an education as a solar engineer at the Barefoot College in India and in turn, empower the women of her village.