São Paulo – The story of the divorce of a Yemeni child opens in Brazilian movie theaters next Thursday (26). The film “I Am Nojoom, Age 10 and Divorced” (‘Ana Nojoom bent alasherah wamotalagah’), based on the namesake book (no Portuguese translation), tells the story of 10-year-old Nojoom Ali, forced to marry a man 20 years older.
In Yemen, as well as in other countries, there’s no legal minimum age for marriage. This opens the door for cases such as the one lived by the film’s main character, given in exchange for a generous dowry. The arrangement is good for almost everyone: the future husband has a wife; her family receives an income and has one less mouth to feed; but Nojoom, one of the main parts, is not happy about it all.
The director Khadija Al-Salami was born in Sanaa, Yemen, 50 years ago. At 11, she was forced to marry an older man and rose against her family’s values. Years later, she received an authorization to study abroad and went to the United States, where she followed her dream and earned a degree in movie production and direction.
Currently, Al-Salami lives in France, where she directed over 25 documentaries, the majority of them covering the role of women and young women in contemporary Yemen.
The movie is based on the bestseller book that tells the story of real Nojood Ali, written by herself. Released in 2009, it has been translated to 16 languages and is available in 25 countries.
“I Am Nojoom, Age 10 and Divorced” competed in many festivals, including the Rio Film Festival. It won the Muhr Award in the Best Fiction Feature category of the Dubai International Film Festival, the El Waha d’Or as Best Fiction Feature at the Gabès International Arab Film Festival (Fifag) in Tunisia and also the Grand Prize of the Zagora International Trans-Saharan Film Festival (FIFT) in Morocco.
In Brazil, the movie is distributed by Esfera Filmes. The movie theaters have yet to be confirmed.
Quick info
I Am Nojoom, Age 10 and Divorced (Ana Nojoom bent alasherah wamotalagah)
Drama, 16 years of age or above
Directed by: Khadija Al-Salami
Cast: Reham Mohammed, Rana Mohammed, Ibrahim Alashmori, Naziha Alansi, Sawadi Alkainai
Duration: 99 minutes
Showing: to be confirmed
Information: https://www.facebook.com/esferafilmes/
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6IVG-0BHjg&feature=youtu.be
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
