SYNOPSIS

The film starts with Roxanne, a pretty 41-year-old woman, flying to Morocco for the eighth time in two years. She has already submitted the sponsorship papers to bring her lover, Abdelrafour, who is 14 years younger, to Canada as her husband. Roxanne is a worldly, confident, self-confessed short-tempered woman who is fully financially responsible for her life as well as her son’s. Abdel is a charming, soft-spoken guy with little education and no job who comes from a traditional, poor Moroccan family. Abdel and his friends are all under 30 and their laughter is contagious for a woman of 41 on a vacation to the seductive Marrakech.

Roxanne has a dear friend, Stephanie, who is engaged to a Moroccan man. Stephanie met Abderrahim on an internet site frequented by Western women and Arab men. They have been dating for a year. Stephanie is a heavyset woman, funny and sweet. Abderrahim is 10 years younger, fit and wears a “Guantanamo Bay” prisoner’s shirt. We see them kissing, singing, hugging. Abderrahim is not shy to say things like, “I love you…I need you… I want you… right now”. Stephanie, who has never been married, is overjoyed. Abderrahim, whose father is an Imam, will marry Stephanie on one condition – she must convert to Islam. He also wants his wife to wear Hijab when they start living together in North America. At the beginning, Stephanie, who knows absolutely nothing about Islam, laughs at this request – she is sure that after her husband comes to live with her, they will overcome all challenges.

Unfortunately, it’s not possible to rise over all challenges. That is what Lainie, a dance artist in her mid-30s, has learned. Lainie is angry. She met her ex-husband Akra while studying dance in Guinea and married him after several years of dating. Three weeks after his arrival in North America,, Akra abandons Lainie without a word. Hurt beyond belief, Lainie refuses to become his doorway to the West. All her energy turns into securing Akra’s deportation. Being an artist, Lainie stages a public protest in the capital of Canada, wearing her wedding dress and carrying a heavy red door on her back in front of government offices. The protest forces the authorities to promptly schedule the deportation hearing – a scorned woman’s revenge.

Revenge is not in the cards for Alison, whose main fear is that her ex-fiancé would somehow find her. She has spend years playing their love story in her head over and over, from the moment she met a smart, educated Pakistani man in Dubai, to the night he violently attacked her, to the interview with the security agency. “We believe the man you were going to marry is a member of the terrorist organization"...

52 min DVD

Institutional Use - College/University
Public Performance Rights

$199.00 plus $5 shipping

_________________________

ALSO AVAILABLE
Institutional Use
NO public presentation

$49.95 plus $5 shipping

FOR DIGITAL COPY CONTACT

REVIEWS

The primary subject, 41-year-old mother Roxanne, travels to Morocco to marry her 25-year-old fiancé, Abdel, a man she met while on vacation. After a failed marriage to a fellow Canadian with whom she had a lot in common, Roxanne decided to take a chance on someone completely different, in hopes that she would have better luck. It seems a rather naive notion, even if Roxanne did spend two years getting to know Abdel (the disclosure that he added two years to his age doesn't bode well, although they remain together when the credits roll). Roxanne’s friend, Stephanie, also married a man from Morocco; Alison wed a Pakistani suitor; and Lainie’s husband, Akra, hails from Guinea. Only Stephanie expresses interest in converting to Islam, a point of contention for the other couples. Unfortunately, Lainie's marriage didn't last; after Akra moved to Toronto, things quickly unraveled (he says she was too controlling, but Lainie believes he was just looking for a green card, and proceeds to testify against his petition to remain in the country). In all cases, the men appear to prioritize their economic situations over the fostering of a solid bond, making for a cynical if also thought-provoking film. RECOMMENDED. *** Video Librarian Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy),

RELATED FILMS