Mashrou’ Leila ‘Roman’ by Jessy Moussallem

Jessy Moussallem's epic video for Mashrou’ Leila's Roman is an ode to the strength and grace of Arab women and their continuous fight for feminist action, featuring one hundred women. 

Revolving around the lyrical pivot in the chorus: “aleihum” (charge!), it uses a group of women who’s ethnic
backgrounds are consciously over-articulated through choices of styling and location in a manner more typically
employed by Western media to represent victimhood and oppression. By doing so, the film seeks to disturb the global narrative of hyper-secularized white feminism, which positions itself as being ideologically incompatible with Islam and the Arab World.

The still, pale landscape allows the force of the women’s resolute dignity to radiate, as the dancer’s fierce
movements cut through the quietude. Together, the women walk into the water, confident in their agency and
fearless in their determination for a sea change. The unique spirit of the film emerges from the gut of the Middle East through the work of the music, the narrative, and the Arab female director behind it.