Rafea: A Solar Engineer Blossoms in the Desert
This post was written by DOC NYC blogger Carrie Nelson
From left, directors Jehane Noujaim and Mona Eldaief at DOC NYC.
When one considers the concept of “women’s work,” a variety of careers may come to mind. Is solar engineer one of them? According to Bunker Roy, founder of India’s Barefoot College, it should be. At the start of directors Mona Eldaief and Jehane Noujaim’s film RAFEA: SOLAR MAMA, Roy tells a group of Kenyan women that only women have the patience and determination necessary to study solar technology and become engineers; therefore, it is their responsibility to do so in order to best help their communities.
RAFEA: SOLAR MAMA tells the story of a woman who leaves her family and village in Jordan to study solar engineering at Barefoot College. Recruited by Jordan’s Ministry of Environment, film subject Rafea’s studies have a purpose: to bring her technical knowledge back to her village and help Jordan become the Middle East’s leader in alternative energy.
When Thom Powers, DOC NYC’s Artistic Director, introduced the screening, he explained that, as is often the case in documentary film production, the process of making RAFEA: SOLAR MAMA took unexpected twists, resulting in a final product that’s quite different than the filmmakers’ initial vision. The first twist in the film occurs when, after receiving threatening phone calls from her husband, Rafea is forced to leave Barefoot College and return to Jordan or risk losing her daughters. Once back in Jordan, she fights to return to India to finish her studies. Ultimately, she is successful, and when she completes the program and returns to Jordan for the second time, she is ready to launch a community-based organization and provide jobs to the women in her village–that is, if the men in the village allow it.
After the film screened, directors Eldaief and Noujaim participated in a Q&A. Eldaief explained that they had not expected Rafea’s husband and the other men in the village to intervene as much as they did. Because Rafea was doing so well at Barefoot College, Eldaief was “actually shocked” when she and Noujaim found out that Rafea had returned to Jordan. Even now, says Eldaief, “the men in the village continue to obstruct the project.”
Throughout the film, however, Rafea’s commitment to the project appears unwavering, even in the face of obstacles. When asked about the role the filmmakers played in keeping Rafea focused, Eldaief explained that although they didn’t directly intervene: “We inspired her because we gave her feedback and confidence.”
DOC NYC is hosting a second screening of RAFEA: SOLAR MAMA on Thursday, Nov. 15 at 5:15 p.m. at the IFC Center. The film will also be broadcast internationally on Nov. 25 on the PBS show Independent Lens as part of the Why Poverty? project.
Carrie Nelson is a writer and filmmaker, committed to using media to advocate for social justice. Follow her work at www.carolyn-nelson.com.
