“Speed Sisters” is racing towards a theatrical release. First Run Features has acquired the U.S. rights to Amber Fares’ debut feature and will release the portrait of the first all-woman race-car driving team in the Middle East later this year. The award-winning documentary made its debut at Hot Docs 2015 in Toronto.
“In the aftermath of 9/11, I have wanted to tell a story that would bridge the ever-growing gap between the Arab world and Canada, where my family lived,” Fares told Women and Hollywood. She continued, “To put it mildly, perceptions of Arabs in countries like the U.S. and Canada were skewed. When I came across the Speed Sisters, I realized that I found a story that could help bridge the gap.”
Fares was drawn to the idea that “these women were doing something completely unexpected” and saw the doc as an opportunity to tell “a surprising story from the Middle East that people all over the world could relate to.” She suggested that “Speed Sisters” would “break stereotypes of Arab women, and hopefully of Arab men.”
“Speed Sisters” screened at the 2016 Athena Film Festival in NYC, a celebration of women and leadership.
[via Press materials]
