Rita Baghdadi, a Moroccan-American documentary filmmaker, is an award-winning filmmaker. Her work has been supported in part by Sundance and Tribeca, Netflix and HBO, Film Independent, the International Documentary Association, Sundance, Tribeca and Netflix. Her feature documentary directorial debut, “My Country No More,” was awarded Best Feature at the 2018 Big Sky Film Festival and is now streaming on Amazon. Her documentary “City Rising” won the LA-area Emmy award for Best Social Issue Film and is being used as a tool for activism around housing inequality. Baghdadi is the co-founder of Lady & Bird Films and is a member of Brown Girls Doc Mafia.
“Sirens” is screening at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, which is running online from January 20-30. More information can be found on the fest’s website.
W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.
RB: Set against the backdrop of the Lebanese revolution in Beirut, “Sirens” is an intimate coming-of-age story about the co-founders and guitarists of the Middle East’s first all-female metal band, Slave to Sirens.
W&H: What drew you to this story?
RB: I have always longed to make a film set within the MENA [Middle East and North Africa] region. I just always thought, because I’m Moroccan, that it would be set in Morocco. I wanted to make a film that I would have loved to see as a young woman. In which female Arab characters were presented as complex individuals rather than the stereotypes I was raised with.
Lilas was a great friend and I instantly felt a lot like my younger self when I met her. When I met the rest, I realized there were so many beautiful and inspiring parts to their story that it could resonate with many people. This film was inspired by resonance and recognition.
W&H: What do you want people to think about after they watch the film?
RB: My answer to this question is two-fold: I want to challenge western perceptions of what it’s like to be a young woman in the Middle East today. I want young women in the Middle East to see themselves clearly on screen.
W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?
RB: I’d say the endless barrage of catastrophe. Economic collapse, revolutions, pandemics, explosions, and more pandemics. It was impossible to avoid making a film that didn’t focus on the negative events in Lebanon. It was challenging enough to film in the midst of all of it, but then trying to address these events in a way that didn’t overshadow the narrative of the young women was another challenge unto itself.
W&H: How did you get your film funded? Let us know how you got the film produced.
RB: “Sirens” was funded via a mix of equity investment, grants, and donations. Among the many people who helped make this film were Natasha Lyonne and Danielle Renfrew Behrens of Animal Pictures, as well as Maya Rudolph and XTR’s good people.
W&H: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?
RB: I’ve had a video camera in my hand since I was eight years old. My father, a talented amateur photographer, taught my how to shoot 35mm film when I was 11. My grandfather on my mom’s side was the director of NBC News in Chicago. My family was an important influence in my childhood.
But it wasn’t until I met John Waters at the Maryland Film Festival when I was 16 that I really believed I could become a filmmaker. John was so easy to get along with and I loved his style. I went home and watched “Pink Flamingos” and was changed forever.
W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?
RB: Best advice: “You can’t get what you don’t know you want,” from my mom.
Worst advice: “Don’t be in a hurry.” One of my old bosses used to say this to me when I was in my early 20s. He meant it like “stay in line.” What a load of crap.
A sense of urgency is the only way to achieve your dream. In this industry, momentum breeds momentum. And life doesn’t wait! That’s something you have to remember in documentary filmmaking.
W&H: What advice do you have for other women directors?
RB: Learn the rules and then break them. Don’t wait for anyone’s approval.
W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.
RB: It’s always changing! Recently, “The Power of the Dog” is topping my list. I’m a big Jane Campion fan and I love how unsentimental her work is. Her characters are so real.
In the documentary genre, I’d have to say “Cameraperson.” As I was a cameraperson for many years, that film resonates with me on a deeply personal level. I admire Kirsten Johnson’s artistic restraint for letting a moment be what it is. Poetry is life.
W&H: How are you adjusting to life during the COVID-19 pandemic? Is it possible to keep your creativity alive?
RB: I’ve been crisscrossing the world making documentaries for more than 10 years. It was a huge change for me when the pandemic struck and I had to stay grounded for a few months. I adopted a dog, who is now my best friend.
But I continued shooting “Sirens” the moment I could travel again and I ended up taking several trips back to Beirut during the pandemic. We also edited “Sirens” for the last year during the pandemic, and I have been working on several other films at the same time.
So yes, I’d say I stayed creative. It wasn’t easy. There were many times when I was exhausted. And we’re still not through it! At the end of the day, your health is the only thing that matters because if you’re not alive you can’t create. Lilas and I both learned a bit about self-care while making “Sirens.”
W&H: The film industry has a long history of underrepresenting people of color on screen and behind the scenes and reinforcing — and creating — negative stereotypes. What are your suggestions for making it more inclusive?
RB. This is a huge issue for me and the solution is very simple. We need more voices from the underrepresented behind the camera, in front, and in positions where power is at stake.
Source: Women And Hollywood
