Aisha's Story
| Aisha's Story | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Elizabeth Vibert Chen Wang |
| Written by | Elizabeth Vibert |
| Produced by | Elizabeth Vibert Salam Barakat Guenette |
| Starring | Aisha Azzam |
| Cinematography | Chen Wang Isaac Hatfield |
| Edited by | Elizabeth Vibert Chen Wang |
| Music by | Basel Zayed Shoko Inoue Bashar Smairat |
Release date |
|
Running time | 62 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | Arabic |
Aisha's Story is a 2025 Canadian documentary film, directed by Elizabeth Vibert and Chen Wang and co-produced by Salam Barakat Guenette.[1] The film centres on Aisha Azzam, a Palestinian woman living in the Baqa'a refugee camp in Jordan, who runs a grain mill to prepare the cereals and herbs essential to Palestinian cuisine. The film has been called "a profound exploration of how cultural identity is preserved through the tangible rituals of food and labor," and "a testament to the ways food remains central to Palestinian identity, rooted as it is in history, tradition, and the ongoing struggle for survival and resilience."[2]
Vibert first met Azzam when she was in Jordan in 2018 screening the film The Thinking Garden, which she wrote and co-produced with director Christine Welsh. Vibert and Azzam then began the oral history collaboration on which the film is based.[3]
Aisha's Story had its world premiere at the 2025 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival,[4] where it won the Audience Award for Mid-Length Films.[5] It then screened as the opening film of the DOXA Documentary Film Festival,[6] and went on to festival screenings in Jordan, Jerusalem, Morocco, Türkiye, the US, UK, France, and Italy. The film also pre-screened at the Toronto Women Film Festival, a University of Toronto competition for as-yet-unreleased films by emerging women filmmakers, where it won the award for Best Feature Documentary.[7]
References
- ^ V. S. Wells, "DOXA 2025: Food builds a bridge to the past in Aisha’s Story". The Georgia Straight, May 1, 2025.
- ^ J. Zimmerman, "Aisha's Story Review." Video Librarian https://videolibrarian.com/reviews/documentary/aisha-s-story/ February 2, 2026; Aisha Jamal, "Aisha's Story," Hot Docs 2025 https://hotdocs.ca/whats-on/hot-docs-festival/films/2025/aishas-story; Alexander Mooney, "Aisha’s Story Review: Doc Portrait Coasts on Its Key Ingredient". Point of View, April 29, 2025.
- ^ Elizabeth Vibert, "I needed to make a film about Palestinian women persevering". CBC Arts, April 25, 2025.
- ^ Jamie Casemore, "Hot Docs unveils award nominees for 2025 festival". Playback, April 16, 2025.
- ^ Pat Mullen, "Come See Me in the Good Light Wins Hot Docs Audience Award". Point of View, May 5, 2025.
- ^ Dana Gee, "DOXA Documentary Film Festival announces opening film from Victoria filmmakers". Vancouver Sun, March 27, 2025.
- ^ Ethan Barkley, "Film by UVic faculty and graduates wins best feature documentary at Toronto film festival". The Martlet, October 24, 2024.