Take off from the Sand

Documentary, 80 min.

by Wageh George

Switzerland, April 1996

In Egypt during the 1930s, young Lotfia made her dream come true by exchanging her veil for a pair of pilot's goggles. In 1933 she became the first Arab woman pilot despite a wave of public resistance. Her courageous professional career made her a figurahead of the women's liberation movement which was gaining momentum at the time. Lotfia Al-Nadi's memories revive a time in Egypt which compared against today's tendencies was characterised by progressive and liberal attitudes. The film takes up the traces of this bold pioneer who has passed into obscurity and has lived in Switzerland for the past forty years.

www.dschointventschr.ch