Rafea: Solar Mama

Nov 5 2012 Not Rated 1h 15m
Documentary

Rafea: Solar Mama follows the groundbreaking journey of one Bedouin mother living on the Jordan-Iraq border who, along with thirty illiterate grandmothers from around the world, will travel to The Barefoot College in India to become Solar Engineers. (TIFF)

Plot

Rafea is a Bedouin woman who lives with her four daughters in one of Jordan's poorest desert villages on the Iraqi border. She is given a chance to travel to India to attend the Barefoot College, where illiterate grandmothers from around the world are trained in 6 months to be solar engineers. If Rafea succeeds, she will be able to electrify her village, train more engineers, and provide for her daughters. Even when she returns as the first female solar engineer in the country, her real challenge will have just begun. Will she find support for her new venture? Will she be able to inspire the other women in the village to join her and change their lives? And most importantly, will she be able to re-wire the traditional minds of the Bedouin community that stand in her way?

Written by

N/A

Directed by

Mona Eldaief, Jehane Noujaim

Production Companies

ITVS, Plus Pictures, JustFilms / Ford Foundation, Tribeca Film Institute, Noujaim Films

Awards

5 wins & 3 nominations

Scores
# of Votes
144
Average Rating
7.5 out of 10
Metascore
NA
Popularity
NA