“How much will we let the occupation affect our lives? What are we supposed to do, stop living?” exclaims a woman’s voice against the sounds of roaring engines and gritty rock music. This politically provocative, femininity-reinventing moment is a tantalising teaser for Amber Fares’ upcoming feature-length documentary Speed Sisters. Set against the backdrop of brutal occupation, the documentary follows a group of five young Palestinian women quite literally trailblazing through all kinds of barriers and norms to become the Arab world’s first all-female car racing team. “I was racing cars when I was a kid, learning how to do it, speeding with the boys from school” says Mona Ali, 29. From the (illegal) age of 16, Ali would spend nights in her sister’s car, racing through the empty streets of her hometown Ramallah. In 2005, she would go on to become the first woman to join the Palestinian racing federation. “At first, the boys wouldn’t accept me; they didn’t want to race with me” Ali continues. “But I told them I’d carry on racing whether they like it or not.” Unable to afford proper racing vehicles, many of the women…
