We got married in Damascus knowing we’d be six months pregnant at the wedding. We wanted to follow tradition, but we also wanted it to adapt.
For Anas, the pre-marriage pregnancy was freedom from the traditional Muslim values with which he was raised. For Rana, it was a way of challenging society’s expectations.
The scandal ended up being minor, however the gossip that ensued was major. Years later, Rana is still referred to, often by people we don’t know, as “the one who was pregnant at her wedding.”
To this day, this is a story that we, and apparently others like to tell. Why?
Syrians take great pride in their traditions. So, when untraditional events happen, there is a kind of enjoyment in them. Our pregnancy added a moment of excitement to an otherwise consistent way of life.
The experience inspired us to examine our other traditions, such as that of the Hakawati.
Like many traditions in the Arab World, the role of a Hakawati, (storyteller) is an inherited one; passed on through the generations since 600 AD from Father to Son.
Sadly, it seems that this has also been the course of leadership in Syria.
We love storytelling and therefore the tradition of the Hakawati, but it’s a dying one. Since the introduction of the television into Syrian society in the 1960s, subsequent generations have gradually become more interested in that, and as a result, the art of oral storytelling has become in danger of extinction.
And so, interested in adapting traditions, we asked our fellow Syrians, “What if the key to preserving the tradition, just happened to be a woman… a female Hakawati, a Hakawatieh?” “Impossible! Never!” was the reaction. Of course, we disagree. And through this film, we hope to re-inspire our countrymen to not be afraid of changing the ‘storyteller’.
We want to make this an animated film. The Hakawati’s Daughter is about possibility, not reality. Animation will allow us to dream. It will allow us to fantasize with sounds, colors, atmosphere and expressions and show how 1960s Syria was different from the present: mini-skirts, flowing rivers, a country exploring democracy and unity. It also allows us to portray things that we are not able to shoot because of the current situation. And although the film is geared towards an adult audience, animation triggers memories of childhood, fairytales and the stories we were told … the right frame of mind for dealing with possibility.