We are proud to announce that Christy Garland's documentary What Walaa Wants has been selected to premiere at the 2018 Berlin International Film Festival.
Raised in Balata refugee camp in Nablus, West Bank, while her mother was in prison, Walaa is determined to survive bootcamp to become one of the few women on the Palestinian Security Forces - a big challenge for a girl who breaks all the rules. Following Walaa from 15 to 21, with an intimate POV and the exuberant energy of its subject, this is the story about a young woman navigating formidable obstacles, learning which rules to break and follow, and disproving the negative predictions from her surroundings and the world at large.
What Walaa Wants is the result of a close collaboration over several years between Canadian major Murmur Media and Final Cut for Real as co-production partner. Producers are Anne Köhncke, Matt Code and Christy Garland. The film is co-produced by The National Film Board of Canada, and is the first documentary co-production between Denmark and the NFB.
What Walaa Wants is supported by the Danish Film Institute, the Danish Foreign Ministry / DANIDA, the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund/ Oath Foundation, the Toronto Arts Council, and produced in association with DR, UR, Iambic Dream Films and Penny Charter. World sales by Autlook and NFB/distribution.
The film screens in the Generation14plus competition programme. More information about the Berlinale's full program (February 15 – 25, 2018) can be found by clicking here.