Speed Sisters

ABOUT

The Speed Sisters are the first all-woman race car driving team in the Middle East. Grabbing headlines and turning heads at improvised tracks across the West Bank, these five women have sped their way into the heart of the gritty, male-dominated Palestinian street car-racing scene. Weaving together their lives on and off the track, SPEED SISTERS takes you on a surprising journey into the drive to go further and faster than anyone thought you could.

Length: 80 / 52 minutes
Languages: Arabic and English w/ subtitles

  • espnW Apr 7, 2017

    "Speed Sisters documentary helps drive home life in the West Bank"

  • The New York Times Feb 9, 2017

    "Subtly rebellious and defiantly optimistic"

  • The Village Voice Feb 7, 2017

    "Vital"

  • CityLab Feb 9, 2017

    "Fast-paced, gripping"

  • Fusion Feb 9, 2017

    "Your new must-see movie"

  • Time Out London Mar 18, 2016

    ★★★★
    "Strikes a perfect balance, telling a righteous, uplifting story of triumph against the odds without ever losing sight of the bigger political picture."

  • The Times UK Mar 25, 2016

    ★★★★
    "A muscular, unapologetic and surprisingly feel-good documentary."

  • Glamour UK Feb 17, 2016

    "Nothing will make you want to get behind a steering wheel faster."

  • DAZED Mar 7, 2016

    "Speed Sisters offers a thrilling perspective on what it’s like to be badass women fighting stereotypes at every breakneck turn."

  • Sports Illustrated Nov 23, 2015

    "Kinetic"

  • The Hollywood Reporter Apr 30, 2015

    "An eye-opening doc that succeeds in its goal of shattering stereotypes."

  • Indiewire Nov 30, -0001

    "A spirited, crowd-pleasing portrait."

  • Screen Daily​ Oct 10, 2015

    “An engaging, high octane documentary... a savvy and at times nicely spikey film.”



Filmmakers


AMBER FARES – DIRECTOR/PRODUCER

Amber Fares is an award-winning Canadian documentary filmmaker and photographer. Her feature length directorial debut Speed Sisters has played in film festivals around the world, premiering at Hot Docs in 2015, where it was one of the top 20 Audience Choice Awards, and winning the Audience Award at the Irish Film Institute Festival. Amber’s continually expanding storytelling approach is driven by the belief that personal stories can best help connect audiences to important topics and issues. She has worked with organizations like UNRWA, Defence for Children International and Amnesty International. Amber co-founded SocDoc Studios to produce story-driven films that explore social issues.

AVI GOLDSTEIN – PRODUCER

Avi Goldstein is co-founder of SocDoc Studios. He was a Sundance Institute Creative Producing Labs Fellow as the Producer of the award-winning Speed Sisters film. Prior, he produced the documentary film Fire Lines with the Ma'an Network in Bethlehem and Common Ground Productions. He is proud to have been a "Speed Brother" from the inception of the Speed Sisters project. These days, he is focusing on running an educational organization bringing people together to learn and practice a creative, problem-solving approach to negotiation. He is now based in Brussels, Belgium.

JESSICA DEVANEY – PRODUCER

Jessica is an award-winning producer and impact strategist. She co-produced the Peabody Award winning short My Neighbourhood (2012) and produced its companion web series Home Front (2011). Jessica associate produced Budrus (2009), which won over a dozen international awards, including the Ridenhour Documentary Film Prize. She was a key driver behind the film’s engagement strategy, which was recognized with the PUMA Impact Award. Jessica was previously the Director of Communications at Just Vision, where she produced films and led communications strategy in support of Palestinian and Israeli community organizers and human rights defenders. She is a 2015 Women at Sundance Fellow.

RABAB HAJ YAHYA – EDITOR

Rabab is an award-winning editor and 2014 Sundance Edit and Story Lab Fellow. Most recently, she has edited a number of feature documentaries including award-winners Speed Sisters and Full Signal. In addition, Rabab has built a solid career of editing TV-length documentaries commissioned by the Al Jazeera Documentary Channel, including the most recent, Enemies of the South, which was featured in multiple prime-time slots on the network. In between projects, Rabab has dedicated a significant amount of her time helping aspiring editors and filmmakers, through training and pro-bono consultations in the Middle East, West Africa and the Balkans. Rabab speaks English, Arabic and Hebrew fluently, and currently lives in New York.

Partners