Sand Storm: Minority Portrayal and Representation in Modern Film

Sand Storm looks at a Bedouin family in the Southeast of Israel and follows the struggle of both a mother and daughter to navigate the complex and patriarchal society in which they live. The film was produced by an Israeli producer and won Israel’s top film-making prize, stirring controversy among many Israelis. Overall, the film offers representation into an oft-overlooked population but becomes more

important within the more complex and political world in which it is contextualized.

First and foremost, the film focuses on Jalila, husband to a man named

Suliman and mother. It opens on her husband, Suliman’s, marriage to his second husband and shows the emotional pain Jalila is clearly enduring. She clearly struggles with the idea that her husband can marry a second wife, and it becomes clear throughout the film that even though her daughters adore him, Jalila’s protection has sheltered them throughout childhood. Jalila represents a fiery woman who flaunts the expectations to express her true opinion. The film makes clear that

Jalila sacrifices much for her daughters’ success, especially for her eldest daughter, Layla.

Layla represents a new generation of Bedouin women that represents both more progressive attitudes while still retaining more traditional cultural attitudes. Layla attends school in the city, and she even has a boyfriend outside of her tribe. Her willingness to break cultural protocol shows her desire to move away from the traditional lifestyle. However, her family becomes outraged after finding out that she has started dating outside of their tribe and decides to marry her off to an older man

of the same tribe. After contemplating running away to the city, Layla eventually decides to stay because she cannot bring herself to leave her mother who has endured so much for her. Ultimately, the film speaks to the importance of family bonds and allows one to see the difficulty in giving up antiquated practices and leaving an impoverished area.

 The film also provides an interesting look into contemporary Israeli society and the role of religious and racial minorities in Israel, more specifically Muslim Arabs. At Israeli’s national film festival, the Israeli culture minister walked out of the room after a speech from the two leading actresses, both Palestinian Arabs. Notably, however, was the Culture Minister’s disgust at the director’s choice to hire Palestinians instead of Israelis to star in the film. The director’s conscious choice to

include Palestinian actors allowed him to make a political statement showing the importance of representation for all people in film. Not only did he shine a light on the under-represented Bedouin community, but he also gave Palestinian actors a spotlight on the national stage in Israel to freely speak their mind and give voice to Palestinians in the well-connected Israeli film industry. In the end, the film’s impact is even more remarkable when contextualized within the political framework.