Leila and the Wolves
Heiny Srour, 1984, 90 min. In Arabic with English subtitles
Q&A with director Heiny Srour and Madeleine Dobie
Introduction by Renate Mattar
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“This film is based on actual events which are part of the collective memory of the Lebanese and Palestinian people.” So begins Leila and the Wolves, Lebanese filmmaker Heiny Srour’s only narrative feature—a bold, lyrical homage to the often-erased legacy of Arab women in the liberation struggle - newly restored in 2024. At its center is Leila (Nabila Zeitouni), a Lebanese woman living in London, who uncovers the overlooked contributions of women—fighters, nurturers, strategists—to the broader revolutionary movement. Drawing on the Arab heritage of oral tradition and mosaic pattern, Leila and the Wolves blends reenactment, archival footage, folklore in a visually and narratively hybrid cinematic essay and feminist counter narrative. It was banned in the Arab World for 45 years—and still is in many Arab countries.
Heiny Srour is a Lebanese film director. She is best known for being the first female Arab filmmaker to have a film (The Hour of Liberation Has Arrived) chosen for the Cannes Film Festival, in 1974. Despite the film’s accolades and success at Cannes, The Hour of Liberation Has Arrived was banned in most of the Arab world for its socialist and feminist politics. Srour has advocated for women's rights through her films, her writing, and by funding other filmmakers. Her first feature film, Leila and the Wolves, also reflects her feminist politics and socialist politics.
Madeleine Dobie is Professor of French and Comparative Literature at Columbia.
Renate Mattar is a third year Ph.D. student in French and Comparative Literature at Columbia University.
