Bahrain, the Forbidden Country

Since the start of the Bahraini uprising on February 14, 2011, more than 70 people have been killed during demonstrations, in prison, or in villages attacked by police. That's a lot of people for a country with a population of only 600,000. Bahrainis are demanding the same thing as their Syrian, Egyptian and Tunisian counterparts: democracy and freedom. Stephanie Lamorré managed to enter the country as a tourist and use her camera to shoot rare, clandestine footage of the bloody uprising. Lamorré explores the hidden side of the Arab Spring by accompanying a number of women who risk their lives to fight for a free country where human dignity will be respected. We follow Nafissa, Zainab, Maryam and Hawora as they make peaceful pleas to the Al-Kalifa royal family to loosen their grip on power. A female doctor who took care of rebels is faced with 15 years in jail. This all contrasts starkly with the sparkling new shopping centers rising up all over the country.  Lamorré describes them as a lie designed to conceal cruel oppression. Bahrain is a dictatorship with no rule of law whatsoever. One demonstrator sums up the motivation of rebels: "I want my voice to be heard." (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)