Camera/Woman

A Moroccan camerawoman films weddings while shaping her own emancipation

Camera Woman follows Khadija, a Moroccan wedding videographer and divorced mother living in Casablanca, as she navigates the tensions between personal freedom, family responsibility, and social expectation. By night, she films weddings, entering spaces traditionally reserved for women where veils are lifted, music fills the room, and a collective fantasy of love and hope is carefully staged. By day, she returns to a conflictual home life marked by pressure from her conservative family, who disapprove of her occupation and urge her to remarry.

Khadija is the mother of an eleven year old son and the main breadwinner for her parents and siblings. Her work allows her a degree of independence, yet it also exposes her to criticism and control from those closest to her. Directed by Moroccan filmmaker Karima Zouibir, the documentary adopts a quiet observational approach that stays close to Khadija’s daily routines, capturing moments of silence, fatigue, and determination alongside the energy of the weddings she films.

The contrast between the idealised world of marriage ceremonies and Khadija’s own experience of divorce reveals broader social tensions within Moroccan society. While weddings remain a central milestone in the lives of women, divorce and female independence continue to carry stigma. Through conversations with friends who share similar experiences, and through Khadija’s unwavering commitment to her work, the film reflects on changing gender roles and the cost of emancipation.

Shot in a vérité style, Camera Woman presents an intimate portrait of a woman who refuses to surrender her autonomy. For Khadija, placing her eye behind the lens is not only a profession but a means of asserting dignity, freedom, and control over her own narrative.