Naziha Arebi

Haja Fatma, a mother to eight children, tells the tale of family life in Tripoli during the Libyan Revolution. Women, young and old, all contributed during these hostile months in their own unique way. A human portal into the acts of ordinary people in their hope for freedom.

From Tripoli to Benghazi, meet a grandmother sowing the national flag with relish, a young woman determined to become a film director, a fisherman philosopher, illegal migrants caught in limbo in a detention center, a group of young filmmakers trying to fund their fiction film and many others. A collection of brief insights into the lives of people trying to find normality in a world of chaos.

In Libya, two siblings put their heart and soul into the future of their country during the 2011 revolution, but each on a different side: he supported Gaddafi, she was one of the “rebels”. Now belonging to the ruling class, she is again standing up for the oppressed and seeking rehabilitation for people like her brother. We follow these fervent, resilient siblings over six years, during which she stands for elections and he struggles with the traumas of war.

In post-revolution Libya, a group of women are brought together by one dream: to play football for their nation. But as the country descends into civil war and the utopian hopes of the “Arab Spring” begin to fade, can they realise their dream? And is there even a country left to play for? Freedom Fields is a film about hope and sacrifice in a land where dreams seem a luxury. Through the eyes of these accidental activists we see the reality of a country in transition, where the personal stories of love, struggle and aspirations collide with History.