Author: Heba Essam
In a tumbledown site branched from a busy high-traffic street, surrounded by a chain metal fence in Alexandria, Egypt is where “Lift Like a Girl” documentary of an uprising weightlifter Zebiba who trains with Egypt’s world elite champions and Olympic female weightlifters was filmed.
Egyptian documentary “Lift Like a Girl” narrates the story of a 14-year old weightlifter Zebiba who has been training for five years in captain Ramadan’s somewhat camp, that established a ground for young Egyptian weightlifters for over two decades. The filmmaker Mayye Zayed shed a light on the “male sport” as people name it, by raising awareness of weightlifting that is actually practiced among women and girls. Zayed hoped it would encourage females to follow their dreams, while challenging genders stereotypes especially in conservative societies like Egypt’s.
The documentary took place in Alexandria, Egypt, tracing the story of Zebiba for 4 consecutive years -since she was 9 years old- along her way of achieving success and following in the footsteps of her fellow champions, who once practiced in the same place as she is; the pioneer of weightlifting in Egypt, the former World Champion and Olympic athlete Nahla Ramadan daughter of Zebiba’s trainer Captain Ramadan.
As well as, Abeer Abdelrahman the first Arab two-time winner Olympic female medalist.
Captain Ramadan always believed in Zebiba’s passion and capabilities. In fact, he started calling her “Zebiba” as of her tiny figure as a “raisin” of when she started training at a young age.
“Lift Like a Girl” documentary participated and won several awards in world-known festivals. It was screened in Cairo International Film Festival among the festival’s international competition last December, winning a total of three awards. It also premiered at Toronto International Film Festival back in September, winning the Golden Dove award for best film in the German Competition , Long Film category, at the International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film, the Youssef Cherif Rizkallah Award, along with ISIS Award for best Egyptian film to show the economic and social women liberation.
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