Leila Khaled, Hijacker
Official Film Website
Screens: Saturday March 31st at 10:00 AM
DIRECTOR: Lina Makboul bio
Producer: Robert Danielsson, Marcos Hellberg, and Tussilago
Screenwriter: Lina Makboul
Cinematographer: Jallo Faber and Ake Werhling
Music: Marten Ekehed
Genre: Documentary
Length: 58 min.
Country of Production: Sweden
Year of Production: 2005
Languages: Swedish, Arabic & English with English subtitles
Synopsis
Sitting in the departure lounge at the Leonardo da Vinci airport in Rome, she looked like a posh lady. No one would have guessed what she was about to do. She had bought the white dress a couple of days earlier in the exclusive shop by the Spanish steps to match her handbag. She wore a white sun hat with an extra strap. It should not fall off if there would be a fight. And she was pretty sure there would be. She held her handbag tight. It was only a couple of minutes before the departure of flight TWA 840. She had just met her fellow hijacker, Salim, for the first time a couple of hours earlier. They had first class tickets. The gun hurt her hip. She had taped it inside her panties.
It was August the 29th, 1969 and TWA flight 840 had just taken off. The destination was Tel Aviv, Israel. A short while later, the woman leaves her seat and
threatens the crew with hand grenades and enters the cockpit. She takes hold of the microphone; "Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please, kindly fasten your seat belts. This is your new Captain speaking. The Che Guevara commando unit of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine..."
Twenty-four-year-old Leila Khaled made history by being the first woman in the world to hijack an airplane. One year and six plastic surgeries later, she did it again.
Leila Khaled, Hijacker tells the story of who she is and what made her become a freedom fighter to some and a terrorist to others.
Awards & Nominations
Grand Jury Award, Tri Continental Film Festival, India
Lena Hellman Memorial Fund Award, Tempo Documentary Festival
Festivals
Beirut International Documentary Festival - Docudays, 2006
Encounters South African International Documentary Festival, 2006
Silverdocs AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Film Festival, 2006
Toronto Arab Film Festival, 2006
Women's Film Festival in Seoul, 2006