Women Creating Change November 17, 2019

Women Creating Change - photo by Michael Tullberg

Arab and Israeli women in film and television united for an unprecedented evening, proving that art can transcend religion and politics, at the ‘Stand Up 4 Her’ event, in Los Angeles, California, on November 17th, 2019. The founder of Women Creating Change (WCC), Lee Broda, along with her founding team Inbal-Rotem Sagiv, Nawal Bengholam, Natasha Kermani, Shelly Skandrani, Natalie Marciano, Reem Edan, Eliya Reis, Reem Kadem, Micky Levy, and dozens of other members, presented an awe inspiring event which featured powerful performances by renowned female comedians, poets, storytellers, artists, performers, and musicians from Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Pakistan, Morocco, Palestine, and Israel.

Reem Kadem & Gal Macadar - photo by Jonathan C. Ward

The sold out, star studded event, including patrons such as Yael Grobglas ("Jane the Virgin"), Alon Aboutboul (The Dark Knight Rises), and Sarah Idan (Miss Universe Iraq 2017), had the audience laughing, crying and cheering! The guests came in expecting to be entertained, but they also left so inspired, buying raffle tickets, and donating to the non-profit, proving WCC’s mission of bridging communities, to be a success!

The evening began with authentic Middle Eastern cuisine from Chef Oshri Vaknin and a hosted cocktail reception sponsored by Stella Artois and Dulce Vida. As guests mingled and took pictures on the red carpet, they were introduced to astonishing works showcased in the art exhibit, including the original artwork of Fadia Afashe (Syria), Pooneh Rafsha (Iran), Tasneem Rahman (Pakistan), and Ilanit Maghen (Israel), curated by Lauren Annette Schoth.

Zain Shami - photo by Jonathan C. Ward

Lee Broda opened the show with a moving introduction to Women Creating Change’s mission to bring together women of different beliefs, religions and political views from the Middle East.

According to Lee Broda, "We seek to inspire change and bridge cultural divides; we believe that together we are stronger, because our similarities are greater than our differences.”

“Stand Up for Her” kicked off with Muslim-Iraqi Comedian Reem Edan and Jewish-Israeli actress Gal Macadar “arguing” over who would serve as host. “Let’s settle this like men. Meet me outside in five,” Edan said. “Or we can settle this like women and talk about it,” replied Macadar. (The women decided to co-host.)

Natalie Marciano - photo by Jonathan C. Ward

The show featured outstanding comedians Crystal Marie Denha, Melissa Shoshahi, Noam Shuster, Nina Kharoufeh, Natalie Marciano, Zain Shami, and Mona Shaikh, who shared saucy insights into being a modern Middle Eastern woman, revealing through humor, that they all share the same plights.

Crystal Marie Denha made the audience blush with her jokes about sex.

Natalie Marciano had them ululating loudly saying “If Gwyneth Paltrow doesn’t know what it is, it must be some messed up shit!”

“I see you undressing me with your eyes,’ said hijab wearing Zain Shami. “Do you want to make me your second wife?”

To balance out the evening, poets and storytellers entered the stage with emotionally provoking performances, reading original and borrowed work.

Nawal Bengholam read a poem by Salma El-Wardany. Lee Broda shared her poem, "The Vow," from her book of poetry, Whispers from the Moon:  "I promise to honor the woman in me… water her with light, feed her kindness, kiss her scars, bathe her with love.”

Shelly Skandrani performed her poem "Social Reconditioning."

Shelly Skandrani - photo by Jonathan C. Ward

“Too busy convincing me that I don’t know my own desires, and the world admires your strength and
conviction, my smile and submission.”

Inbar Lavi (Lucifer) spoke of how women create the feeling of home, and what connects the WCC members is that they’ve left their homes behind and built a new one in Los Angeles. Storyteller Ayser Salman shared moments about her childhood as an immigrant from her book The Wrong End of the Table: A Mostly Comic Memoir of a Muslim Arab American Woman Just Trying to Fit In.

Guests also enjoyed a special musical performance by Inbar Starr and beats from DJ Karina Kay.
The event was wrapped up with a dessert reception hosted by The Baklava Factory and Mamilla Restaurant, and the VIP guests even received gift bags with Converse Shoes and other goodies.

All proceeds achieved from the evening will benefit WCC programs for female filmmakers. WCC is fiscally sponsored by Women’s Voices Now. The event was held in partnership with Women In Film, Alliance of Women Directors, New Filmmakers LA, Film Fatales, Women In Media, and Saddle Ranch Pictures.

Inbar Lavi & Lee Broda - photo by Jonathan C. Ward

“Women Creating Change was founded by female filmmakers and artists from across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA),"stated WCC Founder, Lee Broda. “I was excited to help celebrate these talented female storytellers at this year’s event, Stand Up 4 Her, as we continue to strive to create a space for peaceful co-existence and honest, substantive dialogue around today’s issues.”

In a time when women are fighting for or against something, and rightly so, it is however, refreshing to come together for an evening and celebrate each other.

Attendees reveled in the evening’s ambitious program! Inbal-Rotem Sagiv, Executive Director, said “[We were] planning this event for a while, and were excited to share our vision, but little did we know it would incite such a magnificent reaction!