In a country without hope, what if three girls could inspire an entire nation to dream again?

Set against the backdrop of a nation whose reputation includes being one of the worst places to be a woman, the poorest country in the Arab world, and a failed state, the film explores many of the drivers of Yemen’s challenges: youth unemployment, drug abuse, and a struggling education system. Even worse, conflict between Al-Qaeda and Yemen’s Houthi population threatens the girls’ very lives. In YEMENIETTES, teenage girls launch a business and defy the barriers of their traditional society, proving that age and gender constraints are no match for those seeking to make the world around them a better place.

YEMENIETTES was produced as a two-episode Arabic language miniseries for broadcast in Yemen. It was subsequently re-edited as an English language feature documentary. The series had its world broadcast premiere in Yemen on Al-Saeedah TV in September 2014, and has aired several times since then. YEMENIETTES has received dozens of awards since its release.

Directed and Edited by Shawn Thompson

Produced by Leon Shahabian & Layalina Productions