“Boxing With Her” is a documentary exploring the world of female boxing in Tunisia, a society where womens’ bodies are considered a sacred place, mostly useful for procreation. Through interviews with the boxers, the film raises questions and provides answers to why these confrontational females are fighting the taboo. This 52-minute picture is Latifa Robbana Doghri’s first documentary film. The director graduated in Arts and French Literature from the University of Tunis and the University of Mons in Belgium. Something of a multi-tasker; Latifa specialises in writing children’s stories, has studied communication and she knows a thing or two about image and multimedia.

“Boxing With Her” also marks a first for the documentary’s co-writer and director Salem Trabelsi. He’s a former amateur boxing champion and currently works as a journalist at “La Presse”, a large Tunisian daily newspaper.

DFI: How did you begin working together on “Boxing With Her”?
Salem: We’ve spent a lot of time with these girls and we wanted to make sure that the film is not dominated by a single perspective. We didn’t want to lose nuances and the personality of each of the boxers. To achieve that, we needed to combine storytelling skills for the screen with technical expertise in the world of boxing.

DFI: What was your reaction when you first heard about a female boxing team in Tunisia?
Latifa: At first we were completely taken by the fact that this could even be possible, which motivated us even more into making this film. Our immediate reaction and astonishment served as a source of creation.

DFI: What did you learn from these brave women? And how does their society view them?
Latifa: For us, these boxers are an example of courage and perseverance. They are focused with one of the most courageous objectives of doing what they’re passionate about and are ready to sacrifice everything to get to their goal. But there are mixed views about these women in our society. Some believe that boxing is exclusively for men and that a women’s body is not ready for that type of sport. There’s some distrust towards them, and while people tend to keep a safe distance, they can’t resist their own fascination with the group.

DFI: What inspired you in making this film?
Salem: When we were filming these girls and spending time with them, we were very moved by their personality, humour and spontaneity. They are so unique and that was reason enough for us to venture into this documentary. We want the world to be inspired by them, just like we were.

DFI: What were the challenges you faced while filming?
Latifa: Our biggest challenge was to get these girls to forget that the camera existed. We wanted to capture their genuine personality and true moments of their lives. We are proud we were able to achieve this. It’s very difficult not to be self conscious in front of the camera.

DFI: What are your future projects? Will you continue to work together?
Latifa: We have several documentaries in development, and we will hopefully be announcing them later on next year. Documentaries are what we’d love to continue doing. Our cooperation depends on our affinities with other projects, but it is highly probable.

DFI: How was the reaction of the audience to the documentary at this year’s Doha Tribeca Film Festival?
Salem: “Boxing With Her” was very well received. We’re also happy that people who didn’t get to see it but read about the film, have approached us just to say they are excited about the subject we chose to show.

DFI: How do you see the future of cinema in Tunisia, following the revolution?
Latifa: There’s a big hope for a change. This is the time to work towards developing cinema in our country. We believe in upcoming Tunisian filmmakers, and we’re sure that there will be some great work in the coming years.

DFI: Who inspires you the most in your career?
Salem: Many filmmakers. We both agree that Wim Wenders and Stanley Kubrick make the top of our list.