The University of Miami’s Emet for Israel group had a Brave Miss World screening on March 28th, which was co-sponsored by AEPI, No Zebras, and Her Campus. The students who came watched Brave Miss World, a film that tells Former Israeli model Linor Abargil’s story and focusses primarily on women’s rights in Israel. The audience sees how one person has the ability to help thousands of people, despite her struggles.
The protagonist’s positive point of view was refreshing, and because college students may find it difficult to always see the bigger picture, this film hit home for many of the attendees. Emet-Israel also wanted to show this movie in particular in order to display how a negative occurrence can change your life, for better or worse, but this all depends on the individual’s outlook. The protagonist was determined to overcome the challenges she inevitably faced and was looked upon as a hero by the end of the story.
Because this is a true story, the film was all the more powerful. It goes through the life of Linor, who was a model in Israel, won Miss Israel in 1998, and she is then sent to Italy to advance her modeling career. However, Linor is kidnapped, stabbed, and then raped by the man who was supposed to serve as her travel agent. The rest of the movie goes on to show how she took these traumatic events and never allowed them to define her. She now works toward promoting awareness, advocates for women’s rights, and legally defends victims of sexual abuse. Her story and work provide women around the world with a sense of empowerment.
Once the movie was finished, students who were previously unaffiliated with Emet were so inspired that they began asking members questions about their activity on campus. The floor was also opened to questions and a dialogue about women’s rights, Israel in the media, misconceptions, modern feminist struggles, and a number of other interesting topics were brought to the table. Documentaries proved to be a great way resource in bringing people together and sparking respectful conversations and seeking out answers.