- Welcome to Independent Lens .
I'm Pete Schwaba, host of Wisconsin Public Television's
Director's Cut .
Tonight, we bring you Erika Cohn's The Judge .
When she was a young lawyer, Kholoud Al-Faqih
entered the office of Palestine's Chief Justice
to inquire about joining the bench.
In 2009, a few short years
after being laughed out of the Chief Justice's office,
Kholoud realized her dream and became
the first woman judge appointed to the Shari'a Courts.
Being a female judge who deals primarily
with spousal abuse, alimony claims, and divorce
in courts with a male-centric cultural tradition
and governed by Islamic Law
is no easy task.
But as you will see, Kholoud has never been one
to back down from something she believes in.
Neither has the film's director Erica Cohn who was named
one of Variety' s Top 10 documentary filmmakers in 2017.
The Judge follows Kholoud in and outside of the courtroom
as she asserts her right to equality
and redefines how Shari'a law
perceives, treats, and respects women.
Judge Kholoud Al-Faqih says,
"If I don't achieve justice for myself,
I won't achieve justice for others."
An avid jazz music fan, director Erica Cohn
says Kholoud embodies what jazz means to her.
And because of this,
she was very particular about the music in her film.
Composer Omar Fadel created a score for Cohn
consisting of piano, cello, guitar, and pedal steel
which became the soul and heartbeat of the film.
The score became the perfect complement
to Cohn's trailblazing subject.
The Judge starts now on Wisconsin Public Television,
your home for independent film.