'Honor Killings' Documentary Tells Real-Life Horror Story: Film To Be Shown Nov. 16 at Wellesley College

In her first film, director Mary Ann Smothers Bruni investigated "honor killings," the practice of men killing women who have brought dishonor to the family name. An official selection for the 2010 Sundance Festival, "Quest for Honor," follows two women who work tirelessly, through a women's center, to provide safety for women and to investigate the outcomes of honor killings — which are still legal across much of Iraq but now illegal in Kurdistan.

"On a superficial level, it is easy to disassociate these practices from Western culture," noted a review in The Huffington Post. "However, Bruni makes a point of tying the 'uncivilized' custom of honor killing to violence against women worldwide and to domestic violence in the United States. The equation is worthy of contemplation."

Bruni will be on hand at a screening of the documentary Tuesday, Nov. 16, at 5:30 pm in Collins Cinema on the Wellesley College campus. The film is in Kurdish, with English subtitles, and is free and open to the public.

"The documentary is handled with sensitivity, creating space for the women and men and of modern Iraqi Kurdistan to raise penetrating questions as this region seeks to alter traditional attitudes that have produced so much violence against women," said Wini Wood, senior lecturer in the writing program. Wood will provide an introduction to the film and director at Tuesday's event.

Wellesley's Joanne Murray, director of the Madeleine Korbel Albright Institute for Global Affairs and executive director of the Center for Work and Service, will give opening remarks and Flavia Laviosa of the Italian Studies Department will speak on honor killings around the world.

Ultimately, Bruni hopes the film will bring awareness to the problem and bring the people of Kurdistan to life.

"The problem of honor killing lies deep in the roots of Middle Eastern culture," she said. "Its obliteration requires the hard work of brave and dedicated local activists and politicians."

Since 1875, Wellesley College has been a leader in providing an excellent liberal arts education for women who will make a difference in the world. Its 500-acre campus near Boston is home to 2,300 undergraduate students from all 50 states and 75 countries.