Esra Cinema Club's final offering before the summer break definitely "kept the best for last".

The film Shadya, produced by Danny Hakim, who incidentally was the coach of the national karate team, is a blend of hope and courage in the face of Arab traditionalism, and tells how a spirited Arab Israeli girl called Shadya fought against all odds to become a world karate champion.

The film traces her dedication to karate, with her father at her side supporting her, unlike her brothers, who aggressively opposed her taking part in any competitions. At the time of the movie, she was being married off to a young man in a neighboring village, who said on film he would support her in her karate career after they were married. Shadya was an independent free thinking girl who decided she was going to continue her karate no matter what.

At the world championships in South Africa, Shadya had an identity crisis when one of the Palestinian team members sneered at her draped in an Israeli flag insinuating she was not a proper Arab girl. Shadya then threw the Palestinian flag around her shoulders to the dismay of her fellow Israeli team members, but in the end didn't know where she belonged, and in fact sat with the Japanese team.

After Shadya married, her husband reneged on his promise to let her continue competing, and a light went out from her eyes. We see her coaching, and entering a competition but losing because of lack of training. This might have been the end of her career, but Shadya is made of sterner stuff, and after she had her baby son she returned to training and fought her way back to become Israeli champion once again, this time with her husband's tacit approval.

Nowadays Shadya works with Danny Hakim at the Budo for Peace Association, a non profit educational organization, coaching children of every race, color and background about values and coexistence. It is under the auspices of the Japanese Embassy and the UK-based organization, One2One Israel fund. Budo For Peace is an umbrella organization with centers throughout Israel which teaches children karate as a tool to overcome ignorance and fear of each other's heritage or politics, in the spirit of trust and peace.

Muslim women from all around the world have heard of Shadya and her relentless pursuit of her dreams, and Danny receives many letters and emails from youngsters expressing how much Shadya has inspired them. I, for one, left the auditorium full of admiration for this gutsy little lady, named Shadya.

The new series of Esra Cinema Club commences on Tuesday, October 30, 2007.