Documentary

Qatar Stars

What's it like to grow up as a girl in Qatar, where modernity and tradition co-exist? For the girls of QATAR STARS, a rhythmic gymnastics school provides friendship, creativity, and a complicated physical freedom.

A longitudinal observational story of girlhood in all its joys and growing pains, through intimate access to a multinational, girls-only rhythmic gymnastics school in Doha, led by a former Russian gymnast. Girls from Qatar, Lebanon, Egypt, Ukraine, and UK grow up onscreen over four years, changing from wiggly nine year olds to maturing teens who must navigate an evolving gendered world around them. The girls experience both triumphs and heartaches, to ultimately form an unbreakable bond. Meanwhile, exacting coach Tatiana undergoes her own unexpected professional and personal transformation that challenges her sense of strength and identity.