Horse of Mud (1971)

El Abnoudy's first documentary depicts women in a mud-brick factory in the centre of Cairo, where they are treated like 'horses', working at repetitive and monotonous tasks in miserable conditions. Nevertheless, El Abnoudy brings out the women's dignity, showing a beautiful choreography to their movement. By giving control of the microphone to the workers themselves, she also allows the women's own stories to be interleaved with their work.