Photo courtesy of Doha Film Institute, used with permission
The DFI’s ‘Atlas of Cinematic Affinities: 15 Years of Doha Film Institute’ is a landmark publication and the first-of-its-kind documentation of collective cinematic journeys of independent filmmakers from the MENA region and beyond.
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A still from ‘When the Tiles Spoke’ by Soudade Kaadan, used with permission
What happens after dark in a museum? The award winning Syrian filmmaker, and personal favorite, answers that question her own way, in a film that is all magical realism with a touch of hybrid documentary thrown in.
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And they include one of my all-time favorite filmmakers, Soudade Kaadan, along with American director and screenwriter Debra Granik, and Canadian actress Taylor Russell.
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The Qumra class of 2024, captured in the courtyard of the Museum of Islamic Art
And no, I’m not talking about the bustling Souq Waqif on the eve of Ramadan!
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And is worth a watch.
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Sawsan Arsheed in a still from Soudade Kaadan's 'The Day I Lost My Shadow'
'The Day I Lost My Shadow' by Soudade Kaadan won the Lion of the Future – “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film Jury at the 75th Venice Film Festival. It's a win to be celebrated for all women filmmakers, of course, but also for Syrian filmmakers who, since the start of the war in 2011 have all but disappeared. Scattered around foreign lands, their voices and visions have become the true casualties of this conflict.
In her film, which world premiered at the festival in the Orizzonti section, Kaadan uses the metaphor of personal shadows as a way to show how the war strips people of their humanity and hope. When Sana, played by the beautiful Sawsan Arsheed, goes out looking for a gas canister so she can cook for her son, she is pulled into a three day nightmare that eventually ends the way everything ends in Syria... I'll leave that to your imagination and perhaps your first viewing of the film.
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