Nour Halloum
Synopsis :
From exile to the homeland, a journey back with the memory through reality, for all the time that has been robbed and destroyed by the recent war in Syria. Ten years spent in Egypt by Syrian director Nour Halloum till her back home.
Director Biography :
Nour Halloum, A Syrian writer and director residing in Egypt, she started studying cinema in 2016 through several workshops in Filmmaking, Screenplay, Editing and Cinematography.
She has worked as an assistant director on several documentaries and feature films.
In 2019, she directed her first feature documentary “12 Steps Forward” in addition to research and writing the script.
In 2023, She finished her 2nd documentary as director and writer
AITOR SÁNCHEZ SMITH & LANDER IBARRETXE
Synopsis :
Balika tells the story of Dipendra and Sushmita, two teenagers living in an orphanage in Kathmandu. The protagonists, like all his friends, were abandoned by their families.
Directors Biography :
Aitor studied direction and production in the Bande à Part Film School in Barcelona. His first short movie ‘’When The Cicadas Become Silent’’ (2020) has been selected and awarded in over twenty national and international festivals. Recently he has been selected by the Government of Cantabria to attend a course in Observational Documentary Studies in the prestigious Cuban school, Escuela Internacional de Cine y Televisión in San Antonio de los Baños.
Lander is a film director and cinematographer who studied in the Barcelona Film School, Bande à Part. As a director, his first short movie ‘’Regina’’ won awards in several festivals such as Málaga, Zinebi or Elche. As director of photography, he has received an award from the Filmstrip International Film Festival in Rumanía for the short movie, ‘’Lotus Eater’’.
Nathalie Berger
Synopsis :
Who wants a disabled child?
Neus, Álex and Ana help us reflect on the meaning of life.
The sun shines every day in Chagrin Valley, USA. Frozen in a 1950s-inspired artificial decor, this assisted living facility for people who suffer from dementia is home to fragile and ageing residents. Here, everyday life drags on slowly. Florence and her companions dream of an elusive elsewhere during their days punctuated by confusion, fleeting conflicts and overdue family visits. The caregivers – as kind as they are exhausted – run the show in this pastel-coloured, sanitised social theatre. Between two shifts, they confess their desire for a better future; one that is not so different from that of the residents, after all.
Director Biography :
Nathalie Berger, Born in 1993. She grew up in Europe, Asia and South America. 2014 BA in Political Science from Duke University. 2022 MA in Documentary Film Directing from ZHdK (Zürcher Hochschule der Künste). Her first feature documentary CALL ME INTERN (2019) won Best New Zealand Feature Documentary and screened at various film festivals worldwide. Her first solo feature documentary CHAGRIN VALLEY (2023) has just been released.
Rami Younis & Sarah Ema Friedland
Synopsis :
A story of a city that once connected Palestine to the world –what it once was, what it is now, and what it could have become.
Directors Biography :
"Rami Younis (Director/Producer) is a Palestinian filmmaker, writer, and journalist from Lyd. Rami currently hosts a daily news show on Israel national broadcasting corporation’s channel in Arabic, called “On the Other Hand” - a show that exposes fake news and pushes back against misinformation regarding Palestinian citizens of Israel. He was a 2019-20 Fellow at the Harvard Divinity School. As a journalist, he wrote for the online magazine +972 and served as both writer and editor of its Hebrew sister site, “local call”, a journalistic project he co-founded, designed to challenge Israeli mainstream journalism outlets. Rami served as a parliamentary consultant and media spokesperson for Palestinian member of Knesset (Israeli parliament) Haneen Zoabi. Rami is also co-founder and manager of the first-ever “Palestine Music Expo”: an event that connects the local Palestinian music scene to the worldwide industry.
Sarah Ema Friedland (Director/Producer/cinematographer) is a documentary filmmaker and media artist based in New York. Friedland’s works have screened widely in the US and abroad and have been broadcast nationally on PBS. Her work has been supported by grants and fellowships from the Jerome Foundation, the Paul Newman Foundation, the Ford Foundation, NYSCA, the LABA House of Study, The Palestinian American Research Center, and the MacDowell Colony. She is a recipient of the 2014 Paul Robeson award from the Newark Museum and was nominated for a New York Emmy. Friedland is the Director of the MDOCS Storyteller’s Institute at Skidmore College and an active member of the Meerkat Media Collective.
Khaled Jarrar
Synopsis :
The news is full of images of overcrowded boats and vast tent camps. But how much do we really know about what refugees are going through? Notes on Displacement takes a deep dive by following a single family on a grueling journey, destination Germany. Their fear, disorientation, and solidarity is palpable.
Nadira, an elderly Palestinian, has been a refugee since the age of 12. And now she has to leave Damascus, too. She and her daughter Mona feared for their lives there, but the idea of a safe existence elsewhere is a distant dream. Filmmaker Khaled Jarrar receives unsettling videos and voice messages as they cross to the Greek island of Lesbos. He joins them there, on the long road to a better life.
Jarrar has his personal reasons for going through this experience in order to eliminate, in his own images, the distance so dominant in Western media coverage. He worms his way through the thronging crowds, gets lost in the night with his group, discovers how dangerous language barriers can be, and wanders around in the dehumanizing camps. And in a sense, he—along with the viewer— becomes a true member of this family.
Director Biography :
Khaled Jarrar was born in Jenin, Occupied Palestine in 1976. He lives and works in Ramallah. Jarrar completed his studies in interior design at Palestine Polytechnic University in 1996. Upon graduating he smuggled himself to work as a carpenter in Nazareth, living as an underground “illegal” worker. In 1998 Jarrar enlisted in an intensive military training which resulted in working for Arafat as a personal body guard until Arafat’s death in 2004. Attempting to create a life between the military and an artistic practice, Jarrar entered the field of photography in 2005. Jarrar graduated from the International Academy of Art – Palestine, Ramallah in 2011 and completed an MFA in fine art from the University of Arizona in 2019.
Montse Bertran Arqué
Synopsis :
Who wants a disabled child?
Neus, Álex and Ana help us reflect on the meaning of life.
I AM, I SMILE, I STAY is a documentary that awakens mixed feelings, through fragments of stories lived and remembered by three mothers, who have been accepting the arrival to their lives of a child with cerebral palsy, at a certain moment in history in which there was very little information, a lot of prejudice and a great deal of shame. And making very hard life journeys, but at the same time, beautiful and intense, full of lights referring to professed love and full of shadows, referring to frustrated desire.
All of them, stories of acceptance, fear, struggle, pain, emotions, truths, compassion, love, and… happiness?.
Director Biography :
BIO FILMOGRAPHY
2018
-2018. Co-Director Short Film: “TRAZOS”
-2018. Ambient Sound Effects Performance “LOS OLVIDADOS”
2019
-2019. Director of Photography, video “COOKING WITH IVAN”
-2019. Co-direction Video presentation "D'ONES", by the artist Sergi González
-2019. NEOVITALHEALT Corporate Video Direction.
-2019. Camera Music video clip "QUERIDOS VAMPIROS", from the group Tren de Sombras
-2019. Production and editing Video-Art SPECTRO, of the work of the artist Pepe Jiménez
-2019. Production and editing of Video-Art VERTEDERO, of the work of the artist Pepe Jiménez
-2019. Production and editing of Video-Art CAÍDAS, of the work of the artist Pepe Jiménez
-2019. Production and editing of Video-Art FLOTACIÓN, of the work of the artist Pepe Jiménez
2020
-2020. Directing Short film "WORMS' NEST"
-2020. Co-director of Video-Art "K.", with Pepe Jiménez Espejo
-2020. Co-director of the Video-Art "Metàllien", with Pepe Jiménez Espejo
-2020. Edition of the video-documentary “FLOWERS CARPETS, THE EPHERAL ART”(Unesco Candidacy)
2021
-2021. Assistant Director of the Short Film "THE TAXIDERMIST IN THE MUSEUM"
-2021. TMB filming of the short film "LO QUE LOS MAPAS NO CUENTAN".
-2021. Filming of the video clip "BODIES IN TRANSITION", by Pepe Jiménez Espejo
2022
-2022. Director of the Documentary "I AM, I STAY, I SMILE".
Zahra Alboudi
Synopsis :
Gabi is a young musician and composer with specific needs, he has a very rare disease called "Osteoporosis", which causes him osteomyelitis, so he lost the possibility to walk, as well as he lost his sight until he became completely blind.
He found his passion early at music, it became the way of his life as well as his expedient to achieve his own impact in this world. He is an ordinary person for everyone who knows him, the only difference is that he is i
Director Biography :
Zahra Alboudi has born in Latakia city, Syria, graduated from Electronics & Communication Engineering, then she joined several workshops with Syrian directors.
Since 2015, Zahra is scriptwriter and director ; she has shot several short films screened and awarded worldwide: (Sally) short documentary film in 2015, then 2 narrative short films: (Little dreams) 2016, (Desires)2017. She recently finalized her fourth film (Sol).
David Serero
Synopsis :
Lisa Azuelos is a French Filmmaker who made films placing women's stories at the center of her movies. She is one of the essential filmmakers in France and is known in the US for her film L.O.L. starring Miley Cyrus and Demi Moore. This is the first documentary dedicated to this unique filmmaker who changed the game. Growing up with the cultures Jewish Sephardic from Morocco, she brought her influence into all of her films and has been very authentic about getting her own life in them. She attracted millions of audience members to movie theaters, and her films are headlining platforms such as Netflix. Lisa is a strong advocate for women's rights and activism. During this film, she goes from her childhood, film debuts, filmography, and masterclass. This film stars some of the biggest movie stars in France, with whom she had starred in her films.
Director Biography :
David Serero is an award-winning opera singer, stage and film director, and producer. His recent documentary, "The United States of Fashion Designer Elie Tahari," won dozens of awards and was selected in over 100 film festivals.
Mohamed Zaghou
Synopsis :
The documentary film "Memory of a Body" takes us on a captivating exploration delving into the profound meanings behind the facial tattoos put by Amazigh women. We delve into the significance of these symbols and the purpose behind having them tattooed on the face from different perspectives characterized by spontaneity and authenticity.
Director Biography :
Mohamed Zaghou was born in Tinghir. After obtaining his scientific baccalaureate with distinction in 2006, he chose to study cinema and audiovisuals and obtained a diploma in directing. He joined the Cinematic Institute in Ouarzazate as an instructor in the photography department.
Moncef Ben Chadli Barbouch
Synopsis :
BCHIRA RETURNS AFTER SO MANY YEARS TO SEE WHAT TUNISIANS HAVE DONE OF HER SUFFERINGS AND SACRIFICES AS WELL AS THOSE OF HER COLLEAGUES DURING A CENTURY.
In 1936, the first Tunisian women's organization was born: the Union of Muslim Women of Tunisia.
The initiative is that of a pioneer of the feminist movement: Bchira Ben Mrad. This docu-fiction dedicated to this great figure of feminism, traces the journey of the activist and her colleagues, of their political and social actions from the 1930s until to her house arrest and her death.
Exceptional testimonials, unpublished documents and cinematographic reconstruction through the places of her stolen memory, constitute the story of an exceptional destiny of this exceptional woman whose life and work are obscured by history.
Director Biography :
SCIENTIFIC CERTIFICATES
Graduated from the Higher Institute of Cinema in Cairo, Egypt, in film and television directing
Certificate in commerce from the Higher
Institute of Commerce in Belgium-
TV AND FILM DIRECTOR, REHABILITATION, COMMUNICATION, MANAGEMENT Professional skills
2023: Directing the movie "The Tunisian", starring Halima Daoud and Intisar Al-Barhoumi
2014: Directed the movie "Struggle" starring Salah Mossadeq, Saleh AlJeddi, Hisham Rostom, Halima Daoud, Lamia Al-Omari and others.. based on a screenplay by Hussein Mahnoush
2012: Directing the movie "The Patient"
2012: Directing the movie "9 April"
1992: Directed the film "The Tunisia Trial" for the African Society for Human
Rights, London, which was selected in the eleventh session of the cinema in "Montreal", Canada.
1991-1992: Directed "Point de Rencontre", a program concerned with social affairs, Canada.
1991-1992: Directed the "Horizons Québec" program.
1990: Directing the movie "Dreams of a People" about the Palestinian cause, in cooperation with Tawfiq Al-Foni
1987: Directing "The Shahada" and "Tunisia 87"
1987: Directing and scripting a movie about the Palestinian Intifada
1985: Direction and screenplay of Alice, the morning is near
1983: Directing and scripting a film for Tunisian television and the Palestine Liberation Organization "The Siege of Beirut"
1982: Directing a joint film for Tunisian television and the Palestine Liberation Organization, “Al-Sumoud”, based on a scenario by Mr. Ali Badrakhan.
1979: Directing the feature film "Above the Limits of Reason" based on a story by Dr. Youssef Idris, starring Saleh Rashwan and Hala Fakher.
CULTURAL AND LEGAL ACTIVITIES OF A PROFESSIONAL NATURE
Member of the Association of Tunisian Cinematographers since 1979 (ACT)
President of the video room of the Tunisian Federation of Industry and Commerce - Ben Arous Chamber
Secretary General of (DCMT)
2013 to date: Head of the Human Rights Documentation Center in Tunisia
2013 to date: President of the United Artists Audiovisual Production Company
1995-2012: Chairman of the General Manager of "Réalisation Multivision In" Canada
1991 - 2001 Chairman of the Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners in the Maghreb, Canada
1991-1995: Director and Programming Director for "RTCL" and RTC, Montreal, Canada
1990: Expert at the Sudanese Television Network and the Cinema Authority, "Khartoum"
1989: Chairman of the General Manager of the "IVS" company, "EVS" Post production
1980-1989: Chief Executive Officer of the multinational company "Manardo" Tunisia