On Thursday Dec. 5th, the small Roxie theater in San Francisco will host the premiere of Nadia Shihab's “Amal's Garden” and Farah Kassem's “My Father Looks Like Abdel Nasser”. Shot in northern Iraq and Lebanon, both half-hour films are semi-experimental documentaries and family portraits that made their debut at the Dubai International Film Festival last year. Co-presented by the Arab Film Festival and the GAZE Film Series.
Showtimes: 5:00 & 7:00, with short Q&A with director Nadia Shihab.
This is a SMALL theater. Reserve your tickets! by going to this link.
Moustapha is in his late 70’s. He suffers from a sleeping disorder and is a poet, belonging to a past generation. His daughter comes to visit regularly. She films the life, poetry, memory surrounding her father after the death of her mother... In the intimacy of the father’s whispered revelations, she tries to find answers to questions she never dared to ask. (33 min)
Director Bio:
Born in Tripoli, Lebanon in 1987, Farah Kassem finished a BA degree in Audiovisual studies from ALBA (Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts). Since 2008, Farah has been working as a director, editor and D.O.P on many documentaries for both Al Jazeera and Al Jazeera documentary channels, in addition to many independent cinema projects in Lebanon and other countries.
Showtimes: 5:00 & 7:00, with short Q&A with director Nadia Shihab.
This is a SMALL theater. Reserve your tickets! by going to this link.
Amal's Garden (http://youtu.be/AON6RGk9Tys)
Amal and Mustafa have shared a long life together in northern Iraq. When Amal decides to finally renovate their home after a decade of war, Mustafa retreats to the garden, where he encounters the curious gaze of his grandniece and her camera. An intimate snapshot of life at the boundary of destruction and renewal, AMAL’S GARDEN is the unexpected portrait of one Turkmen couple moving forward in a new Iraq. (33 min)
Director Bio:
Nadia Shihab is a filmmaker and musician based in San Francisco. Born to an Iraqi mother and Yemeni father, she is interested in the multiple narratives that arise from place and displacement, and often uses her family history as a starting point for experimental storytelling. She has received awards from the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, ITVS, Pacific Pioneer Fund, Bay Area Video Coalition, and has been a filmmaker-in-residency with the San Francisco Film Society.
My Father Looks Like Abdel Nasser (http://youtu.be/reDH-EwtvuE)
Director Bio:
Nadia Shihab is a filmmaker and musician based in San Francisco. Born to an Iraqi mother and Yemeni father, she is interested in the multiple narratives that arise from place and displacement, and often uses her family history as a starting point for experimental storytelling. She has received awards from the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, ITVS, Pacific Pioneer Fund, Bay Area Video Coalition, and has been a filmmaker-in-residency with the San Francisco Film Society.
My Father Looks Like Abdel Nasser (http://youtu.be/reDH-EwtvuE)
Moustapha is in his late 70’s. He suffers from a sleeping disorder and is a poet, belonging to a past generation. His daughter comes to visit regularly. She films the life, poetry, memory surrounding her father after the death of her mother... In the intimacy of the father’s whispered revelations, she tries to find answers to questions she never dared to ask. (33 min)
Director Bio:
Born in Tripoli, Lebanon in 1987, Farah Kassem finished a BA degree in Audiovisual studies from ALBA (Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts). Since 2008, Farah has been working as a director, editor and D.O.P on many documentaries for both Al Jazeera and Al Jazeera documentary channels, in addition to many independent cinema projects in Lebanon and other countries.
