Other films on this theme
Soraïda, une femme de Palestine
Tahani Rached
This feature-length film introduces viewers to Soraida, a Palestinian woman who lives in Ramallah. In her neighbourhood the women do not all wear veils, the men do not rattle off empty political slogans, the young people do not strap bombs to their belts, and the children play together like kids everywhere. Taking us into the daily existence of Soraida, her family and neighbours, the film compels us to ask fundamental questions about life in the Middle East.
À travers chants
Tahani Rached
This documentary opens the door to the magnificent world of choral music, a world inhabited by exceptional beings with the capacity to experience joy from a single musical note. They sing anywhere and everywhere: at the wheel, in the shower, even in the kitchen. But above all, they sing together, men and women of all ages and various backgrounds, transformed by the radiant glory of song and united under the banner of L’Ensemble vocal d’Outremont.
Bam Pay A! – Rends-moi mon pays!
Tahani Rached
In this feature documentary, a Haitian, exiled in Canada for twenty years, returns to his country after the departure of Jean-Claude Duvalier. Through his encounters with former friends, professors and colleagues, the face of this newfound Haiti gradually takes shape… Shot in Haiti after the fall of the Duvalier regime, this film, beyond a simple observation, shares with us the hopes of the Haitian people as well as their fears and uncertainties regarding this country that has yet to be built.
Quatre femmes d’Égypte
Tahani Rached
How do we get along when we have everything to tear each other apart? This feature documentary attempts to answer this question through the friendship of four Egyptian women. Muslim, Christian or independent of any religious practice, their choices are at the antipodes. But these four friends refuse to demonize the other and to coexist in contempt; they listen to each other, they thwart each other without ever breaking the bond that unites them. And they laugh about it. Their confrontation redefines tolerance.
Les voleurs de job
Tahani Rached
A glimpse into the living conditions of many immigrant workers in Quebec who have to accept difficult and poorly paid jobs in order to make a living. With this first 16mm feature film, the only one made outside of the NFB, Rached establishes a new and committed look at immigration in Quebec. Shot mainly in Montreal, she gives voice to several characters who translate from the inside a real-life situation of workers inscribed in their bodies. It is worth noting the place given to song, which inaugurates a particular trait of Rached’s cinema when she lets it become a testimony and sociological data.
REI
Gina Haraszti
REI tells the story of a shut-in, a depressed young woman who cannot bring herself to leave her apartment. She gradually loses contact not just with the outside world, but with reality itself. Upcoming talent Amélie Robitaille gives an stunning performance as the young recluse. When somebody you really love dies, you also die in a way, not literally, but spiritually. The main character is so dependent on her parents, that she cannot continue her life after their death. She locks herself up in this memory bubble, the house, where she can pretend that her parents could come home any minute. She never touches her parents’ stuff, expecting their return. Not being able to continue with her own life, she starts a virtual one. She watches films and plays games all the time to avoid being alone with her thoughts. She tries to forget her whole existence to get rid of the pain, collapsing her identity into her inner world.
Waiting Is Irrelevant When Time Is Non-Linear
Gina Haraszti
Time has played a intriguing part in the existence of this film, beyond its topic and title. Dormant for 6 years on a forgotten harddrive, not even the filmmaker Gina Hara remembered its existence. Maybe a school project, maybe a camera test? Waiting Is Irrelevant When Time Is Non-Linear is consistent with Hara’s experiments into exploring the boundaries of film as a medium. In this project Hara addresses questions around linear storytelling and the threshold between film and filmmaker. Without end credits the film almost seems to continue on beyond its limited time frame.
Médecins de coeur
Tahani Rached
Documentary on AIDS. A deeply human essay that gives another point of view: that of omnipractitioners, researchers, ethics specialists, philosophers and humanists. The disease is omnipresent but does not dominate the discussions. It serves as a revelation of the state of our society. A global approach, unprecedented, that goes far beyond life, far beyond death, far beyond AIDS.
Haïti, Nous là! Nou La!
Tahani Rached
From Haiti, images and testimonies that describe the climate that reigned during the aborted elections of November 29, 1987. A powerful military police in the service of a despotic power terrorized an impoverished people that they wanted to keep submissive. The government had succeeded in ousting Duvalier. However, another dictatorship has taken over, and nothing has changed. However, both on the radio and in the streets, the voice of the Haitians was heard with strength and courage. But what if it was all a sham of democracy?
Haïti (Québec)
Tahani Rached
Feature documentary on the Haitian community in Montreal. There are more than 40,000 Haitians living in Quebec, the vast majority of whom live on the island of Montreal, where they are often the target of prejudice, hostility and contempt. This film aims to catalyze our attention, by taking us to witness this cruel reality. Yet, if they left their homeland, it was to escape repression, poverty, and find a better life elsewhere – here – in Canada. Did they find it? Perhaps they have obtained work here and the right to speak and act freely. But are they understood, loved and respected for all that?
Beyrouth! «À défaut d’être mort»
Tahani Rached
A gripping plea against war, a poignant testimony of Lebanese survivors, especially those who escaped the Sabra and Shatila massacres, this film will be of interest not only to those concerned about the situation in Lebanon, but also to all those who are concerned about the consequences of wars on civilian populations – the so-called collateral damage
Rawabi
Ariane Lorrain
3-channel video installation about Rawabi, a new Palestinian planned city under construction in the outskirts of Ramallah. This new city provoked land confiscations from the residents of the neighbouring villages and its architecture mimicking Israeli settlements. A triptych presenting different perspectives and unveiling secrets about this process. Screen #1 DV capture, B&W and colour, no sound, 20min loop. The making of the city : still cranes, ghost town, ambivalence between construction and destruction. All the images were taken from security cameras filming the building site of Rawabi 24/7. Screen #2 HD video, colour, with sound, 33min. Interviews with residents, land owners and farmers from the neighbouring villages Ajul and Attara, telling of the confiscation of their lands, their issues with the PA and what they believe is behind Rawabi. A land lawyer from Ramallah gives insights on land acquisition and the Area A, B and C division of land in the West Bank. Screen #3 HD video, colour, with sound (music), 6min. Experimental portrayal of Rawabi’s narrative using found-footage – promotional videos and realtor’s presentation – to show the fabrication…
À l’heure de la prière
Ariane Lorrain
In a small art center in Occupied Jerusalem, a group of young Palestinians meet in order to explore their own personal narratives and creative paths of expression, using their body as the central tool of creation. This unchoreographed dance film exposes the complex relation to the body – with the self, the other and society beyond the space’s walls. Shot with the young actors of the Hakawati, the Palestinian National Theater in Jerusalem, during the expressive movement workshops given by Mai Sim.
Un mariage arrangé
Ariane Lorrain
A grandmother tells her granddaughter the story of her forced marriage as a child in Iran. Through three generations of women, the film traces a genealogy of marriage — whether arranged, out of love, or a sham.
Blue Bird
Ariane Lorrain
Portrait of a family of five living in a school bus, pursuing the dream of a nomadic lifestyle.
Entre un jardin et la mer
Ariane Lorrain
This visual poem documents the fragmentation of territory in Palestine. Composed of excerpts of letters and poems, it’s in an intimate tone that we embark on a journey from the West Bank hills to the Mediterranean Sea. A short distance made long by detours, checkpoints and dead ends, it inspires suffocation at times, liberation at others.
Zagros
Ariane Lorrain
Zagros follows the creation of hand-made carpets across the Zagros mountains in Western Iran, the land of Bakhtiaris. Wool is the guiding thread that traverses the worlds of weavers, dyers and shepherds, revealing nomadic and sedentary cultures through labour. Carpets weave the social fabric of their lives, giving it form as well as colour. The work is hard, and is gradually being devalued by the outside world – but their lives are redeemed because of the love they feel for their traditions.
Tshima it (Amen)
Jani Bellefleur-Kaltush
The Innu language is being lost. You don’t notice the strength of a loss until you stop and admire it.
Nika tsheka uiten mishkut (Ne le dis pas)
Jani Bellefleur-Kaltush
A life is forever changed by rumors in this raw and sincere portrayal of a woman struggling to make sense of her past.
Blxck Cxsper
Amandine Navarro
Blxck Cxsper is the most wanted anti-superhero in town. He fights against the injustice and hypocrisy of the system. He communicates with his audience by slipping coded messages through the darkness. Previously called The Flare, he worked under the tutelage of another superhero, Citadel, a symbol of American capitalism. The latter murdered The Flare’s girlfriend. Overcome by pain, he disappeared and turned into the dark side. He was accused of the murder and tracked by the most influential organization in the country, “The Legacy Foundation”. After several months, he decided to come back.
Gros chat
Jani Bellefleur-Kaltush
Simeon Malec, host of Pakueshikan FM radio, welcomes Marie-Soleil Bellefleur on the air to discuss a new regulation concerning salmon nets. To their dismay, the duo is constantly interrupted by increasingly disturbing calls… It seems that a lion has been spotted in the community!
No Crying at the Dinner Table
Carol Nguyen
A collection of family secrets, confessions and confrontation. Filmmaker Carol Nguyen interviews her own family to craft an emotionally complex and meticulously composed portrait of intergenerational trauma, grief, and secrets in this cathartic documentary about things left unsaid.
Déjà vu
Gina Haraszti
This is a very personal piece with subjective narrative and full of symbols. Feel free to have your own, personal interpretation.
