Twelve Palestinian women from different social and economic backgrounds discuss their lives and memories before their departure from Palestine—before the diaspora. Using the loose frame of traditional Palestinian embroidery to begin their stories, each woman’s compelling narrative traces her steps across borders, languages, and ways of life. Some stories lead back to Palestine, while others never do. Deeply personal and beautifully edited, the larger story stitches together a unique picture of a lost homeland.
Director Biography
Carol Mansour is an independent documentary filmmaker and founder of Forward Film Production in Beirut, Lebanon. With over 25 years in documentary production, Mansour has covered the world from Sri Lanka to Lebanon to Uzbekistan. She has achieved international recognition and honor for her films, with over fifty film festival screenings and official selections worldwide.
Screening with Short Film:
Between a Garden and the Sea
Dir. Ariane Lorrain
2016 | Palestine and Canada | French and Arabic with English subtitles | 17 min | Minnesota Premiere
SYNOPSIS: This visual poem reflects on the fragmentation of Palestine. Composed of excerpts from letters and literary works, the film’s intimate tone takes viewers on a journey from the West Bank’s hills to the Mediterranean Sea. A short distance made long by detours, checkpoints, and dead ends, Between a Garden and the Sea suffocates and liberates through word and image.
DIRECTOR BIOGRAPHY: Ariane Lorrain is a documentary filmmaker—Quebecer and Iranian—based in Montreal. Her previous work includes the short films Blue Bird (2011) and An Arranged Marriage (2012). Her most recent film, Between a Garden and the Sea (2016), was made during a year of life in Jerusalem.
Sponsors
TWIN CITIES ARAB FILM FEST
Mizna's twelfth Twin Cities Arab Film Fest offers an eclectic program of compelling and provocative contemporary narrative, documentary, and short films made by Arab filmmakers from Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, Palestine, Tunisia, and more.
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