Ladder to Damascus

Saturday 11/08 at St. Anthony Main Theatre 1:30pm | get tickets >>>
with SECRET SCREENING

Synopsis:
Legendary Syrian director Mohamad Malas obliquely critiques the Syrian regime, as he has throughout his career, in this claustrophobic tale of life under bombardment. In this case, the bombarded are the artists themselves. Living in a single apartment building in Damascus, the artists, in spite of themselves, exhume as they exude. Perhaps, there is a ladder that might liberate them?

2013
95 minutes
Narrative feature
Directed by: Mohamed Malas
Language: Arabic
Country: Qatar/Lebanon/Syria
Website | Trailer

“The film’s style itself belongs to the kind of elaborate filmic calligraphy that is usually found in experimental art films. The extraordinarily crisp images bathed in light by masterful cinematographer Joude Gorani turn into multiple layers of imagery, highly suggestive of the depth of issues being touched on.” (link)

Festivals and Awards:
-Dubai International Film Festival: Muhr Arab feature competition
-Toronto International Film Festival: official selection
-BFI London Film Festival

Filmmaker bio (from distributor website):
Born in 1945 in the Golan, Mohamad Malas quintessentially represents Syrian auteur Cinema and has received wide international acclaim and numerous awards. After working as a teacher in Damascus while studying at the Faculty of Philosophy, Malas received a scholarship to study filmmaking at the renowned Russian State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK). His films include Dreams of the City (1983), The Night (1992) and Passion (2005).