Unfamiliar Scenes
+Shorts Program
+Child Protagonists
+Featuring First-Ever Nubian-Language Film
Saturday, 9/30 at St Anthony Main Theatre
11:00 a.m.
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UNFAMILIAR SCENES, ANIMATED AND INVENTED
CONTENT IS APPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN AGES 12 AND UP | SOME IMPLIED VIOLENCE AND SOME EXPERIMENTAL FORMS
This eclectic selection of short films bring stories that are less commonly heard to the big screen by showing underrepresented groups, like the Nubians living in Egypt, and often unseen spaces, like the Western Sahara refugee camps. Additionally, many of the films include the stories of children displaced from their homes and use animation to envision history and invent the future. All films are Minnesota premieres.
KAROUMA
Boubaker Boukhari
short / animation
12 mins / 2016
UAE
no dialogue
Karouma, a unique child, strives to fulfill his dreams. But first, he must leave his parents’ loving home and break out on his own.
Festivals and Awards:
International Animation Festival Hiroshima, Japan, 2016
D.C. Independent Film Festival, US, 2016
Boubaker Boukhari studied fine arts in Algeria, where he learned animation. He has worked as a visual effects and he has organized arts and film festivals.
LILOU
Rawan Rahim
short / animation
8 mins / 2015
Lebanon / France
no dialogue
Lilou is both sensitive and curious; she is also crippled by an unbearable shyness. When she receives the power to see into the past, she begins making connections with those around her.
Festivals and Awards:
Youth Film Festival, Lebanon, 2015
Children’s Film Festival Seattle, US, 2016
Rawan Rahim was born in Washington D.C. to a Lebanese mother and an Iraqi father. She acquired a BA in art history and French literature from the University College London and studied illustration and design at the School of Visual Arts in New York. Lilou is her first film.
AYNY
Ahmed Saleh
short / animation
11 mins / 2016
Palestine / Jordan / Germany
Arabic with English subtitles
Two young boys run away to play music in a war zone. The animated story is based on a tragic incident experienced by the director in Askar, one of the oldest Palestinian refugee camps.
Festivals and Awards:
Dubai International Film Festival, UAE, 2016
Best Foreign Animation, Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences, US, 2016
Ahmed Saleh is a writer and director based in Germany. In 2016, Saleh completed a second master’s degree at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne, during which he wrote and directed two short films and began writing his first feature.
YAMAN
Amer Albarzawi
short / animation
4 mins / 2016
Syria
Arabic with English subtitles
Yaman is a young inventor. His greatest invention is an incredible machine that transforms everyday tissues into an invention that helps him survive.
Festivals and Awards:
Annecy International Animation Film Festival, France, 2017
Amer Albarzawi grew up in Damascus. He has long loved music, theatre, and cinema and, after studying economics at the University of Damascus, he joined a theatre dance group. His animation works focus on human rights and have traveled to a number of festivals around the world.
BATTALION TO MY BEAT
Eimi Imanishi
short / comedy
14 mins / 2016
Western Sahara / Algeria / US
Arabic with English subtitles
A restless and rebellious teen feels confined by the restrictive duties of daily life in a Western Saharan refugee camp. She runs away to join the army, seeking to liberate both her people and herself.
Festivals and Awards:
Toronto International Film Festival, Canada, 2016
Best Narrative Short, Hollywood International Film Festival, 2016
Eimi Imanishi is a US/Japanese citizen who grew up in France. Her first narrative short film Battalion to My Beat (2016) was shot in the Western Saharan refugee camps in Algeria with a cast of refugees.
JAREEDY
Mohamed Hisham
short / drama
28 mins / 2015
Egypt
Nubian with English and Arabic subtitles
Shot in al-Nuba, Egypt, Jareedy, the first-ever Nubian language film, tells the story of a boy who faces his fear of swimming. Forming a bound with a local elder, he builds a boat and sails to an island in the middle of the Nile.
Festivals and Awards:
Cannes Film Festival, France, 2016
Luxor African Film Festival, Egypt, 2016
Mohamed Hisham was born and raised in Cairo. He has worked as an editor and a creative director. In 2010, he decided to become a documentary filmmaker, emphasizing social and political issues in Egypt and providing a space for unheard voices.
FIVE BOYS AND A WHEEL
Said Zagha
short / drama
20 mins / 2016
Jordan / Palestine
Arabic with English subtitles
A young father helps his son sort out a petty dispute with the neighbors. Friendly discussions quickly unravel, testing his values and his pride.
Festivals and Awards:
Dubai International Film Festival, UAE, 2016
Said Zagha was born in Jerusalem. He studied film and English at Kenyon College in Ohio, and he is currently developing his first feature film, a thriller called The Girl.
