Tea on the Axis of Evil

Organisation: St Ethelburga's Centre for Reconciliation and Peace

Time: 15 March 2010 7:00pm - 9:00pm

Place: St Ethelburga's Centre, 78 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4AG

St Ethelburga’s Centre for Reconciliation and Peace Presents:

Tea on the Axis of Evil
A Film by Jean Marie Offenbacher

Filmmaker: Jean Marie Offenbacher
USA/July 2008

A new film about real life in Syria + Q & A with the Director

When Syria was admitted to the “Axis of Evil”, Offenbacher decided to move there, alone, to record ordinary life and create a document to stimulate healthy curiosity about this Arab country and counter the vilification that dominated the media and White House rhetoric.
Tea on the Axis of Evil provides an intimate passage through Syria that gives voice to moderates as it seeks to build a bridge to greater understanding between our worlds.
Offenbacher hopes the exceptional kindness she experienced in Syria comes across in “Tea”.
In Syria people say, “We are terrorists, we kill visitors with caffeine.”
Click here to view the trailer.

Monday, 15th March 2010 at 7-9pm

St Ethelburga's Centre for Reconciliation and Peace, 78 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4AG

Tickets: £10 / £5 Concessions

For further information contact St Ethelburgas on:
T: 020 7496 1610
W: www.stethelburgas.org

More about the Film
Syria has the second lowest crime rate in the world. The men are respectful and poetic. When they do take notice, they use lines like, “I want to die and be reborn as your necklace”. She raced Bedouins on horseback and was safe sleeping in the desert with 14 men. She felt no fear walking alone in cities late at night.
Syria’s intricate dance between tradition and modernity reveals itself as a range of sensual and amusing characters discuss dating, marriage, education, art, politics and religion. People are kind and educated. A myriad of different religions and sects coexist harmoniously. As the country is left in a diplomatic vacuum the government becomes less progressive and the fear of radical Islam grows.
A writer blames the government for using fear of religious extremists to control society. A government minister, Dr Bouthaina Shaaban, identifies the rise of Islam as a response to external pressures against Arabs. She concludes that the current political climate encourages Islamic extremists and undermines moderate voices.
Syria should be the model for change in the Middle East; the moderate voices are far more numerous and speak to the great possibility of peace in the region starting with Syria.