Themes of progress and regression, humankind’s power to create and destroy, and the contrast between urban and rural weave a loving, but honest, portrait of Iraq as only someone who truly knows it could paint.
Waiting for my train at Barbican station, I recall the films and stories in which I have been immersed at SAFAR screenings. I think of the awe-inspiring filmmakers at this year’s edition; at times, effectively risking their livelihoods, prosecution and more, in order to share their stories with the world.
In expanding on the background behind the plot of her film, Maha talks about the culture and rituals revolving around VHS tape rental shops in the 1980s. She relates some of the mischief that occurred when the tape inside a rented VHS cassette was swapped for a tape of a completely different film. The staff of the video rentals store wouldn’t be any the wiser, and would simply hand over the tape to the next unsuspecting customer.
The framing underpins the solitude and a real lack of emotional support in the life of the lead character, played by Asem Alawad. Not only does he have a fraught relationship with his father, who disparagingly calls him a “dumb goat”, he also has been diagnosed with a brain tumour.
It transpires that she has attended almost every screening at this year’s SAFAR. I am so impressed; I have found a comrade in the land of film festival marathons. We compare our respective bookings for the remainder of SAFAR, before we say goodbye. I almost say out loud, “see you at the pictures!”
By the time the credits roll, I find myself tearing up like a couple of people seated next to me.
We followed closely developments with regard to freedom of expression for Palestinian artists and attempts to censor them, and were very concerned at the handling of an event with Radio Al Hara which was scheduled as part of RESOLVE Collective’s them’s the breaks wider public programme at the Barbican on Thursday 15 June.
“I had to make it; I didn’t care if I didn’t have the funds for it, even if I had to make it by hand.”
The filmmaker’s bond of trust with her subjects allows the viewer to hear what feels like an internal monologue in which Heba and Aya, respectively, explore their relationships with their bodies.
Throughout the film festival, we’ll be bringing you bitesize, behind-the-scenes, blogs to read. Written by Ja’far ‘Abd al-Hamid, a writer-director, with a focus on Arab British stories. His latest feature film, Kal & Cambridge, is scheduled for release next year. Explore the full programme here, SAFAR Film Festival runs from 29 June to 9 July […]