FADA Film Screens Syrian Bride

FADA Film Screens Syrian Bride

A film by Eran Riklis.

Written by Suha Arraf & Eran Riklis.

Date:   5 November 2015

Time:  18:00 for 18:30.

Venue: FADA Amphitheatre, Bunting Road Campus.

 Synopsis

Monas wedding day is the saddest day of her life. She knows that once she crosses the border between Israel and Syria to marry Syrian TV star Tallel, she will never be allowed back to her beloved family in Majdal Shams, the largest Druze village in the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel since 1967. The Syrian Bride is a story about physical, mental and emotional borders and the will to cross them. A story about a family trying to cope with its ability to define boundaries and deal with them - focusing on Monas sister Amal, a modern woman trapped in a tradition and culture she wants to break out of. Cited Mongrel [O]. Available, accessed November 1, 2015.

"An elegant piece of cinema that is beautifully acted..."

Bruce Kirkland, TORONTO SUN

"A sharp and complicated drama that also works as a provocative and level-headed social commentary."

Adam Nayman, EYE MAGAZINE

"An engaging, moving tale that transcends its time and place. A potent cinematic mixlends a deep humanity to a part of the world in dire need of greater understanding."

John Treads, TORONTO STAR

Original Languages: Arabic, English, Hebrew, Russian, French.

Genre: Drama / World Cinema

Running Time: 96 minutes

Year of Release: 2004.

About the Story

Mona’s wedding day is the saddest day of her life. She knows that once she crosses the border between Israel and Syria to marry Syrian TV star Tallel, she will never be allowed back to her beloved family in Majdal Shams, the largest Druze village in the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel since 1967. The Syrian Bride is a story about physical, mental and emotional borders and the will to cross them. A story about a family trying to cope with its ability to define boundaries and deal with them – focusing on Mona’s sister Amal, a modern woman trapped in a tradition and culture she wants to break out of.

Once you cross the border there is no way back and at the end of a long day, the family, the government and military officials and all those gathered on both sides of the border find themselves facing an uncertain future, trapped in No-Man’s land between Israel and Syria...

Cited Mongrel [O]. Available, accessed November 1, 2015.

About the Film

The Syrian Bride is based on 3 years of travelling to the Golan Heights, meeting the people, learning the history, getting to know the political, social and personal situation of the Druze in the Golan, taking a deeper look in to a region haunted by hostility, indifference and bureaucracy – the Middle East. To explore the complex story of women torn between families, tradition and borders, Riklis joined forces with Palestinian-Israeli screenwriter Suha Arraf who was chosen for her knowledge of the Arab (and Druze) world while maintaining a modern, progressive point of view.European producers Bettina Brokemper, Antoine de Clermont-Tonnerre and Michael Eckelt joined Riklis early on to help form an Israeli-French-German co-production of the highest level, incorporating experienced film makers who decided they have a story to tell, a story with an added small bonus of a humble reflection on the condition of the region and perhaps of all humanity today.

The Syrian Bride was shot on location in the Golan Heights and in other locations in Israel. Cited Mongrel [O]. Available, accessed November 1, 2015.

Director’s Statement: Eran Riklis.

Once you cross the border there is no way back...

Every director hopes his film will contribute towards a bit more understanding, a bit more compassion, a bit more tolerance or in the case of the Middle East – merely a bit more patience...

The Syrian Bride is an attempt to contribute modestly by creating a film out of love. Love of freedom, love for the spirit of freedom, love for the physical and emotional landscapes that surround us, all of us. A love for women who fight for their place in the world, a love for people who still dream and hope – here, across the border, everywhere. All this is told in a pessimistic or perhaps optimistic story, certainly an “opsimistic”* one, as is appropriate to the region and to the times in which we live in. (*opsimism = a mixture of pessimism and optimism...a good guide to survival in the Middle East.) Cited Mongrel [O]. Available, accessed November 1, 2015.

A note from the writer: Suha Arraf

When I was approached by the director of the film (Riklis) I understood at once his honest desire to bring the truth. In this case it is the truth of the Druze minority, living under occupation since 1967, the social oppression of women in the name of religion and tradition, in fact the story of my own oppression as a Palestinian woman living in an oppressive world, be it socially or politically and as a Palestinian living as a minority in Israel. The cooperation between me and an Israeli filmmaker at the script stage brings together two film makers from different worlds and creates a new, different type of cinema. Cited Mongrel [O]. Available, accessed November 1, 2015.

Eran Riklis – director, producer, co-writer

Born in 1954, Riklis has been creating films since 1975 (and loving them since much earlier). His first feature film was “On a clear day you can see Damascus”, a political thriller completed upon graduating from the National Film School in Beaconsfield, England. Next was the world wide critically acclaimed “Cup Final”, Israeli box office hit “Zohar”, nostalgic rock & roll film “Vulcan Junction”, and now “The Syrian Bride”, his most ambitious project to date. Riklis directed numerous successful TV films, series and drama, hundreds of commercials and various documentaries, shorts and specials. Married to Dina, father of Tammy and Jonathan, lives in Tel Aviv but works with the world.

Blog text courtesy Mongrel, the Canadian independent film distributor.

About Mongrel Media.

Mongrel Media is an independent film distribution company that acquires and brings the best in world cinema to Canadian audiences. Since it’s inception in 1994, Mongrel has distinguished itself through a tasteful and innovative catalogue of films, supporting visionary filmmakers and delivering their films to the widest audience possible –in theatres, on DVD/video and on television. Mongrel consistently selects and distributes critically celebrated films, like Abbas Kiarostami’s Palme d’Or winner A TASTE OF CHERRY and Almodovar’s recent BAD EDUCATION, and has built a reputation for delivering break-out successes like the provocative documentary THE CORPORATION. Mongrel currently distributes over two hundred titles in Canada.

Black Dandy Premiering in South Africa, at FADAFILM.

FADAFIlm in association with VIAD presents the premiere screening of Black Dandy. First screened by CANAL+ TV Channel, March 25, 2015.

Black Dandy

A Film by Laurent Lunetta and Ariel Wizman, (2015)

Date:         1 October 2015.

Time:         18:30 for 19:00

Venue:      FADA Amphitheater, Bunting Road Campus.

The screening of the film forms part of the annual programme convened by the Visual Identities in Art and Design Research Centre, Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture, University of Johannesburg (VIAD). The programme features the exhibition Hypersampling Identities, Jozi, curated by VIAD in association with Lifestyle and Trend Analyst, Nicola Cooper and VIAD Post-Doctoral Fellow Daniela Goeller. The exhibition opens in the FADA Gallery on Monday evening, 21 September, and runs until 6 October.

Sartists.

About the Film

Since the beginning of 2010, the streets of Brooklyn, Johannesburg, London, and Paris are witnessing the appearance of a new silhouette of young black men, termed the Black Dandies. Mixing European canons with African culture, these men master the codes of vintage and street-wear in order to create original, inspired looks. Grouped in collectives such as the Bronx-based duo, ’Street Etiquette’; the UK-based design team ‘Art Comes First’; and, in the context of Jozi, the ’Sartists’ and ’Khumbula’, these often self-taught, self-styled men compose an international style that interpolates both the world of fashion and the black diaspora.

What makes them so fascinating is the political beauty they produce. According to director Ariel Wizman (Black Dandy 2015), the film pays tribute to the men who fight against the stigma that sometimes comes with being a man who pays special attention to his appearance and style: "The idea was to restore dignity to a global African culture and find a certain conception of independence vis-à-vis white-black codes". 

Khumbula

The film traces the history of the Black Dandy, from the first emancipated slaves in the US, the zoot suits of the Harlem Renaissance, the Congolese Sapeurs who mock dictatorship with their shrill suits, to post-apartheid South African youth who extol black pride with elegance. These men stand out in a history in which an obsession for beautiful clothing comes together in a search for dignity and the art of protesting with style, using the dandy’s signature tools — clothing, gesture, and wit — to break down limiting identity markers. Cited Okayafrica. [O]. Available, accessed September 20, 2015.

Art Comes First

Art Comes First

Pharrell Williams Shows off his Dandy side in fall Chanel Ad Campaign.

Pharrell Williams’ fashion game has taken a considerably haute turn for fall. ‘The Voice’ mentor is featured alongside Cara Delevingne in Chanel’s Austrian-themed Pre-Fall collection. Williams, a Grammy winning producer, has been known to mix up his style game over the years. But in these ads he shows that high fashion for men can be both chic and masculine. Some may view the styles as a bit feminine but it’s nice to see a man embrace his fun and fashionable side. The styles and looks from the collection not only look great on Pharrell, but are sure to garner attention from the not-so-usual purveyors of fashion. But then again, this is the genius of Karl Lagerfeld and the House of Chanel. Cited It’s DIVAD, Accessed September 20, 2015.

About the directors

Laurent Lunetta

Born in 1974, Laurent Lunetta is a French director, journalist and screenwriter. He directed eight documentaries for the French Television channels, Canal + and Arte. For the cinema, he was the co-screenwriter of the Alain Guiraudie’s film, The King of Escape, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. He was the artistic director of the film, Stranger by the Lake (2012), for which he was rewarded at the Cannes Film Festival and at the César’s (the French Oscar Prize).

Ariel Wizman

Born in Casablanca, Ariel Wizman is a French journalist, television presenter, author and producer. First, he hosted a famous radio show in Paris called, La Grosse Boule, that was made into a television production. He was the presenter of many television productions,  including The Apartment, Ciné-Bus and Tentations. Since 1999, he wrote and produced more than 30 cultural documentaries for the French television channels, Arte, Canal + and France 2, most of which have been sold worldwide.