Generations

Generations is a bundle that deepens our understanding of home, lineage and family for communities within the MENA/SWANA region and its diaspora. From horror films to archival documentaries, these films discuss intergenerational trauma, the tension between ‘here’ and ‘there’ and how land follows us wherever we go.

And I Was Left Behind
2021
| 
Documentary
| 
7
mins
Language: 
Arabic
When I was a child, my grandmother would tell me stories of longing and loss of relatives during desert travels and sea voyages. Now I am an adult her words finally make sense to me.
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Beyond Exile
2022
| 
Drama
| 
25
mins
Language: 
Arabic, English
The Israeli invasion on Gaza in May 2021 has left Nadine, a Palestinian graduate based in Ireland, feeling distressed after losing all means of communication with her family back home.
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Birds Fly Home
2020
| 
Drama
| 
16
mins
Language: 
English
When a young Arab-American woman returns to the United States after a year of attending college in Amman, Jordan, her American mother is shocked to learn that she has converted to Islam.
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Echolocation
2021
| 
Experimental
| 
9
mins
Language: 
English, Iraqi, Turkish
Oscillating between recorded voice messages and stacked photographs, Echolocation is a layered experiment exploring existence in the aftermath of change.
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Ibn El Ballad
| 
Comedy
| 
12
mins
Language: 
Arabic
After feeling like a stranger in his own country, Firas, a nine-year-old Jordanian-Lebanese boy, goes to extreme lengths to finally fit in.
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Mummy Blue
2020
| 
Drama
| 
11
mins
Language: 
English
Dina is caged in a claustrophobic London flat, torn between caring for her reeling mother, and escaping to a better life. Incapable of choosing, Dina loses sight of what’s real and what’s fantasy.
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Red Fire
2020
| 
Animation
| 
11
mins
Language: 
Farsi
In such an era that Darkness has shadowed the world, a flock of Red birds are looking for the "Red Fire" that according to an old myth is supposed to be the end of Darkness. But where is such fire?
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The Foreign Land
2022
| 
Drama
| 
19
mins
Language: 
Arabic, French
Farida is back in her father’s native Algeria for the first me since she was a child. She discovers her grandmother’s house in the middle of the countryside. When the night comes, her sleep is disturbed by an intruder.
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The Window
2022
| 
Drama
| 
16
mins
Language: 
Arabic
A year after Beirut’s port explosion, Basma and Mariam reunite in their old bedroom. Surrounded by a view of the port’s remains, the two women attempt to resolve their shared trauma and broken relationship.
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There Are Lights
2021
| 
Drama
| 
13
mins
Language: 
English, Arabic
An Egyptian teenager in Whitby is fascinated with the story of Dracula as an escape from her overbearing father. On Halloween night, the two finally have to confront their differences.
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Visions of Basra
2021
| 
Documentary
| 
5
mins
Language: 
Arabic
And exploration of my mother’s fragmented memories of her homeland through her photographs, colours and words.
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Tuesday, November 29, 2022
 | 
6:00 pm
VIFF Centre - Studio Theatre
19＋
 | 
19＋
Book Tickets:
In-Person
Online