1. ERASED,___ASCENT OF THE INVISIBLE in Brussels and Glasgow
2. COUNTING TILES in the USA
3. DREAMS OF THE CITY in Qatar
4. PANOPTIC in Montreal
5. DRY HOT SUMMERS in Brussels
6. Publication
7. office hours during Berlinale
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1. ERASED,___ASCENT OF THE INVISIBLE in Brussels and Glasgow

Ghassan Halwani's Erased,___Ascent of the Invisible shows in the Black Box of the Beursschouwburg in Brussels (Belgium) and celebrates its UK premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival in Schottland.

Content
Thirty-five years ago, I witnessed the kidnapping of a man I know.
He has disappeared since.
Ten years ago, I caught a glimpse of his face while walking in the street, but I wasn’t sure it was him.
Parts of his face were torn off, but his features had remained unchanged since the incident. Yet something was different, as if he wasn’t the same man.
essay-documentary, Lebanon 2018, color and black & white, 76 min, Arabic and English with English or French subtitles
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2. COUNTING TILES in the USA

Cynthia Choucair’s timely feature documentary is now available with educational rights for North America with our partners Torch Films.

Content
A group of clowns travel to the Greek island of Lesvos on a mission to bring laughter to the waves of refugees crossing the sea to escape from war and enter Europe. Unwittingly, the clowns find themselves greeted with closed gates witnessing the effects of new policies enacted by the European Union towards the refugees.
Cynthia, the sister of one of the clowns, joins them on their journey which slowly becomes a reflection on the sisters’ own tale of displacement during the Lebanese civil war.
documentary, Cynthia Choucair, Lebanon 2018, 87 min, Arabic with Engl. ST
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3. DREAMS OF THE CITY in Qatar

Mohamad Malas' highly acclaimed feature film showed in the film side program of the exhibition Syria Matters in Doha (Qatar).

Content
When his father dies, Dib, his younger brother and their mother (Yasmine Khlat) move away from their hometown Quneitra to Damascus. The mother’s despotic father reluctantly takes them in and tries to force the mother to remarry. Overwhelmed by the magic of the city, Dib wants to discover everything and is full of dreams. His daily life is shaped by insults and punishments however. Dib grows up against a backdrop of the political upheavals of the 1950s (the end of the military dictatorship in Syria and the nationalization of the Suez Canal, Nasser’s taking of power in Cairo, Egyptian and Syrian unification in 1958) and loses his childish illusions in the face of such violence and brutality. The dreams of the city prove to be a nightmare. Mohammad Malas’ partly autobiographical debut film marked the transition to auteur cinema in Syria.
fiction, Mohamad Malas, Syria 1984, 130 min, color, Arabic with Engl. or French ST
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4. PANOPTIC in Montreal

Rana Eid's feature length city symphony showed a la lumière collective art cinema in Montreal (Canada) on January 25th.

Content
Panoptic is a letter from a daughter to her deceased father in an attempt to reconcile with her country’s turbulent past.
Panoptic delves into Beirut’s underground to explore Lebanon’s schizophrenia: a nation that thrives for modernity while ironically ignoring the vices that obstruct achieving this modernity.
While the Lebanese population has chosen to turn a blind eye to these vices, Rana Eid, an ordinary citizen, explores the nation’s paradoxes through sound, iconic monuments and secret hidings.
documentary, Rana Eid, Lebanon 2017, 69 min, Arabic with Engl. or French ST
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5. DRY HOT SUMMERS in Brussels

Sherif Elbendary's multi award winning short is invited for a screening at the GALERIES SA in Brussels (Belgium) on February 26th, 2019.

Content
Two lonely people at opposite chapters of life accidentally meet on a busy summer day in a Cairo taxi. Frail old Shawky and bubbly young Doaa are both caught up in their busy routines as their race through the city evolves into a journey of self-discovery that reconnects them to life.
short film, Sherif Elbendary, Egypt/Germany 2015, 30 min, Arabic with English, French or German ST
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6. Publication

Irit Neidhardt's (mec film) text Attac and Insult. On the Dispute over the Palestine-Films of Lebanese Director Ziad Doueiri is now available online (in German). go to text
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7. office hours during Berlinale

During Berlinale, 7th till 17th of February, the office is not operating on a regular basis. Emails will be read at least every second day.
To arrange a meeting at Berlinale you can reach me at 0049 1635684073.
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