Join us as we interview film director and writer Dania Bdeir on our afikra Movie Night series.
Date: Wednesday, May 11
Time: 12PM NYC | 5PM London | 7PM Beirut | 8PM Abu Dhabi
Hosted By: Mikey Muhanna (afikra)
Bio: Dania Bdeir is a Lebanese-Canadian writer and director. Her first film In White (2016) was selected for Clermont Ferrand IFF, BFI, Uppsala and won the Grand Prize at Curta Cinema Rio de Janeiro Short Film Festival. She’s a member of the Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective and has an MFA in directing from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. In 2019 she was selected as a Berlinale Talent and participated in its Short Film Station with her short film Warsha.
Warsha is co-produced by GoGoGo Films (France) and with Né à Beyrouth Films (Lebanon, producer of the Oscar-winning film Capernaum by Nadine Labaki). It had its world premiere at the 2022 Sundance film Festival where it won the short film jury prize in international fiction making it eligible for the 2023 Academy Awards. Warsha was also selected by IFFR in Rotterdam, BFI flare in London, SXSW in Austin and Clermont-ferrand in France.
Currently based in Dubai, Dania Bdeir is developing her first feature film.
Synopsis of Warsha: Warsha follows Mohammad, a Syrian migrant working as a crane operator in Beirut. One morning he volunteers to take on one of the tallest and notoriously most dangerous cranes in Lebanon. Away from everyone's eyes, he is able to live out his secret passion and find freedom.
This event is being videotaped for subsequent broadcast on the library website and other media. The audience is encouraged to offer comments and raise questions during the formal question and answer period, but please be advised that your voice and image may be recorded and later broadcast as part of this event. By participating in the question and answer period you are consenting to the possible reproduction and transmission of your remarks.