New Homeland
Barbara Kopple | 2018 | 1h33
- Sunday, November 17, 2019
- 6:21 PM – 7:54PM
- Jackman Hall AGO (map)
Every summer since 1914, Camp Pathfinder, a summer camp located on a small island in the wilderness of Canada’s Algonquin Park, invites a community of boys and young men from all across Canada and the United States to spend a few weeks in the backcountry learning how to camp, hike, canoe and fish. Two years ago Camp Director Mike Sladden, heart-broken by the tragic images from the growing global refugee crisis but inspired by Canada’s growing intake of asylum seekers, had an idea. What if he could find a way to bring a group of displaced boys from war-torn Syria and Iraq, who recently settled in Canada, to spend the summer at Pathfinder? Directed by two-time Academy Award winner Barbara Kopple, in collaboration with NowThis, New Homeland offers a unique and intimate perspective into the experience of building a new home after fleeing the traumas of war.
Proclaimed Murder
Waha Al Raheb | 2019 | 15m
- Sunday, November 17, 2019
- 6:05 PM 6:20 PM
- Jackman Hall AGO (map)
Starring: Maxim Khalil, Waha Al Raheb, Najlaa Khamri
Set in the nightmares of an 11-year-old girl, Nour, living with her family in a refugee camp, this short drama sheds light on the domestic, social, and political violence practiced against women and girls of all ages. Nour’s family yields to their neighbour’s demand to marry her off to their son, a man 25 years her senior. Intense nightmares about her wedding begin to wake her up at night and wakeful ones haunt her days, ultimately leading her to escape her reality.
Masters of survival: Yasmine
Boryana Ivanova | 2018 | 4m
- Sunday, November 17, 2019
- 6:00 PM 6:04 PM
- Jackman Hall AGO (map)
Yasmine is a journalist writing about women and the war, making her an enemy to both the regime and Islamist groups. Two weeks after Yasmine’s 70-year-old father and two brothers are arrested, the police come looking for her. Instead of giving way to sorrow, after her father’s death, Yasmine decides to turn to what she feels most passionate about: writing; and becomes the founder of “Lady of Syria”, the first women’s magazine in the country.
Still Recording
Ghiath Ayoub & Saeed Al Batal | 2018 | 2h | Toronto Premier
- Saturday, November 16, 2019
- 6:05 PM 8:05 PM
- Jackman Hall AGO (map)
Still Recording follows an art student and a film enthusiast, Milad and Saeed, who leave Damascus for Douma, a suburb of the city under rebels’ control. Filmed over four years and using more than 500 hours of footage, the film depicts the lifeworlds of two friends as they go about their daily lives, capturing the transformation of the city of Douma and its people through war, siege, and hunger.
Masters of survival: Sarah
Boryana Ivanova | 2018 | 4m
- Saturday, November 16, 2019
- 6:00 PM 6:04 PM
- Jackman Hall AGO (map)
Once a swimming champion in Syria, Sarah now finds herself making an escape on a broken boat in the middle of the Mediterranean. Facing what feels like the most important race of her life, Sarah competes for new stakes: her life, and that of her sister’s and everyone aboard.
We Are Not Princesses
Bridgette Auger & Itab Azzam | 2018 | 1h15m | Toronto Premier
- Friday, November 15, 2019
- 6:18 PM 7:33 PM
- Jackman Hall AGO (map)
Intimate footage and stunning animation bring forth this heart-warming story of friendship and purpose. We Are Not Princesses follows a group of women as they come together to practice and perform the ancient Greek play Antigone.
Aziza
Soudade Kaadan | 2019 | 13m
- Friday, November 15, 2019
- 6:04 PM 6:17 PM
- Jackman Hall AGO (map)
Starring: Caress Bashar, Abdel Moneim Amayri
A Sundance’s Grand Jury prize winner, this short film tells the witty story of Ayman, a Syrian refugee in Lebanon, teaching his wife to drive his car, the only thing he kept from his old country. The driving lesson takes a wrong turn into madness and nostalgia.
Masters of survival: Ahmad
Boryana Ivanova | 2018 | 3m
- Friday, November 15, 2019
- 6:00 PM 6:03 PM
- Jackman Hall AGO (map)
Ahmad, 19, has little faith in the smugglers but even fewer choices. Unable to swim but confident in his dexterity, Ahmad decides to build his own boat and head to Greece.