SYRIA:

In addition to almost half a million Palestinians, Syria hosts the largest Iraqi refugee population in the world, as well as refugees from other countries such as Somalia and Sudan. World Refugee Week 2010 aims to engage the refugee community, Syrian society and the Arab public. (UNHCR)

As part of UNHCR’s World Refugee Week 2010, Reel Festivals are coordinating the first Refugee Film Festival in Syria. The festival will run from June 13th to 20th in Damascus and Aleppo and aims to bring refugee issues to the Syrian screen.

Opening film: Al Tanf – Edith Champagne // 2010 // 25 mins //

When hundreds of Palestinians from Iraq arrived at the al-Tanf crossing on the Syrian border in May 2006, no country in the region would accept them. Returning to Iraq was not an option, so UNHCR set up a tent camp in the border no-man’s land. Filmmaker Edith Champagne was in the camp as one of the last groups prepared themselves to leave for Italy.

2010 REFUGEE FILM FESTIVAL in Syria

13 – 16 June 2010 – French Cultural Centre in Damascus 15 – 20 June 2010 – French Cultural Centre in Aleppo.

For more information and full listing please visit the UNHCR Syria website: http://www.unhcr.sy/

EDINBURGH

As part of Refugee Week events in the UK, Reel Festivals is coordinating a mini-film festival at the Filmhouse Cinema, Edinburgh, in assosciation with the Scottish Refugee Council). As with previous Reel Festivals events, the aim of this festival is to encourage people to engage with areas in conflict and reasons for displacement behind the headlines, as well as providing a forum for their discussion.

Opening Film: TROUBLE SLEEPING • Scotland 2008 •

Tue 15 June at 5.45pm, Filmhouse, Edinburgh + discussion Robert Rae & Ghazi Hussein.

Winner of four International Best Film awards this powerful drama passionately explores the reality of life for Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Edinburgh. With an award-winning and heart wrenching performance from Alia Alzgoubi and stunning support from the Refugee Community themselves, it was included by Mark Cousins in his list of a dozen Scottish films that had provided  “the shock of recognition of something true about the country I have adopted as my home.”  it will be followed by a Q&A with co-writers Ghazi Hussein and Director Robert Rae. Ghazi is also a poet and was himself a Refugee, he campaigns on behalf of survivors of torture.

For more information and full list of films and events please visit the Filmhouse Website: http://www.filmhousecinema.com/seasons/refugee-week/ and the Refugee Week website: http://www.refugeeweek.org.uk/InYourArea/Scotland

World Refugee Day, June 20

First marked in 2001, World Refugee Day is held every year on June 20. Tens of thousands of people around the world take time to recognise the strength and courage of forcibly displaced people throughout the world. The annual commemoration is marked by a variety of events in more than 100 countries. This year’s theme is “Home”, with the slogan “They took my home but they can’t take my future”.

Edinburgh International Film Festival

Too many recommendations for us to list them all here, but some of the top ones for us at Reel Festivals are:

Son of Babylon – Mohammed Al-Daradji’s (director of Ahlaam, Reel Iraq 2009) latest film is exceptional. 12-year-old Ahmed and his grandmother are searching for his father, but it’s a few months after the end of Saddam Hussein’s rule and the road is long – merely staying together is hard enough. The stunning photography contrasts with glimpses of chaos, but helps to demonstrate what drives the two forward. Somehow they retain hope, sanity, calmness – even laughter.

Kick Off – Another director that featured in Reel Iraq 2009, Shawkat Amin Korki’s Kick Off transports you wholesale into an unfamiliar world – a community of refugees living in a stadium in Kirkuk, Iraq – with the help of a vivid, universal script; the utterly familiar world of small-town football; and the brilliant direction of a cast of unknowns. Kick Off took the top prize at Dubai’s Gulf Film Festival, with Korki hailed as leading a renaissance in Iraqi cinema.

Out of the Ashes – In just a few years, the Afghan cricket team has risen from obscurity in the sport’s lowest ranks to phenomenal success in the highly competitive international arena. This is the remarkable and inspirational story of coach Taj Malik Aleem and his team, who became the sport’s unlikeliest heroes during a triumphant campaign culminating in the crucial World Cup qualifier in South Africa. In a country more often associated with war and rigged elections, their incredible journey is an absolute joy to behold.

Act of Dishonour – Mena, a young bride-to-be, is not allowed to leave her home or have contact with her fiance Rahmat until married. She spends her life spying on the village and sharing chaste moments with Rahmat through a small hole in her garden wall, until she meets Mejgan – a female translator for a visiting film crew. Encouraged to take part in the film, Mena crosses the boundaries of her village’s belief system, coming face-to-face with a society desperate to protect itself through tradition.

For film times and more information on all these films please visit the Edinburgh International Film Festival website on http://www.edfilmfest.org.uk/

We at Reel Festivals want to express our sympathy and solidarity with the people of Gaza and those on the Freedom Flotilla which was attacked this week. We believe that this blockade and these attacks only increase tensions in the region and are self defeating. For more information on the Freedom Flotilla please visit http://www.freegaza.org/

Venue: Roxy Art House, 2 Roxburgh Place, Edinburgh, EH8 9SU.

Date: Saturday 6 February 2010.

Time: Doors open 6pm. Concert 7pm-11pm.

Event Description: The 2010 Middle East Festival One World Peace Concert celebrates the cultural diversity of Scotland and the Middle East. Join us in a spirit of friendship to celebrate our wonderful diverse communities in Scotland, with beautiful music from Waa Sylla, Samba Sene and Diwan, GOL and the Babylon Arabic Band, along with food and drink provided by Susie’s Diner.

Waa Sylla was born of the inspiration and spirit that each member has for the rhythms of Africa. An Edinburgh-based 7-piece traditional djembe and doun-doun drums and dance troupe – playing drums, xylophone, kamele ngoni, flute, and songs and dances from around Western and Central Africa, especially Guinea, Ghana, Uganda and Mali. Waa Sylla are pleased to be a part of our wonderful community in Edinburgh and to bring us all together in the spirit of celebration.

Samba Sene and Diwan: Charismatic Senegalese singer Samba Sene’s music is an engaging fusion of Senegalese traditional rhythms and grooves, with touches of reggae, latin, funk, rock and blues. His influences include former mentor Baaba Maal, Bob Marley, Van Morrison, Paul Simon, Alpha Blondy and Aswad. The songs cover a range of subjects from homelessness, equal rights to outright celebration. Uplifting and upbeat, this is world music with Senegalese soul. www.myspace.com/sambasene

GOL will perform a special set of their music from the EP “Roots” and their “Mixed UP!” MELA Commission for this concert. GOL’s music has been described as ‘UK and IRANIAN NU-JAZZ WORLD ELECTRONICA.’ The musicians are: 1. Roxana Pope (Vocals – Farsi, Arabic and English): British/Iranian; 2. Yann Seznec (Keyboards and live sampling): French/American; 3. Pete Vilk (Drum kit and samples): Czech/Slovak; 4. Allan Ferguson (Bass): Scottish; 5. Mat Clements (Congas, Darabuka, Percussion): English; 6. Iordanis Kalaitzoglou (Saxophone, Clarinet, Ney and Kaval): Greek; 7. Bouda Ahmadi (Iranian Santur): Iranian. www.myspace.com/golmusic

Babylon Arabic Band is an Edinburgh-based band, fresh from Reel Iraq 2009 and their performaces in Samarqand, which consists of Iraqi, Scottish, English and Irish musicians led by Mohammed Nafee (Iraqi singer and musician). They perform a selection of Mohammed’s favourite Arabic songs throughout all Arab countries, which he performed at parties and celebrations in Iraq. The musicians are: 1. Mohammed Nafee Mohammed  (Vocal and Oud); 2. Joel Sanderson (Double Bass); 3. Tim Leary (Violin); 4. Marion Kenny (Flute); 5. Adam Reid (Percussion); 6.  Frazer Watson (Percussion). The belly dancers are: Constantina and Sheikha. www.myspace.com/babylonarabicband

Cost: £12/£10 (Concessions).

Booking: Tickets Scotland Ltd, 127 Rose Street, Edinburgh, EH2 3DT. 0131 220 3234.

http://www.tickets-scotland.com/ 9am-6pm (8pm Thursday), 11am-6pm Sundays.

Susie’s Diner, 51–53 West Nicolson Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9DB. 0131 667 8729.

Hilary’s Bazaar, 297 The Royal Mile, Canongate, Edinburgh, EH8 8BD. 0131 556 0408.

Yekta, 96 South Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1HN. 0131 225 9706.

Contact: Neill Walker, mesp2010@hotmail.co.uk, 0131 331 4469.

Exhibition now on

The occupation of Iraq has seen the displacement of two million externally and two and a half internally.  Iraqi culture is also in a state of displacement.  The trauma of this experience is evident in the work of Iraqi artists both within and without the country.

Creativity vs Destruction is an exhibition that explores the experiences of five internationally respected Iraqi artists from the 1970s up to the present day.  The focal point of the exhibition will be work from Rashad Selim, Waafa Bilal, Sama Alshaibi, Maysaloun Faraj and Henaa Mal-Allah.

The work exhibited will illustrate what is happening to Iraqi culture as a whole and will also show the artists’ individual reactions to their experience as Iraqis. The exhibition will consist in the main part of video and interactive multi media pieces.  Also on show will be photography, sculpture and painting.  Wall texts will explain the artists’ relationships with Iraq (most are refugees or émigrés now living in Europe and America).

On July the 12^th at 6:00 Rashad Selim noted Iraqi artist and activist will close the exhibition with a lecture entitled Creativity vs Destruction: Stories of Iraqi Art.

The exhibition runs from 02/07/09 to 12/07/09 and will be open every day from 12 to 4 at the Roxy Art House, EH8 9SU.

www.roxyarthouse.org

In collaboration with a local association Couleurs Cactus, Reel Festivals is very happy to be hosting a mini-festival in Marseille, France. The “De Baghdad à Marseille – une rencontre poétique” takes place in the Cinema Les Varietes on Thursday 25th of June. The evening’s programme consists of the film “Zaman, the Man from the Reeds” by Amer Alwan, who will be present at the screening, and two short documentaries “Le sourire de Pouchen” and “L’eau des Maadans”. The short films were made as part of Alterdoc’s (a local audiovisual association) video workshops in Iraqi Kurdistan. Pascal Cesaro from Alterdoc will be present to talk about the workshops. The evening also opens a photography exhibition of Kurdish photographer Jamal Penjweny and Jean-Marie Plume, a local photographer who has worked in Iraq. The exhibition will continue during Aflam’s (an association of Arab Film in Marseille  – another partner for the event) season of new Arab film. Reel Festivals and Couleurs Cactus both hope that this cultural co-operation between Edinburgh and Marseille will continue also next year.

Meanwhile in Edinburgh don’t forget that we will be hosting Creativity VS Destruction: Stories of Iraqi Art from the 2nd of July  to the 12th every day from 12 to 4 at the Roxy Art House, 2 Roxburgh Place, Edinburgh, EH8 9SU. This is the first exhibition of Iraqi Visual Artists in Scotland. Please come along to the opening from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm on Thursday the 2nd of July at the main hall of the Roxy Art House. The highly regarded Kurdish-Iraqi artist Adalet Garmiany will be present to enact his specially commissioned performance, ‘Placeless’ which explores the experience of exile and occupation of homeland. After Adalet’s performance a selection of rarely heard contemporary and experimental Iraqi music will be played and work by internationally respected artists such as Wafaa Bilal, Sama Alshaibi, Hanaa MalAllah, Rashad Selim and Adalet Garmiany will all be on view. For more information please click here.

Reel Iraq invites you to attend the opening of the exhibition Creativity VS Destruction: Stories of Iraqi Art. The opening will run from 6:30 pm to 10:30 pm on Thursday the 2nd of July and will be held at the main hall of the Roxy Art House.

The highly regarded Kurdish-Iraqi artist Adalet Garmiany will be present to perform his specially commissioned performance which explores the experience of exile and occupation of homeland. After Adalet’s performance a selection of rarely heard contemporary and experimental Iraqi music will be played.
Creativity VS Destruction: Stories of Iraqi Art explores the experiences of Iraqi artists from the 1970s up to the present day. Examples of their work are the focal point of the exhibition. However, along side the works texts tell the artist’s often traumatic stories and expand on how the work on display conveys the artist’s experiences.
The exhibition will consist in the main part of video and interactive multi media pieces.  Also on show will be photography, sculpture and painting. The principal artists exhibiting are the internationally respected ; Waafa Bilal, Sama Alshaibi, Hanaa MalAllah, Rashad Selim and Adalet Garmiany.

The exhibition runs from 02/07/09 to 12/07/09 and will be open every day from 12 to 4.

For more information please click here

Creativity vs Destruction is an exhibition that explores the experiences of five internationally respected Iraqi artists from the 1970s up to the present day.  The focal point of the exhibition will be work from Rashad Selim, Waafa Bilal, Sama Alshaibi, Maysaloun Faraj and Henaa Mal-Allah.  On the opening night the Kurdish-Iraqi artist Adalet Garmiany will be present to enact the specially commissioned performance ‘Placeless’, which explores the experience of exile and occupation of homeland.

The work exhibited will illustrate what is happening to Iraqi culture as a whole and will also show the artists’ individual reactions to their experience as Iraqis. The exhibition will consist in the main part of video and interactive multi media pieces.  Also on show will be photography, sculpture and painting.  Wall texts will explain the artists’ relationships with Iraq (most are refugees or émigrés now living in Europe and America).

On July the 3rd at 11:00 Adalet Garmiany will present a lecture on ArtRole an organization which he founded and which establishes links between the UK and the Middle East through art and art education.

On July the 3rd at 12:30 Henna Mal-Allah will talk about Ruins Technique: the method by which she constructs her remarkable canvases. Henna is Iraq’s foremost female painter and left Iraq only recently under the Scholars at Risk scheme, she currently holds a fellowship at SOAS.

On July the 12^th at 6:00 Rashad Selim noted Iraqi artist and activist will close the exhibition with a lecture entitled Creativity vs Destruction: Stories of Iraqi Art.

Artist Profiles

Waafa Bilal

Waafa Bilal

The first part of Waafa’s life was spent in Iraq where he suffered torture under Sadam’s regime. Later he nearly met the same fate as a refugee in Kuwait. In 1992 Waafa emigrated to the US where he studied art.

Over the past decade Waafa has built up an international reputation with several high profile solo exhibitions to his name.

He currently teaches at the Chicago Institute of Art.

Website: www.crudeoils.us/wafaa

Adalet Garmiany

Adalet Garmainy

An Iraqi Kurd who, under pressure emigrated to the UK in 2000.

Adalet’s work explores his identity as an Iraqi Kurd through most media.

For ‘Creativity VS Destruction’ he will be performing a piece which reflects on the concept of an exhibition of Iraqi exiles work in Edinburgh (the capital of an occupying nation).

Website: www.adaletg.net

Sama Alshaibi

A Palestinian- Iraqi who has become a naturalized American citizen and whom is currently Assistant Professor of Art at the University of Arizona. Sama’s photographs and films are represented in many major collections world wide.

Of her own work Sama says, “I articulate the façade of security measures in a hyper-fearful post 9/11 world, and then demonstrate the exploitation perpetrated by those who seek to gain in the name of “security.” My work examines the sprawl and spectacle of the military machine while presenting the human counter-point to such national endeavors.”

Website: www.samaalshaibi.com

Maysaloun Faraj

Maysaloun Faraj

Of Iraqi parentage Maysaloun was born in the USA, but went on to study in Iraq. She has lived in the UK for 26 years.

Since 1984 Maysaloun has contributed to noteworthy group exhibitions at local and international level, won numerous awards and held fifteen one-woman shows to date.  Her artwork is in private collections world wide as well as important public collections.

In 1995 Maysaloun founded Strokes of Genius: Contemporary Iraqi Art; a groundbreaking three-part project encompassing a travelling exhibition, accompanying publication and website (www.incia.co.uk). Following on from the success of Strokes of Genius Maysaloun co-founded Ayagallery in London with her husband the architect Ali Mousawi where she continues to curate and host noteworthy exhibitions making it London’s premier venue dedicated to promoting quality art predominantly from Iraq but also from the Arab and Islamic world at large.

Of her own work Maysaloun says: Having left Iraq in 1982, a land in which I am deeply rooted and a people whom I dearly love, it was humanity and the human condition that interested and concerned me most.  As an Iraqi, an Arab and a Moslem woman with an East/West upbringing, it is conflict, war, injustice, human rights, human wrongs and beauty lost that informs much of my work today.

Website: www.ayagallery.co.uk and www.kitesanddreams.com

Hanaa Mal-Allah

Hanaa Mal-Allah

Hanaa studied at the Institute of Fine arts in Baghdad and much later taught at the same. Hanaa exhibited in many high profile exhibitions including with the Baghdad-based Iraqi Phoenix group, which was set up in 2003 to prove the resilience of creativity during war time. In 2006 Hanaa left Iraq on a tourist visa, first to Paris and then to the UK, she was later protected under the Scholars at Risk scheme and awarded a fellowship at SOAS.

Hanaa is widely regarded as the foremost Iraqi woman painter alive. Her recent work is increasingly concerned with the loss of Iraqi’s heritage through the destruction of its libraries and the looting of National Museum following the 2003 invasion. As well as exploring the recent destruction of Iraqi heritage Hanaa’s work also investigates the recurrent cycle whereby, throughout the ages, the Mesopotamian landscape has been set on fire; many of her pieces are burned and cut as well as being painted. Hanaa’s work expresses the remarkable way in which such destruction can inspire and activate artistic creation.

Rashad Selim

Rashad Selim

A well known Iraqi Artist, intellectual and activist. Rashad left Iraq shortly after the ascendancy of the Ba’ath party.

Rashad’s work and his lectures both focus on Iraq’s cultural heritage.

Ahmad Sham Sufi Qawali

We met the group for the first time when visiting a Sufi House in the old quarters of Kabul in 2006. Sufi Houses exist all over Afghanistan and come from an ancient tradition which has existed for over 700years. The tradition consists of 24 to 48hours of non-stop music, played by alternating musicians. The sessions are always free, food is provided and the audience come and go as they please. The
audience and the musicians collaborate to create a musical and spiritual journey, aimed at reaching a state of ecstasy. This state is viewed by certain Sufi groups as the point at which one is closest to
God.

Sufi music is not viewed as a performance, but as a spiritual and healing journey through music and dance. People do not clap at the end of a song, but they clap and dance throughout. The music is improvised according to the atmosphere and mood of the audience and the audience share a responsibility in creating this energy.

The Taliban banned Qawali music along with all other music, during their reign and Qawali music was the first to return after their expulsion. This is due to Qawali being an important form of healing within Afghan culture.

The Sham Qawali group have been playing for over 30years and is one of the most highly regarded Qawali groups of Afghanistan. They have toured India, Russia, Tajikistan, all over Afghanistan and last year came to London and Scotland, brought over by Reel Festivals during the first Afghan Festival in the UK.

In Edinburgh the group played in the Reed Music Hall, and the Queen’s Hall http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdfhVcimANQ
Both concerts were a huge success and due to public demand, we have bringing the group back this year as part of the Great Game Festival in
the Tricycle Theatre, London http://www.tricycle.co.uk/.

The group will also be touring Scotland, playing in the CatStrand in New Galloway as part of Dumfries and Galloway 30th Arts Festival http://www.dgartsfestival.org.uk/, and Knockengorroch World Music Festival in Dumfries and Galloway http://www.knockengorroch.org.uk/

This is a rare opportunity to see one of Afghanistan’s most talented bands and learn about their unique history and culture. You can here them in session on BBC Radio 3 here – http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00kh0ts

A chance to see a more human side of Afghanistan and its people. I can’t recommend this group highly enough, please do come along and spread the word!

Director: Steve Connors & Molly Bingham // 2007 // 84 mins
Iraq, US // Arabic with English Subtitles

What would you do if America was invaded? MEETING RESISTANCE raises the veil of anonymity surrounding the Iraqi insurgency by meeting face to face with individuals who are passionately engaged in the struggle, and documenting for the very frst time, the sentiments experienced and actions taken by a nation’s citizens when their homeland is occupied.

Full Battle Rattle

Director: Tony Gerber & Jesse Moss // 2008 // 85 mins
Iraq, USA // Englis & Arabic with English subtitles

In California’s Mojave Desert, the US Army has built a “virtual Iraq” – a billion dollar urban warfare simulation – and populated it with hundreds of Iraqi role-players. FULL BATTLE RATTLE follows an Army Battalion through the simulation, as they attempt to quell an insurgency and prevent Medina Wasl, a mock Iraqi village, from slipping into civil war. Comic, surreal and poignant, the flm provides a revelatory look at the soul of the American war machine, and, in the battle for Medina Wasl, fnds a potent allegory of America’s military misadventure in Iraq.

Biography: Tony Gerber – Producer/Director

Tony Gerber was born in New York City and began his directing career creating films for live theatre. His work has been featured in a number of award-winning productions, including the Broadway musical Rent. His short film, Small Taste of Heaven premiered at Rotterdam and the Sundance film Festival and enabled him to direct his first feature, Side Streets, starring Rosario Dawson, Valeria Golino and Shashi Kapoor. The film was Executive Produced by Ismail Merchant / Merchant Ivory and premiered at the Venice and Sundance film festivals.

He is developing the feature film Disobedience, a story of impossible love in the US anti-war movement with producers Killer Films, and Mud, River Stone, from the play by award-winning playwright Lynn Nottage. He collaborated with artist Matthew Barney on his Drawing Restraint 9 (starring Bjork) and Cremaster IV. Gerber is currently in pre-production on a documentary series for National Geographic, shooting in the Democratic Republic of Congo. His previous work in television earned him two Emmy Awards.

Biography: Jesse Moss – Producer/Director

Jesse Moss is the founder of Mile End Films(www.mileendfilms.com), a New York based production company. His award winning documentaries include Speedo: A Demolition Derby Love Story, which aired on POV/PBS, and Con Man, which aired on HBO/Cinemax. He is currently working on a series of scripted training films for the Dept. of Veterans Affairs about a new cognitive therapy designed to help Iraq War Vets, and producing Disturbing the Universe, adocumentary about the radical lawyer William Kunstler.

He is also writing the screenplay adaptation of Con Man, about Ivy League impostor James Hogue, for Paul Giamatti’s company Touchy Feely Films. Prior to establishing his own production company, Moss worked as a producer for Barbara Kopple and a speechwriter on Capitol Hill. He has been a fellow of the MacDowell Colony, and was named one of 25 New Faces of Independent Film by Filmmaker Magazine in 2003.

Forget Baghdad Still

Winner of the 2002 Locarno Jury Prize, Forget Baghdad tells the forgotten story of four Baghdadi-Jews, all former members of the Iraqi communist party who were forced to emigrate at Israel’s founding.

A film reflecting upon the clichés of “the Jew” and “the Arab” in the last hundred years of cinema, combined with the biographies of some extraordinary individuals: Iraqi-Jewish communists.

The four elderly protagonists (all now successful Israelis) were influenced in their youth by the internationalism of the Iraqi communist party. But in the early 1950s, their Jewish identity put them at odds with the rising Arab nationalism so characteristic of the decade. Fleeing to Israel was hardly a solution, as the men found themselves on the outskirts of a society built and governed by European Jews. Jews in Baghdad and Arabs in Israel, the divided identities and confusion of these four men’s lives tell a much larger tale of global, political and cultural disorder.

Plus Short: Twinning Towns

Hussein Ahmed, who was born in Basra but now lives in Warrington, is on a mission to try and persuade his local town to twin themselves with Basra.

• Director: May Abdalla
• 3 mins, 2008, UK
• Language: English
• Documentary