Escape
Spring Grants 2021 - Post-Production Stage
Katia Jarjoura / Feature Documentary / France, Qatar / 78 min / Original Language: Arabic / Interests: Women, Immigration, Identity, Creative Documentary
Synopsis
‘Escape’ is a poetic and intimate journey on the path of exile, through the story of five Syrian women artists scattered in different countries. The set-up is simple. In the intimacy of their room, the characters recall their memories in front of the camera. From Berlin to Oslo, from Paris to Istanbul, their words respond to each other and complement one another. Some speak with intensity; others express themselves through silence. Between two cigarettes, they reflect on their inner turmoil: the departure from Syria, the confrontation with others in the host country, the traumas of war, and ultimately, the transformation of oneself through art. Performances of dance, music and videos, as well as archival footage from Syria, come to enrich these informal exchanges. In the end, the film shows how the protagonists try to overcome their dramatic experiences and rebuild themselves, far from the stamps of “refugees”.
About the Director
Katia Jarjoura is a Lebanese-Canadian filmmaker who has directed several documentaries in the Middle East ('The Road to Kerbala', 'Goodbye Mubarak', 'Lebanon Sitting on a Volcano') for the French-German channel ARTE. She also wrote several screenplays and made two short fiction films: 'In their Blood' (France 2 award at the Brest Film Festival, 2009) and 'Only Silence' (2017), which was broadcast on France 3. Katia also worked as a consultant and script doctor on various film projects. She was a member of the CNC (National Center of Cinematography) commission for short films in Paris. She also conducted several short film workshops in the Middle East for emerging filmmakers, among which in Iraq (2015), in Libya and in Algeria (2017). Katia is now based in Paris, where she teaches cinema at the French Cinémathèque. She has just finished shooting Escape, a feature-length documentary about exile, and is developing other personal documentary and film projects.
Contacts
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Main Contact
Alice Ormières
- Company:
- Echo films
- Phone:
- 0033646217995
- Email:
- alice.ormieres@gmail.com