Shasha Movies at PhotoIreland Festival 2023CLUB 18+150 min
Synopsis
Shasha Movies is the independent streaming service for South-West Asian and North African cinema.
For PhotoIreland Festival, Shasha Movies presents a selection of films
from their distribution library, curated in response to the festival. Featuring the films of Eiman Mirghani, Jamil McGinnis, Malak Mroueh, Natalie Shirinian, Rafik Greiss, Randa Maroufi, and Tarek Lakhrissi.
The screening will be followed by a Q&A between Róisín Tapponi, founder of Shasha Movies, and Aisha Bolaji, Director and Screenwriter.
RUNNING ORDER:
La Grand Safae (2014, 16') dir. Randa Maroufi.
The film is loosely inspired by a character known as the Great Safae. A trans woman, she spent a period of her life as a domestic worker in a family who were not aware of her real sexual identity.
Out of the Blue (2017, 13’) dir. Tarek Lakhrissi.
The film takes place at a radical moment in time, when a politically conservative era is suddenly coming to an end. The characters explore ideas of freedom and liberty, self-determination and queer futurity.
Parev Mama (2021, 11’) dir. Natalie Shirinian.
The film follows Natalie, who is a lesbian, as she is faced with the repercussions of her traditional Armenian mother when coming home late after a night out with her girlfriend. The lead is on a journey of truth, coming to terms with being honest with her mother
about her sexuality, and living her life for herself outside the constraints of her culture's expectations.
The Bleaching Syndrome (2018, 19’) dir. Eiman Mirghani.
After a failed attempt to make a documentary about a Sudanese woman who bleaches
her skin, filmmaker Eiman Mirghani turns the camera around to discover her own relationship with her skin color and how it has affected her life as a young, Afro-Arab woman living in the Middle East.
As Time Passes (2022, 14') dir. Jamil McGinnis.
Through journal entries, a mother’s words, neighborhood stories, and existential inquiries, the film tries to search for meaning in a hostile environment.
Rupture Divine (2018, 20') dir. Malak Mroueh.
The story of Maya, who is a lesbian, and goes through electroshock conversion therapy, and starts to hallucinate after her mother discovers her relationship with a girl.
Untitled (VHS Tape)(2023, 6’) dir. Rafik Greiss.
A collaborative film made by Rafik Greiss and Ser Serpas as they explore Paris and its outskirts while constructing temporary sculptures with found material.