In Fields of Words: Conversations with Samar Yazbek (l-Sahel al-Mumtani')

New screening and conversation series taking place at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema (all films) and Innis Town Hall (panel discussion): Bidayyat [Beginnings] in Syrian Revolutionary Nonfiction. Part of JHI's Program for the Arts. The U of Toronto community can get free tickets to the screenings by using code:  BIDAYYATC

A film-conversation between the writer Samar Yazbek and filmmaker Rania Stephan, questioning the relationship between language and cinema as tools to represent the realities of war and violence.

Speaking from Yazbek's home in exile in France, audiences witness the limits and possibilities of words to express and subvert violence of such magnitude.

Ten years in the making, the film unfolds through vignettes and snippets of dialogue. The result is a poignant reflection on violence and representation, as well as our capacity to listen, interpret and understand.

In Arabic with English subtitles.

Co-director Rania Stephan will participate in a post-screening Q&A.

• Directed By: Rania Stephan
• 2022
• Lebanon
• 68 minutes

Other events in this series:

Nov 22 | 6:45pm - Our Terrible Country (Baladna alraheeb): Two dissidents embark on a perilous journey from Damascus to Raqqa and then into exile in Turkey as Syria tumbles into the abyss. Tickets https://hotdocs.ca/whats-on/films/our-terrible-country

Nov 23 | 6:45pm - Still Recording: Two art students living a carefree life in Damascus decide to join the Syrian revolution by moving to Douma, a working-class suburb under rebel rule. Tickets https://hotdocs.ca/whats-on/films/still-recording

Nov 24 | 3:00pm - Panel Discussion at Innis Town Hall. Bidayyat: A Smuggler Between Generations. Participants: Saeed al-Batal, Mohammad Ali Atassi, Rania Stephan, Stefan Tarnowski