“Queer Lens” is a program of short films celebrating the lives and loves of LGBTQ+ individuals in the Arab World and its diasporas. From a romantic and deeply political road trip to the discotheque and outer orbit, we come to appreciate the beautiful and complicated intimacies of chosen and biological families.&nbsp; Barzakh, 2020Karina Dandashi (Syria, USA) Son of a Dancer, 2018Georges Hazim (Lebanon) Mondial 2010, 2014Roy Dib (Lebanon) What's Left of Home, 2019Antoine Maksoudian (Lebanon) Three Centimeters, 2018Lara Zeidan (Lebanon) Ablution, 2018Omar Aldakheel (USA) Ubuntu, 2019Aqsa Altaf (USA)

Living in a dystopian future where the U.S. government is sending refugees and undocumented immigrants to a recently colonized Mars, a Syrian refugee misses her deportation launch and makes a musical connection with a local DJ. "As a Syrian-American Muslim filmmaker, Barzakh is a personal film that uses the sci-fi genre to reflect upon the sociopolitical climate in the United States and the treatment of refugees and undocumented immigrants. In Arabic, “al-barzakh” means a physical barrier that separates two things or a spiritual state of in-between. Much like my own Syrian family, who had to flee to other countries during the war, Zahra is stuck where she is not wanted. Though the world will continue to create barriers and borders, art offers (as techno music does in the film), the hope, the glimpse, to permeate them." ––Karina Dandashi About the Filmmaker <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/5bf297b4d3af9c62840b8c6d5c463265.jpg" width="133" style="display: inline; margin: 0px 1em 1em 0px; float: left;">Karina Dandashi is a Syrian-American Muslim writer and director living in Brooklyn, NY. She has worked for independent film companies such as A24 and Stay Gold Features. Her work focuses on women-driven stories that explore identity through the intersection of family, religion, and culture in Arab-American and Muslim communities. Karina is the Silver Sun Diverse Voices Filmmaker Fellow at the Jacob Burns Film Center, where she will be making two shorts over the course of 2020-2021.&nbsp;

Barzakh

In this dystopian future, the US government ships refugees to a colony on Mars.

Twenty-year-old Majed grieves the loss of his recently deceased mother. One day, he gets the shock of his life when he learns that she used to be a belly dancer. Torn between his relationship with his now-silent father, and Hanine, the woman who helps him overcome his grief, he takes a trip down memory lane in an attempt to discover his mother's mysterious past.This film contains sensitive content. About the Filmmaker <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/aa08f8b5b6f17f7d7b912ac75da9a825.png" width="131" style="display: inline; margin: 0px 1em 1em 0px; float: left;"> Born&nbsp;in Beirut, director&nbsp;Georges Hazim&nbsp;is a graduate of the Faculty of Fine Arts and Architecture from the Lebanese University, where he obtained his Master's degree in Directing. Through his short films, often controversial in a quasi-conservative society, he gives a voice to the Queer community.

Son of A Dancer (ابن الرقاصة)

Twenty-year-old Majed grieves the loss of his recently deceased mother, while he uncovers her secrets through the objects she left behind.

Mondial 2010 is a film about love and place. A gay Lebanese couple decides to take a road trip to Ramallah. They chronicle their journey and record it with their camera. The viewer is invited into the couple's conversations and into the universe of a fading city. Note: The relations between Israelis and Lebanese are governed by the 1943 Lebanese Criminal Code, which forbids any interaction with nationals of enemy states, and the 1955 Lebanese Anti-Israeli Boycott Law, which specifies Israelis as an enemy. As a result, this kind of trip for a Lebanese citizen, a road trip to Israel (or Palestine), is impossible. About the Filmmaker <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/83ec0e6282fa328c9d5e8b9b52c840d2.jpg" width="194" style="display: inline; margin: 0px 1em 1em 0px; float: left;">Born in 1983, Roy Dib is an artist and filmmaker that works and lives in Beirut, Lebanon. His work focuses on the subjective constructions of space. His latest short film Mondial 2010 (2014) won several awards including the Teddy Award for the Best Short Film at the 64th Berlinale, Best Short Film at Queer Lisboa International Film Festival, and the Uppsala Grand Prix at Uppsala International Short Film Festival. His latest video installation, A Spectacle of Privacy, debuted in the Exposure 2015 show at the Beirut Art Center and it was then featured in the Berlinale’s 2015 Forum Expanded, Queer Porto 1 (2015), and Images Festival in Toronto (2016). The exhibit won an award at the Contemporary Art Festival SESC Videobrasil (2015). The Beach House (Beit El Baher, 2016) is Dib’s first narrative feature film.

Mondial 2010

A gay Lebanese couple chronicle their road trip to Ramallah.

Would you keep your loved one next to you no matter what or let them go if it's for their own good? When Josef, a closeted Lebanese guy in his mid-twenties gets a job abroad, his life is put into perspective. About the Filmmaker <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/a1519b443d9514982e8e0c2bef3160e3.jpg" width="129" style="display: inline; margin: 0px 1em 1em 0px; float: left;">Antoine Maksoudian is a Lebanese director, writer, and editor of Armenian descent. In 2019, he received a Master’s degree in film directing from the Lebanese University, where he wrote and directed the short drama film What’s Left Of Home, which won the Best Narrative award in the Lebanese Independent Film Festival.

What's Left of Home (شو بقي من البيت)

When Josef, a closeted Lebanese man in his mid-twenties gets a job abroad, his life is put into perspective.

Four Lebanese girls go on a Ferris wheel ride to make their friend feel better about her breakup. Their conversation drifts to a less fun place, and they learn about each other as they look out over their city. About the Filmmaker <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/7a230cce63508735f06440d785b7223f.png" width="134" style="display: inline; margin: 0px 1em 1em 0px; float: left;">Lara Zeidan is a Lebanese/Canadian filmmaker based between London and Beirut.

Three Centimeters

Four Lebanese girls go on a Ferris wheel ride to make their friend feel better about her breakup.

Waleed washes his disabled father Khaled five times a day for Muslim prayer. But, when Waleed’s sexuality is revealed, both father and son are torn between religion, duty, and self. About the Filmmaker <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/e22a2a967a3469faa83d85d8e6afe7be.png" width="150" style="display: inline; margin: 0px 1em 1em 0px; float: left;">Born and raised in Kuwait, Omar Al Dakheel moved to the U.S. at 17 after receiving a full merit scholarship to the University of Miami. After graduating with a BA in Theatre Arts and a BS in Broadcast Journalism, he worked at Al Jazeera's English-language channel in Washington, DC. He then earned an MFA at the USC School of Cinematic Arts where he immersed himself in all aspects of filmmaking. Before Ablution, Omar made Jihad in Hollywood, featuring Werner Herzog, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Kuwait International Film Festival. He also directed l Imam, which tells the story of one of the world's few female Imams; this film premiered at the Hot Springs Doc Film Festival. Al Dakheel lives in Los Angeles.

Ablution

Waleed washes his father five times a day for prayer. Though, Waleed's sexuality creates a tension in their routine.

Ubuntu is a coming-of-age story that follows best friends and star athletes, Hakeem &amp; Darren, as they navigate the complexities of high school. When pushed to face their collective fears in social settings, the two friends realize that staying true to themselves and supporting one another is what matters the most. About the Filmmaker <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/4e50faaffbc94e2fe78501621743c611.jpg" width="133" style="display: inline; margin: 0px 1em 1em 0px; float: left;">Aqsa Altaf is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker, who was raised in a Muslim household in Kuwait by Pakistani and Sri Lankan parents. Altaf tells stories that are diverse in nature and reflect a universal subject matter. Altaf graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts in December 2017. She was selected to participate in the 2018 Werner Herzog Filmmaking Workshop in the Peruvian jungle, where she made a film under Werner Herzog’s mentorship. She was also selected to direct a short film for the emerging Muslim filmmaker fellowship by Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) and Mike Mosallam Productions (MMP).

Ubuntu

Best friends Darren and Hakeem navigate the social complexities of high school.

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