This set of experimental short films explores the connections between language, memory, and home. While inseparable elements for some, for others they pose the very obstacles preventing them from connecting to their identities. With this in mind, the filmmakers question how language shapes our memories of home and––inversely––how our recollections of the past are sculpted by the mother tongue we did (or did not) learn to speak. The films are poetic in form and content and take us on a journey from the coasts of Egypt to the water wheels of Hama, Syria to an abandoned family home in Baghdad. They beautifully weave images of texts, nature, cityscapes, and personal archives to convey a perpetual longing for a life that could have been.
This program is curated by Nanor Vosgueritchian
A grandmother's stories of travel as loss and longing for loved ones are redefined during a period of isolation. As the filmmaker re-enacts her childhood moments, she becomes both her grandmother sewing dresses, and her child self watching. Thinking back to the old songs that speak of her displacement, the filmmaker dreams of moments when she can travel to the ones she loves, and her grandmother's words bring meaning to her feelings of absence and melancholy, her saudade.
About the filmmaker:
Maysaa Almumin was born in Kuwait, lived in the UK, and currently resides in Qatar. In 2021 she was named as one of the Arab Stars of Tomorrow by Screen International. She is the writer, director, and producer of several short films, including ‘...And I Am Left Behind’, which premiered in the Cairo International Film Festival, and 'J’ai le Cafard' (Bint Werdan), which has received several awards including special mention from Maskoon Fantasy Film Festival. Maysaa is currently developing her first feature film set in Kuwait which continues her interest in telling stories of middle aged Arab women who straddle the peripheries of convention.
- Year2021
- Runtime7 minutes
- LanguageArabic
- CountryKuwait
- DirectorMaysaa Almumin
- CastMaysaa Almumin
- CinematographerMaysaa Almumin
- EditorMaysaa Almumin
- Sound DesignSeverin Favriau
This set of experimental short films explores the connections between language, memory, and home. While inseparable elements for some, for others they pose the very obstacles preventing them from connecting to their identities. With this in mind, the filmmakers question how language shapes our memories of home and––inversely––how our recollections of the past are sculpted by the mother tongue we did (or did not) learn to speak. The films are poetic in form and content and take us on a journey from the coasts of Egypt to the water wheels of Hama, Syria to an abandoned family home in Baghdad. They beautifully weave images of texts, nature, cityscapes, and personal archives to convey a perpetual longing for a life that could have been.
This program is curated by Nanor Vosgueritchian
A grandmother's stories of travel as loss and longing for loved ones are redefined during a period of isolation. As the filmmaker re-enacts her childhood moments, she becomes both her grandmother sewing dresses, and her child self watching. Thinking back to the old songs that speak of her displacement, the filmmaker dreams of moments when she can travel to the ones she loves, and her grandmother's words bring meaning to her feelings of absence and melancholy, her saudade.
About the filmmaker:
Maysaa Almumin was born in Kuwait, lived in the UK, and currently resides in Qatar. In 2021 she was named as one of the Arab Stars of Tomorrow by Screen International. She is the writer, director, and producer of several short films, including ‘...And I Am Left Behind’, which premiered in the Cairo International Film Festival, and 'J’ai le Cafard' (Bint Werdan), which has received several awards including special mention from Maskoon Fantasy Film Festival. Maysaa is currently developing her first feature film set in Kuwait which continues her interest in telling stories of middle aged Arab women who straddle the peripheries of convention.
- Year2021
- Runtime7 minutes
- LanguageArabic
- CountryKuwait
- DirectorMaysaa Almumin
- CastMaysaa Almumin
- CinematographerMaysaa Almumin
- EditorMaysaa Almumin
- Sound DesignSeverin Favriau