The films in this program delve into the various practices that keep us connected to our lands. Each of these films is marked by a displacement or disruption from the land that is ours: some are exiled from their homes, while others have never known it from their place in the diaspora. Nevertheless, the connection to the land is maintained through shared experiences that are passed on from generation to generation. These practices include making food, collecting herbs, upholding artistic rituals, preserving family memories, and reimagining ancient tales. The films show that, by carrying out these activities, we also exercise our self-reliance. The land has always provided all that we need to sustain ourselves for decades to come. Even if we are not physically there, we will always remain.
Curated by Nanor Vosgueritchian & Yasmina Tawil
A tattoo ritual and hookah session memorializes a pre-war flower shop. After seeing its storefront in archival footage of the Lebanese Civil War, a first-generation daughter seeks information and connection to place. Scenes of 1976 Beirut are paired with today’s modern landscape, while roses are etched and coconut coals burn in a snowy diasporic setting.
Filmmaker bio:
Christina Hajjar is a Lebanese Canadian artist, writer, and cultural worker based in Winnipeg on Treaty 1 Territory. Her practice considers intergenerational inheritance, domesticity, and place through diaspora, body archives, and cultural iconography. As a queer femme and first-generation subject, she is invested in the poetics of process, translation, and collaborative labour. Hajjar was a recipient of the 2020 PLATFORM Photography Award. Her film Don’t Forget the Water won the Jury Award and Audience Choice Award at the 2021 Gimli Film Festival, as well as an honourable mention for the 2021 Emerging Digital Artists Award.
- Year2023
- Runtime7 minutes
- LanguageArabic, English
- CountryCanada
- GenreDocumentary
- Subtitle LanguageEnglish
- Content WarningTobacco use, discussion of war
- DirectorChristina Hajjar
- CastDasha Savchenko, Nada Hajjar
- CinematographerLaina Brown
- EditorChristina Hajjar
- Production DesignChristina Hajjar
The films in this program delve into the various practices that keep us connected to our lands. Each of these films is marked by a displacement or disruption from the land that is ours: some are exiled from their homes, while others have never known it from their place in the diaspora. Nevertheless, the connection to the land is maintained through shared experiences that are passed on from generation to generation. These practices include making food, collecting herbs, upholding artistic rituals, preserving family memories, and reimagining ancient tales. The films show that, by carrying out these activities, we also exercise our self-reliance. The land has always provided all that we need to sustain ourselves for decades to come. Even if we are not physically there, we will always remain.
Curated by Nanor Vosgueritchian & Yasmina Tawil
A tattoo ritual and hookah session memorializes a pre-war flower shop. After seeing its storefront in archival footage of the Lebanese Civil War, a first-generation daughter seeks information and connection to place. Scenes of 1976 Beirut are paired with today’s modern landscape, while roses are etched and coconut coals burn in a snowy diasporic setting.
Filmmaker bio:
Christina Hajjar is a Lebanese Canadian artist, writer, and cultural worker based in Winnipeg on Treaty 1 Territory. Her practice considers intergenerational inheritance, domesticity, and place through diaspora, body archives, and cultural iconography. As a queer femme and first-generation subject, she is invested in the poetics of process, translation, and collaborative labour. Hajjar was a recipient of the 2020 PLATFORM Photography Award. Her film Don’t Forget the Water won the Jury Award and Audience Choice Award at the 2021 Gimli Film Festival, as well as an honourable mention for the 2021 Emerging Digital Artists Award.
- Year2023
- Runtime7 minutes
- LanguageArabic, English
- CountryCanada
- GenreDocumentary
- Subtitle LanguageEnglish
- Content WarningTobacco use, discussion of war
- DirectorChristina Hajjar
- CastDasha Savchenko, Nada Hajjar
- CinematographerLaina Brown
- EditorChristina Hajjar
- Production DesignChristina Hajjar