“I didn’t realize there were others like me…"
Conceived as a cross-border film project from Another Kind of Girl Collective, ONLY THE OCEAN BETWEEN US follows four personal stories of resilience, displacement, connection, and ultimately enormous strength and power, from two Syrian directors in Za’atari Refugee Camp, Jordan, and two indigenous Shipibo directors in Lima, Peru. In first-person documentary style, each young filmmaker captured her unique landscape for the others to experience. What emerged from their cinematic exchange paints an unexpected story of sisterhood forged through the shared struggles of building home and family in the face of prolonged uncertainty.
This film is in the Documentary Feature Competition.
MEET THE FILMMAKER: KHALDIYA AMER ALI
Khaldiya Amer Ali is a Syrian filmmaker living in Za'atari Refugee Camp, Jordan. Her short film Another Kind of Girl (2015) premiered at Sundance, screened at Cannes, SXSW, won numerous awards, and was featured on the New York Times’ Op-docs. Her first feature-length film, Only the Ocean Between Us, supported by the Sundance Institute and Creative Capital, will premiere in 2021.
MEET THE FILMMAKER: MARAH MOHAMMAD ALKHATEEB
Marah Mohammad Alkhateeb is a Syrian filmmaker living in Za'atari Refugee Camp, Jordan. Her short film Children (2015) won numerous awards at film festivals. More recently, she created a short film for the Thomson Reuters Association and completed a 360 film. Her first feature-length film, Only the Ocean Between Us, supported by the Sundance Institute and Creative Capital, will premiere 2021.
MEET THE FILMMAKER: KAROLI BAUTISTA PIZARRO
Karoli Bautista Pizarro is a Shipibo filmmaker, cultural practitioner and activist living in Cantagallo, Lima, Peru. Her short film Escúchame Cantar (2016) screened at the North Carolina Latin American Film Festival and Alice Fest. Her photographs were featured in an article in the Peruvian investigative journal Ojo Público about human rights issues in her community during the 2020 lockdown. Her first feature-length film, Only the Ocean Between Us, supported by the Sundance Institute and Creative Capital, will premiere in 2021.
MEET THE FILMMAKER: CHRISTY CAUPER SILVANO
Christy Cauper Silvano is a Shipibo photographer, filmmaker and cultural practitioner living in Cantagallo, Lima, Peru. She co-directed the short film Un Pedacito de la Selva en la Ciudad (2015), which won an audience award at Mi Primer Festival, in Lima. Her photographs were also featured in the group exhibit “Fotos por el Cambio” at the Peruvian North American Cultural Institute. Her first feature-length film, Only the Ocean Between Us, supported by the Sundance Institute and Creative Capital, will premiere in 2021.
- Year2021
- Runtime82 minutes
- LanguageArabic, Spanish, Shipibo
- CountryUnited States, Peru, Jordan
- DirectorKhaldiya Amer Ali, Marah Mohammad Alkhateeb, Karoli Bautista Pizarro, Christy Cauper Silvano
- ProducerLaura Doggett, EB Landesberg, Lali Madueño Medina, Tasneem Toghoj
“I didn’t realize there were others like me…"
Conceived as a cross-border film project from Another Kind of Girl Collective, ONLY THE OCEAN BETWEEN US follows four personal stories of resilience, displacement, connection, and ultimately enormous strength and power, from two Syrian directors in Za’atari Refugee Camp, Jordan, and two indigenous Shipibo directors in Lima, Peru. In first-person documentary style, each young filmmaker captured her unique landscape for the others to experience. What emerged from their cinematic exchange paints an unexpected story of sisterhood forged through the shared struggles of building home and family in the face of prolonged uncertainty.
This film is in the Documentary Feature Competition.
MEET THE FILMMAKER: KHALDIYA AMER ALI
Khaldiya Amer Ali is a Syrian filmmaker living in Za'atari Refugee Camp, Jordan. Her short film Another Kind of Girl (2015) premiered at Sundance, screened at Cannes, SXSW, won numerous awards, and was featured on the New York Times’ Op-docs. Her first feature-length film, Only the Ocean Between Us, supported by the Sundance Institute and Creative Capital, will premiere in 2021.
MEET THE FILMMAKER: MARAH MOHAMMAD ALKHATEEB
Marah Mohammad Alkhateeb is a Syrian filmmaker living in Za'atari Refugee Camp, Jordan. Her short film Children (2015) won numerous awards at film festivals. More recently, she created a short film for the Thomson Reuters Association and completed a 360 film. Her first feature-length film, Only the Ocean Between Us, supported by the Sundance Institute and Creative Capital, will premiere 2021.
MEET THE FILMMAKER: KAROLI BAUTISTA PIZARRO
Karoli Bautista Pizarro is a Shipibo filmmaker, cultural practitioner and activist living in Cantagallo, Lima, Peru. Her short film Escúchame Cantar (2016) screened at the North Carolina Latin American Film Festival and Alice Fest. Her photographs were featured in an article in the Peruvian investigative journal Ojo Público about human rights issues in her community during the 2020 lockdown. Her first feature-length film, Only the Ocean Between Us, supported by the Sundance Institute and Creative Capital, will premiere in 2021.
MEET THE FILMMAKER: CHRISTY CAUPER SILVANO
Christy Cauper Silvano is a Shipibo photographer, filmmaker and cultural practitioner living in Cantagallo, Lima, Peru. She co-directed the short film Un Pedacito de la Selva en la Ciudad (2015), which won an audience award at Mi Primer Festival, in Lima. Her photographs were also featured in the group exhibit “Fotos por el Cambio” at the Peruvian North American Cultural Institute. Her first feature-length film, Only the Ocean Between Us, supported by the Sundance Institute and Creative Capital, will premiere in 2021.
- Year2021
- Runtime82 minutes
- LanguageArabic, Spanish, Shipibo
- CountryUnited States, Peru, Jordan
- DirectorKhaldiya Amer Ali, Marah Mohammad Alkhateeb, Karoli Bautista Pizarro, Christy Cauper Silvano
- ProducerLaura Doggett, EB Landesberg, Lali Madueño Medina, Tasneem Toghoj