<a href="https://menafilmfestival.eventive.org/passes/buy" target="_blank">PURCHASE ONLINE FESTIVAL PASSES FOR $45</a> <a href="https://viff.org/whats-on/mena-2022-systems-of-power/" target="_blank">VIEW IN-PERSON @ VIFF THEATRE IN VANCOUVER</a>

Maryam is on the verge of a divorce when she realizes she's pregnant and cannot go through with it until the baby is born. She tries to get her husband Hamid’s consent to obtain a passport to attend a reputable festival abroad where her film has been accepted. But Hamid refuses and Maryam will have to face various challenges in her life. She becomes doubtful as to becoming and staying a mother or choosing to go to pursue her dreams.

A Winner

This film is about the story of a female filmmaker who lives and works in her mother's greenhouse. After her film gets selected in a reputable film festival abroad, she is faced with problems to leave the country.

This Libyan poet Fadil Hasin Ash-Shalmani, deported to Favignana Island between 1913 and 1920, gave us a rare testimony of an often forgotten historical fact described by his verses.

Fathers' land (Terra dei padri)

If poetry is often untranslatable, this is an attempt to translate it into sounds and  images.

The Syrian soldier Husam is on a 24 hour leave from the front to visit his family. A lump sits in his throat, while he is having breakfast with his mother: He wants to tell her how he really feels, that he is afraid of death and wants to escape military service. But his mother insists on glorifying him as a hero, who fights for the honor of his country and family.

Return

Husam is on a 24 hour leave from the front to visit his family. A lump sits in his throat, while he is having breakfast with his mother: He wants to tell her how he really feels, that he is afraid of death

High school dropout Karim El Hadifaces a bleak future. Six years after the Tunisian Revolution and the chants of "work, freedom, national dignity," little has changed in the border town where he lives with his working-class father, Houssem, and kid sister, Lilya. His creativity and passion for design continues to stagnate, his longtime friends still spend their days chasing dreams that don't exist, and after suffering a string of personal tragedies his family has become cold and distant. Everything changes for Karim when he learns of a way out. The plan is risky and could make him a target of the local police and criminal underbelly. But the question before Karim is, what does he have left to lose? As he advances his plan, and as the bonds of friendship and family are tested, he may not like the answer.&nbsp;

Road to El Kef

With his mother and brother gone, a vulnerable teenager living in northern Tunisia charts a path that threatens to tear apart what remains of his family.

A video portrait of Zakaria Almoutlak, a sculptor and media activist from Homs, Syria, who fled the civil war in 2015. A triptych of songs, co-written with Almoutlak and performed by singers Aliana de la Guardia and Ganavya Doraiswamy, evoke memories of his fractured homeland, from his imprisonment by the Assad regime to dancing at a wedding under bombardment. News footage, YouTube videos, and speculative reenactments staged by Pandian and Zins-Browne supplant a missing visual record of Almoutlak’s experiences. Presented in a vertical format (ubiquitous in everyday life, but unique in the cinema), “III Songs without Z.” renders the moments of joy and pain that are so often edited out of stories of survival.

Three Songs without Z.

A suite of songs about a Syrian sculptor who carves stone, takes up arms, dances in the ruins of Homs, confesses on camera, and seeks official status.

Canada

Systems of Power

Adult

Students / Senior (65+) / Accessibility

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Your pass for the MENA Film Festival is below. Now Browse our {{link|https://menafilmfestival.eventive.org/films|Film guide}}  or visit the {{link|https://watch.eventive.org/menafilmfestival|MENA Virtual event}} and select the screenings you want to view, unlock the screening and enjoy!

These are all your purchased tickets for MENA 2020. Click "Watch Now" Starting November 20 to access your screening or go directly to the the MENA Virtual event page to browse other screenings

MENA 2021 All-Access Pass Promo (CAD $150)

MENA 2020 All-Access Promo ($15)

In person & Online (CAD $200)

MENA 2022 Online Pass (CAD $45)

MENA 2021 Online Pass Promo (CAD $30)

In person & Online access ($200)

IN PERSON & ONLINE (CAD $150)


Online access ($45)

MENA 2022 ONLINE PASS (CAD $30)

None available

All-Access Pass

Virtual Festival Pass

Our full 2022 program is available now from November 26 – December 1, 2022. ONLINE PASSES for the entire programming available at the link above with individual virtual tickets to Special Features and our five themed bundles: Generations, Systems of Power, Geographies, Futurisms, Collective Care and Constellations for $10 each across Canada. MENA prioritizes an exclusive selection of shorts and features that challenge mainstream portrayals of MENA/SWANA narratives and identities from the region and across the diaspora. Follow us on Instagram (@menafilmfestival) or Facebook (@menafilmfestival) and use #MENA2022 for the latest announcements and promotions!

The MENA Film Festival in Vancouver presents its full 2022 programming from November 26 – December 8, 2022!

Here's what's coming up soon. Can't make it? No sweat. Many live streams will be available for on-demand viewing as well.