The films in this shorts segment are not made for children and families, necessarily, as many of the films tackle difficult subjects, like war, classism, and violence. Instead, these films speak to one another because they each explore various experiences of childhood and/or depict the complexity of families and family dynamics. Telling the stories of children during stressful and joyful moments and considering various configurations of family relationships, the films in this series expose cruelty and locate delight in the stories they tell.
A short narrative film that takes place in war-torn Yemen and follows a young deaf girl, Saleemah, who has one major love in this world: her camera. Her brother Aqeel, who introduced her to photography, works as a news reporter and is unable to take her out to film because he is preoccupied covering the war. Frustrated, Saleemah wanders out of the house during an impending airstrike. To make matters worse, she loses her hearing aids.
Festivals and Awards
Bentonville Film Festival, USA, 2021
Watersprite Film Festival, UK, 2021
About the filmmaker
Alaa Zabara is an independent hard-of-hearing, Yemeni-American director and cinematographer. Drawn to the power of photographs from an early age, she started to document the daily life around her through the use of a camera. These documentations became her conversation with and introduction to the world. She became attracted to the ability of cinema to change the hearts and minds of an audience, as well as its ability to highlight the stories that need to be told and amplify the voices of the voiceless.
- Year2020
- Runtime14 minutes
- LanguageArabic
- CountryYemen, Jordan
- DirectorAlaa Zabara
- ScreenwriterAlaa Zabara
- ProducerPierre Bagley
- CastMalak Nassar, Mohammad Nizar, Sameera Asir
- CinematographerNaji Salameh
The films in this shorts segment are not made for children and families, necessarily, as many of the films tackle difficult subjects, like war, classism, and violence. Instead, these films speak to one another because they each explore various experiences of childhood and/or depict the complexity of families and family dynamics. Telling the stories of children during stressful and joyful moments and considering various configurations of family relationships, the films in this series expose cruelty and locate delight in the stories they tell.
A short narrative film that takes place in war-torn Yemen and follows a young deaf girl, Saleemah, who has one major love in this world: her camera. Her brother Aqeel, who introduced her to photography, works as a news reporter and is unable to take her out to film because he is preoccupied covering the war. Frustrated, Saleemah wanders out of the house during an impending airstrike. To make matters worse, she loses her hearing aids.
Festivals and Awards
Bentonville Film Festival, USA, 2021
Watersprite Film Festival, UK, 2021
About the filmmaker
Alaa Zabara is an independent hard-of-hearing, Yemeni-American director and cinematographer. Drawn to the power of photographs from an early age, she started to document the daily life around her through the use of a camera. These documentations became her conversation with and introduction to the world. She became attracted to the ability of cinema to change the hearts and minds of an audience, as well as its ability to highlight the stories that need to be told and amplify the voices of the voiceless.
- Year2020
- Runtime14 minutes
- LanguageArabic
- CountryYemen, Jordan
- DirectorAlaa Zabara
- ScreenwriterAlaa Zabara
- ProducerPierre Bagley
- CastMalak Nassar, Mohammad Nizar, Sameera Asir
- CinematographerNaji Salameh