[Commlist] The Paradox of Creative Constraints Symposium

*The Paradox of Creative Constraints*

The Mosaic Rooms, 226 Cromwell Road, London SW5 0SW

Saturday 7^th  September, 10am-6pm

£6.50 / £5 concessions (Lunch and refreshments provided)

Full programme and booking link → www.bit.ly/ParadoxCreative 
<http://www.bit.ly/ParadoxCreative>

This public symposium will reflect on the paradox of creative 
constraints in contemporary cinema from the Middle East – a day of film 
screenings and panel discussions with filmmakers, funders and 
programmers, featuring some of the most innovative rising talents as 
well as established experts.

Freedom of expression is often understood solely through the lens of 
state censorship. This symposium, however, starts from the premise that 
social, economic and other constraints shape any film from the outset, 
rather than only coming at the end of the process in the form of 
intervention by the state or other parties. It seeks to explore the 
different kinds of limitations on freedom of cinematic expression, from 
funding through to problems on set, lack of local distribution and 
travel restrictions, as well as the complex negotiation between 
constraints and political and creative impulses behind the films. It 
will deal with questions such as what types of constraints do filmmakers 
face when they make and distribute films in the region? To what extent 
are these constraints either productive or harmful? How do the creative 
strategies used by filmmakers evolve in response to the constraints?

The symposium will offer new insights into filmmaking from the region, 
revitalising debates on cinematic creativity in sites of conflict and 
crisis in the Middle East and beyond.

*Film screenings include:*

/Submarine/ (Mounia Akl | Lebanon, US, 2016 | 21 mins)

/Ave Maria/ (Basil Khalil | Palestine, France, Germany, 2015 | 15 mins)

/Profession Documentarist/ (Shirin 
Barghnavard, Firouzeh Khosrovani, Farahnaz Sharifi, 
Mina Keshavarz, Sepideh Abtahi, Sahar Salahshoor, Nahid Rezaei | Iran, 
2014 | 80 mins)

*Confirmed speakers:*

*Mounia Akl,* Film Director, /Submarine/ (Lebanon, US, 2016)

*Naziha Arebi*, Film Director, /Freedom Fields/ (UK, Libya, 2018)

*Shirin Barghnavard*, Film Director, /Profession: Documentarist /(Iran, 
2014)

*Fay Breeman*, Manager, Hubert Bals Fund of the International Film 
Festival Rotterdam

*Tamer El Said*, Film Director and Co-Founder, Cimatheque, Cairo

*Julia Farrington*, Associate Arts Producer, Index on Censorship

*Yael Friedman*, Documentary Filmmaker and film scholar

*Malu Halasa*, Writer and Editor

*Ali Jaberansari*, Film Director, /Tehran: City of Love/ (Iran, UK, 
Netherlands, 2018)

*Basil Khalil*, Film Director, /Ave Maria/ (Palestine, France, Germany, 
2015)

*Rima Mismar*, Executive Director, Arab Fund for Arts and Culture

*Persheng Sadegh-Vaziri*, Documentary Filmmaker and Film Scholar

*Naghmeh Samini*, Screenwriter

*Elhum Shakerifar*, Film Producer, MENA Programme Advisor for the BFI 
London Film Festival and Film Curator for Shubbak, Festival of 
Contemporary Arab Culture


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