Ethnographic Film Series

GENDER & CITY

Organised by the Royal Anthropological Institute’s Film Committee and the SOAS Department of Anthropology & Sociology

14 January 1-3pm, Khalili Lecture Theatre, SOAS Main Building

A Tale of Two Syrias

Yasmin Fedda, 2012, 64 mins. Followed by Q&A session with director.

Salem is an Iraqi fashion designer in Damascus. Botrous lives a remote existence in a hillside monastery. This documentary offers a unique perspective on what the dream of freedom means to two very different people in the face of a brutal regime, offering a vital snapshot of life in the year before Syria’s uprising. Director Yasmin Fedda said, “On one of my regular visits to Damascus, my grandmother took me to the monastery at Mar Musa where I met Botrous. I became fascinated by his story and his community. I then met Salem who was struggling as a refugee in the city. Their contrasting lives and their willingness to talk on camera gave me the perfect opportunity to document their experiences of life in Syria.”

For further information on the films please contact: RAI Film Officer, Susanne Hammacher, film@therai.org.uk, or Mahnaz Marashi, SOAS Anthropology Department, mm97@soas.ac.uk