Event Details
May 28, 2021
7:00 pm EDT
Virtual
Watch
Filmmaker Roundtable with: Halima Ouardiri (Clebs), Omar Elhamy (Foam), Yza Nouiga (Jardins Paradise) and Sara Trad (Clench My Fists)
Moderator:
Karam Masri, Filmmaker
Karam Masri is a Program Consultant for Film & Television at Ontario Creates, the provincial agency that supports the economic development of Ontario’s cultural sectors. Prior to joining Ontario Creates, Karam was the Business Analyst at the Bell Fund, a private fund that supports the creation and development of Canadian digital/TV multi-platform projects. Karam holds two Master’s degrees: an MFA in Film Production and an MBA from the Schulich School of Business. She also wrote & directed the short film “Juha the Whale”, winner of the York Thesis prize.
Speakers:
Omar Elhamy (Foam)
Omar Elhamy was born and raised in Egypt. Established in Quebec, Canada for a few years now, he is a director, writer and editor. His films have been acclaimed in several festivals and art galleries. He directed Tartarus (2019), Paria (2015). In 2018-2019 he presented Five seasons behind the sun his first expanded cinema works at the Dazibao Gallery in Montreal. Foam (2020), his latest short film, is part of the International Short film Competition at the 70th Berlinale. He is currently working on his first feature film, Frère Raison.
Yza Nouiga (Jardin Paradise)
Yza Nouiga is a French Moroccan director, and digital film distributor based in Montreal. Born and raised in Morocco, she’s been living in Canada for the last 10 years. Her work evolves around themes of identities, dual nationality, and homecoming through fiction and non-fiction narratives. She co-wrote a first feature-length documentary film, Circo, that received the supports of many Canadian arts councils and institutions (SODEC, CALQ). Her last work, Jardins Paradise, was selected by the Goethe-Institut as part of a special programming. Yza is currently working on two shorts films.
Sara Trad (Clench My Fists)
Sarah Trad (she/her) is a Lebanese-American artist and curator based in Philadelphia. She is currently the Co-Director of Programming for the MENA Film Festival in Vancouver, as well as a Juror for the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival and a member of the Community Advisory Board for the Asian Arts Initiative. Trad is the recipient of the 2019 Rutland Vermont Art Center 77Art Artist Residency, the 2019 Plyspace Residency and Fellowship, and 2011 Carol N. Schmuckler Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film. Sarah’s work has been screened at the Gimli Film Festival, Toronto Arab Film Festival, Antimatter Media Art Festival, Rendezvous With Madness Festival, Everson Museum of Art, and Currents New Media.