Drawing from Palestinian struggle cinema, Off Frame AKA Revolution Until Victory (2015), traces fragments of revolution, interlacing images of and dreams for freedom. This experimental documentary from Kuwait-born, Gaza-raised Mohanad Yaqubi tells the stories of a people who have been resisting their oppression for millennia. The film offers a bridge between the past and the present, from the river to the sea. Paralleling Third Cinema, the Palestine Film Unit was established as part of the PLO in the 1960s. (It has since evolved into the Palestinian Cinema Institute.) In its lifespan, the Palestinian Revolution has collaborated with filmmakers, actors, and activists from Syria, Lebanon, Italy, France, Germany, the UK, Argentina, and elsewhere, and has built partnerships with institutions in Berlin, Moscow, Baghdad, and Havana. Despite the prolific output of this movement, very few of its works remain.
Following the screening, filmmaker Robin Riad will lead a direct-on-film animation workshop, inviting participants to collaboratively create footage responding to this moment and with the intention of entering the revolutionary archive. Direct-on-film animation (aka drawn-on-film animation) involves directly drawing on the film reel, frame by frame.
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WHEN: Sunday March 3, 1-4PM
SCHEDULE:
12:30PM Doors open
1:00-2:15PM Film screening
2:30-4:00PM Direct-on-Film animation workshop
*Light refreshments will be served.
LOCATION: Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre, Davenport area, Toronto.
SEATING: No assigned seats, please arrive early.
ACCESSIBILITY:
The venue is wheelchair accessible with a wheelchair accessible and gender neutral bathroom however, regrettably we have not secured ASL for this event. Masking strongly encouraged. Please email programming@mayworks.ca with questions.
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Robin Riad is an Egyptian-Canadian experimental filmmaker. Robin works primarily with analogue mediums, and likes to find new ways to mess with film. She devotes her time to the Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre (CFMDC), the8fest, and teaching many workshops throughout the year. As one LIFT’s technicians, she supports many artists and independent filmmakers with their arts practice, and enjoys hearing about all their fun, exciting projects. When not at LIFT, Robin can be found making potions in the darkroom.
Mohanad Yaqubi is a filmmaker, producer, and one of the founders of the Ramallah-based production outfit Idioms Film, as well as of the research and curatorial collective Subversive Films which focuses on militant film practices. Yaqubi’s filmography as a producer includes the documentary feature Infiltrators (dir. Khaled Jarrar, 2013), Suspended Time (several directors, 2013), and the narrative short Pink Bullet (dir. Ramzi Hazboun, 2014). He has co-produced several films including the narrative feature Habibi (dir. Susan Youssef, 2010), the short narrative Though I Know the River is Dry (dir. Omar R. Hamilton, 2012), and the feature documentaries Ambulance (dir. Mohammed Jabaly, 2016) and Ouroboros (dir. Basma Sharif, 2017).
