Nadi lekol Nas, in collaboration with Dar El-Nimer for Arts and Culture, presents a film screening and Q&A with Iraqi director Qais Al-Zubaidi.
Away From Home | 1969 | 11min - Arabic with English subtitles
At the Sbeineh refugee camp near Damascus, director Qais Al-Zubaidi filmed aspects of everyday life in 1969, while focusing on children during their playtime activities, which were limited to football and sliding on a tent. The power of this film lies in the children's inclusion in the filmmaking process. After finishing filming, the director accompanied the children to the studio to show them footage of themselves, causing a noisy cheering and quarrelling, which he filmed and added to the movie. Consequently, the film won the Silver Award at the Leipzig Film Festival in Germany.
The Visit | 1970 | 10min - Arabic with English subtitles
In this poetic film, Qais Al-Zubaidi resists the prejudice that frames Middle Eastern cinema under the restrictive lenses of the militant documentary. Featuring poetry from Mahmoud Darwish, Samih al-Qasim, Tawfiq Ziad and paintings by Nazir Nabaa.
Testimonies of Palestinian Children in Wartime | 1972 | 18min - Arabic with English subtitles
In the alleys of Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, the camera of Qais Al-Zubaidi followed Palestinian children who produced drawings which reflected their imagination of a homeland they never saw.