Filtering by: Thurs 2
Sep
26
7:45 PM19:45
Film Screening, Online, Thurs 2, Past Events

Lyd

Lightbox 350 King St W, Toronto, Cinema 2

Lyd

79 minutes
Rami Younis and Sarah Ema Friedland
Sci-Fi Documentary
2023
Palestine, United Kingdom, United States

SCREENING WITH: Palestine Islands

The film Lyd (the Arabic name of Lod, a city now in Israel) is about a 5,000-year-old bustling Palestinian town that was conquered when the State of Israel was established in 1948, and the film Lyd is the story of that city’s rise and fall. An exploration of what it once was, and what it is now, in the context of the continuing conflicts and the war in Gaza, Lyd’s excavation of one community’s complex history offers us not only lessons but possible futures. As the film unfolds, a chorus of characters creates a tapestry of the Palestinian experience of this city and the trauma left by the massacre and expulsion, while vivid animations envision an alternate reality where the same characters live free from the trauma of the past and the violence of the present. Using never-before-seen archival footage of the Israeli soldiers who carried out the massacre and expulsion, the personified city explains that these events were so devastating that they fractured reality, and now there are two Lyds — one occupied and one free. As the film cuts between fantastical and documentary realities, it ultimately leaves the viewer questioning what future should prevail.

Awards
Jury Award for Arab Feature-Length Documentary and FIPRESCI Award from the Film Critics Association, Amman International Film Festival 2023; Melbourne Science Fiction Film Festival 2024

Learn More: Lyd

Co-Presented by

Parkdale High-Park for Palestine

JAYU Festival Canada

University-Rosedale for Palestine

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TPFF x Afikra: Artist Salon with Malak Mattar
Sep
26
6:45 PM18:45
Art Exhibition, Thurs 2, Special Events 2, Past Events

TPFF x Afikra: Artist Salon with Malak Mattar

TPFF and Afikra are pleased to present an artist salon featuring world reknown artist from Gaza, Malak Mattar in conversation with Khaled Malas.

Join us for a special afikra | عفكرة Salon at TPFF featuring Palestinian artist from Gaza, Malak Mattar.  Malak will be joined in conversation with Khaled Malas from afikra | عفكرة.  Malak will be presenting her artistic journey and sharing with the audience her inspirations and her process in creating her many works including her most recent collection in response to the genocide. 

TPFF is proud to be hosting an art exhibition featuring Malak Mattar’s 2024 mural entitled No Words. The exhibition is in the lobby in the Lightbox, alongside the art works of Ibrahim Abusitta. 

On Saturday, Sept 28 at 1pm, Malak will be doing a children’s program that will include her reading her picture book: Sitti's bird - a story from Gaza inspired by her life story.  The books will be sold at TPFF.   

Biography

Malak Mattar (b. 1999) is an artist from Gaza, Palestine. Self-taught, she paints expressionist faces, figures and semi-abstract designs. Malak started painting at the age of thirteen. During the 51-day Israeli military assault on Gaza in 2014 that forced her to stay inside her house, she felt a compelling need to release all her pent-up emotions. That opened up a world of self-expression for her. Mattar has produced well over 300 paintings.

Unable to leave Gaza due to the blockade, Mattar shared her colourful and bold works with the world via social media--Instagram and Facebook. On her fourteenth birthday, she was selling her work to buyers around the world. Her artwork garnered interest from galleries beyond Palestine as she has held many solo and group exhibitions in Jerusalem, France, Spain, Turkey, Costa Rica, India, England, United States. 

While developing her artistic talent, Malak Mattar also excelled academically, achieving the highest GPA in the Gaza strip in 2017 in her senior year of high school and the second-highest GPA in Palestine in the year earlier. Malak recently completed an artist residency in London with An Effort, and is pursuing a Master of Fine Arts at Central Saint Martins in London.

Mattar has seen three aggressions on Gaza in her childhood and has been deeply touched by these tragic events. She has authored a children’s book: Sitti's bird - a story from Gaza inspired by her life story.

Malak Mattar paints in acrylic and oil on canvas. Until recently, her works featured bright colours and patterns often depicting a female subject. The motifs of those paintings range from profound feelings to dream visions and abstract concepts. Presently, Mattar’s works depict scenes and stories coming out of the genocide - the images are painted or sketched in greytones - and capture the devastation of the ongoing bombardment and impacts for forced displacement. Her latest and most ambitious work, No Words, completed February 2024, is featured at TPFF 2024 art exhibition. 

In partnership with:

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Sep
26
6:00 PM18:00
Online, Film Screening, Resident, Thurs 2, Past Events

De-Clutter

Lightbox 350 King St W, Toronto, Cinema 2

de-clutter

18 minutes
Rimah Jabr
Short Fiction
2023
Canada

Screening as a part of Homegrown Shorts collection

English

In present-day Nablus, amidst the confines of a home masking an ant nest within its walls, Aya, a
depressed young woman, is faced with a life-changing scholarship offer to study abroad and caught
between the enticement of her dreams and the weight of potentially abandoning her lonely mother. As the discussions about the persistent acts unfold, long-suppressed emotions start to surface. Through the lens of these seemingly insignificant creatures, Aya and Lamia find a channel to express their true feelings, ultimately leading to a deeper understanding of each other’s struggles and desires. “De-Clutter is a poignant exploration of the complexities of familial love, sacrifice, and the unspoken burdens we carry.

Rimah Jabr is a theatre director, playwright, screenwriter, and Ph.D. candidate in Theatre and Performance Studies at York University. She holds a master’s degree in theatre-making from RITCS in Brussels. Rimah has written and directed several plays produced in Belgium, Canada, and Palestine. She frequently collaborates with visual artists to create performances and has co-written feature films and shorts. Her short film De-Clutter (2023), developed with the support of Cinephilia Productions and produced during a residency at the Toronto Palestine Film Festival (TPFF), marks her debut as a filmmaker. The film has won three awards and has been selected for various short film festivals.

Featured Cast
Amani Ibrahim & Roula Said

Canadian Premiere

Awards
Cambridge Short Film Festival 2024 (Selected) (Online festival) Edinburgh Film Awards 2024 (Winner) Brussels World Film Festival 2024 (Winner) Independent Shorts Awards February 2024 (Winner)

Learn More: De-Clutter

Co-presented by:

Trinity Square Video (TSV)

Director of Digital Arts Resource Centre (DARC)

MENA Film Festival

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