Lesh Sabreen?
(Palestine, 2008, 20 min)
By : Muayad Mousa Alayan
Screens: Friday, March 12th, 1:30pm
Synopsis:
Set in a Palestinian neighborhood in Jerusalem, 'Lesh Sabreen?' tells the story of two young lovers as they navigate dreams and dead-ends in their socially-conservative and Israeli-controlled community. The film illustrates the several layers of authority, from the patriarchal social norms and taboos, to economic pressures and the military occupation, continually facing young Arab Jerusalemites.
Sabreen and Ayman dream of being together. But without true economic opportunities, Ayman will never be able to care for Sabreen in a way that her father would approve. And with the power structures conspiring to restrain their dreams, will the young lovers muster the imagination to realize their hopes for the future?
Director’s Bio:
Muayad Mousa Alayan is a Jerusalem-based Palestinian filmmaker and cultural activist. His first documentary, Exiles in Jerusalem, won a Kodak award in San Francisco in 2005 and has been screened at a number of international film festivals including the City Shorts Film Festival in San Francisco, the Cinema Arabe Film Festival in Amsterdam, the Toronto Alucine Latino Film Festival and the Boston Palestine Film Festival. His experimental short, I am You Are (2004), has been screened at the 2008 Jerusalem International Film Festival, celebrating the Jerusalem Cinemateque’s “I Am You Are” cinema workshop for Arab and Jewish teenagers of which Alayan was a early participant prior to attending film school at the City College of San Francisco in 2003.
Alayan is the initiator and designer of a series of filmmaking workshops for youth in Jerusalem and the West Bank. He is also directing a TV debate show at the Bethlehem Media Center – a show titled “Echoes of Life” which is broadcast on all local TV channels. Alayan also teaches cinematography and lighting at Dar Al Kalima College. He is currently in the script development phase for his next film and first feature.
