Expired August 6, 2024 11:00 PM
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Tiny, intimate splinter stories from major metropolises, set against their local cityscapes. A timeout from the buzz of the big cities to sit with their inhabitants.


Content warning: Distressing scenes of pica (Ship of Fools)


Accessibility: Closed captions available


Thank you to our screening partner: SIFTMedia215 Collective


This animated documentary stitches together colorful and ragged fragments of the personal life of Alia, a Lebanese woman. Growing up facing war and displacement, searching and not finding freedom, she forms a friendship with a would-be superhero on the shore of Beirut called Abu Samra. She trains with him, and their monsters meet. Together, Alia and Abu Samra survive by finding comfort in the insanity that the city has sown in them. When the Lebanese revolution starts on October 17, 2019, they realize they are not alone.

  • Runtime
    29 minutes
  • Language
    Arabic, English
  • Country
    Lebanon, Germany, United States
  • Premiere
    World
  • Social Media
  • Director
    Alia Haju
  • Screenwriter
    Manuel Rees, Frank Carsten Walter
  • Producer
    Manuel Rees, Frank Carsten Walter
  • Cast
    Jan Fabi
  • Cinematographer
    Jan Fabi
  • Editor
    Tobias Wilhelmer
  • Animator
    Amelie Kahlo, Alexia Mokry
  • Composer
    Luis Schöffend
  • Sound Design
    Luis Schöffend
  • Music
    Huda Asfour