The sacred and the profane in cinema

A seminar on religious narrative in cinema delivered by Omar Al Qattan beginning with a lecture outlining approaches and themes on how faith is dealt with in cinema; including background history for certain films that will be screened during the seminar, as well as an introduction to key concepts that will be explored.

This experience was stimulating and challenging and helped form the beginning of networks of young filmmakers on a local and regional level.

The 6 day long seminar took place at ALBA - Academie Libanaise des Beaux Arts in February 2004. Participants were students of universities in Beirut running a film and/or media department.

The Sacred and the Profane Project introduced the group of film and media students to various approaches of dealing with issues of universal philosophical, ethical and aesthetic importance which are still regarded as sensitive and delicate in our societies.

The seminar stands on its own as a totally viable and interesting project, however it also paves the way for Phases 2 and 3 which are still in their very early stages of development.

Phase 2 (2004/2005) will concentrate on putting in place the required mechanism for students to submit film proposals, as well as fixing the selection criteria and organising the competition.

Phase 3 (2005/2006) will be the production of the winning proposals and their distribution.

The tenth European Union film festival

Sweet sixteen

by Ken Loach

Best screenplay, Cannes 2002

Liam's mum, Jean, is in prison but should be out in time for his 16th birthday. This time Liam is determined that things will be different. He dreams of a family life he's never had, which means creating a safe haven for his mother, his sister Chantelle and himself, beyond the reach of wasters like Jean's boyfriend Stan and his own mean-spirited grandfather.

This is not a love song

by Bille Eltringham

Spike and Heaton are the unlikeliest pair. Taciturn, competent, unreadable, Heaton is someone we are instinctively afraid of. In contrast, his side-kick Spike is manic, child-like. Unstoppable: someone we are instinctively afraid for. But when Spike commits a terrible crime, Heaton stands by him.

Billy Elliot

by Stephen Daldry.

Our participation in CinéCaravanne was part of a European Union initiative to bring cinema to the rural area.

Billy Elliot is a coming-of-age story of Billy, who through his unexpected love of dance, embarks on a journey to self-discovery in the world of picket lines, cultural stereotypes, family crisis and a headstrong ballet teacher.

European Union film festivals

The Low Down

by James Thraves

"The Low Down" is a comic look at the dilemmas of Frank, a restless, aspiring artist whose life revolves around his friends and his work. Frank feels the need to move his life up a gear, both physically and emotionally and begins the search for a new flat. When he meets Ruby, his struggle to face up to his adult responsibilities reaches a climax.

This Filthy Earth

By Andrew Kötting

This poetic film inspired by Emile Zola's "The Earth", centres on two sisters, Kath and Francine, who eke out a living on a remote farm. Their harmonious relationship is threatened as Kath approaches her twenty first birthday - when she will inherit her land - and Buto, her former lover and father of her three-year-old child, takes a renewed interest in her. Passions run high in this primal world whose inhabitants seemed to have been born of the mud and rain. Kötting evokes a visceral and sexual sense of the ties to the land. Both beauty and bestiality are within.

This film had obtained the European support by MEDIA

As the Beast Sleeps

by Harry Bradbeer

"As The Beast Sleeps" is a drama that tells the story of a lifelong friendship between two loyalists blown apart by political change. It is a film about friendship, loyalty and betrayal.

The warrior

by Asif Kapadia

"The Warrior" is a timeless story of an epic journey from the deserts of Rajasthan to the snow capped peaks of the Himalayas.

The story follows Lafcadia, head of a small band of warriors employed by a tyrannical lord, who rules the region from his crumbling fort in the desert. The warriors are ordered to wipe out a village late with its payments. The warriors set off on horseback and proceed to raze the rustic village to the ground.

In the midst of the slaughter Lafcadia has a mystical encounter with a young girl. Lafcadia drops his sword and vows to never kill again. He decides to escape his violent life. He sets off with his young son, Katiba, for his native village in the mountains.