NYFAF Program 2019
LaGuardia Performing Arts Center,
THURSDAY, MAY 9
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All Day Location: LaGuardia Performing Arts Center,
Little Theater, 31-10 Thomson Ave, Long Island City, NY
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09:15-10:15
Introduction to NYFAF.
The Mountain's Echo: The Voices of Amazigh Women, Soufian Aaraichi, documentary, Morocco, 2015, 16 min.
Older and younger women share their intimate thoughts about the role of women, daily labor, and their search for meaning in this generational mosaic. On the margin of modern Moroccan society, these Amazigh women’s voices ring clear.
Q&A with Lucy McNair, Neetu Kaushik, and LaGuardia students.
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10:30-11:30
Call for Discussion: North African Plural Identities through Amazigh Film. With invited guests Daniela Merolla (INALCO) and Hakim Belabbes, Moroccan Filmmaker.
Discussion led by Drs. Yahya Laayouni and Habiba Boumlik.
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11:30-12:30
Amazigh Wedding in the Anergui Valley, Farida Benlyazid, documentary, Morocco, 2016, 26 min.
Collective ceremony, private happiness. In a remote Atlas Mountain village, an Amazigh community celebrates the wedding of a young couple, Saadia and Moha. During three days of ceremony, the entire community participates in these joyful moments of dancing and singing.
Q&A with Dr. Daniela Merolla, Hakim Belabbes and Habiba Boumlik.
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02:00-04:00
The journey of Khadija, Tarik el Idrissi, Documentary, Netherlands/Morocco, 2017, 71 min.
Born and raised in Amsterdam to Amazigh parents, Khadija returns to her Moroccan village for after 20 years to reconcile with her origins and multiple identities. Retracing the path of her beloved paternal grandmother, Mamma Allal, Khadija finds strength in the memory of a strong and courageous matriarch.
Q&A with Yahya Laayouni, Caron Knauer, and Khadija El-Mourabit
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4:15- 5:15
Musical Performance: Menad. Presented by Mustapha Akhoullou
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5:15-6:15
Reception
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6:30-9:00
Defining Love, a Failed Attempt, Hakim Belabbas, feature, Morocco/USA, 2012, 90 min.
Acting overlaps reality, bridging fiction and contemporary life. Hamza and Zineb travel to the Moroccan Atlas mountains to research their parts in an upcoming rendition of the legend of Isli and Tisslit – an Amazigh tale of two lovers whose tears are believed to have created the two lakes that bear their name. Defining Love is a meditative exploration of the invisible in our lives, with nature as its witness. Is unconditional love possible?
Q&A with Hakim Belabbes
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FRIDAY, MAY 10
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Morning Location: LaGuardia Performing Arts Center,
Little Theater, 31-10 Thomson Ave, Long Island City, NY
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10:30-12:45
Best Amazigh Short Competition.
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No, Dimna Bounaylat, Morocco 2018, 18 min.
Traumatic memory surfaces as a man is pressured into marriage. One crime begets another.
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Family in Exile, Fatima Matousse, Morocco 2018, 15 min.
Growing up in patriarchy. A daughter's quest to understand her father’s emotional distance becomes a personal visual letter of resistance against a dictatorial figure.
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Afdis, (The Hammer), Azro Magora, Libya 2017, 12 min.
Afdis, a Libyan Amazigh from At-Willul (Zouara), creates an artistic voice for his identity. Through songs, he fights against the oppressive political and religious regimes in Libya before embarking on a new journey towards Europe.
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Lotos, Slim Belguith, Tunisia, 2018, 8 min.
Yasmin and Joseph, both from Medenine, travel to “Djerba,” the island of dreams. A love story that evokes the Amazigh imaginary.
Q&A with Nathaniel Mannon and Fatima Matousse
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Afternoon location: Columbia University, Teacher’s College, in Horace Mann Building (enter through the main entrance at 525 West 120th St to show your ID) New York, NY 10027.
In collaboration with the Middle East Institute
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2:45-3:45
Roundtable: Roundtable on Amazigh Cinema with invited guests Daniela Merolla (INALCO), Moroccan Filmmaker Hakim Belabbes, Madeleine Dobie (Columbia), and anthropologist Kevin Dwyer.
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Tekrouna, Syrine Said, documentary short, Tunisia, 2015,
10 min.
A visual journey through the spectacular landscapes and architecture of Takrouna, an Amazigh village in the Tunisian Sahel.
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4:00-5:30
Anâaq, (Migrating) Mohamed Bouzia, documentary, Morocco, 2018, 60 min.
Migration and identity. Interviews with a generation of Moroccan migrants who sought a means out of poverty by crossing over into French-occupied Algeria and later to Europe. Through their vivid memories, the history of migration is shown to shape and reshape North African identities, shedding light on current events on the southern borders.
Q&A with Habiba Boumlik and Yahya Laayouni
6:00-9:00
Afdis, (The Hammer) Azro Magora, Libya, 2017, 11min.
(See above)
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Zahra’s Mother Tongue, Fatima Sissani, documentary, France, 2011, 93 min.
Algerian/French filmmaker Fatima Sissani interviews her Kabyle mother, Zahra, who emigrated from the Djudjura mountains to France after Algerian independence. A dialogue about literacy, language, and identity between mothers and daughters for all who believe in intergenerational love and exchange.
Q&A with Wafa Bahri and Kawtare Bihya
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