MEDIA RELEASE

A Big Night of Arab Shorts Not a Long Way Away

Released 5 March 2004

Information and Cultural Exchange
PO Box 4033 Parramatta NSW 2124 Australia
T: +61(2) 9897 5744 / F: +61(2) 9897 5766

Tampa, cultural and generational gaps, car culture, music-clip dramas and documentaries are just some of the themes that will be explored at the one-night exclusive film event, A Big Night of Arab Shorts on Monday 15 March, 7pm at Hoyts Merrylands as part of Holroyd City Fest.

Presented by the Sydney Arab Film Festival, Holroyd City Council and Information and Cultural Exchange (ICE), the Festival will show a range of short films by Arab Australians—ranging from first-time to award-winning filmmakers

‘Tampa—A Walk On The Beach’ by Lebanese artist and filmmaker, Mireille Astore, recounts her site-specific performance of sculpture, photography and web-based art project about the plight of recent Middle Eastern refugees in Australia.

“I believe that it is the role of the artist or film maker to present the unseen, to educate, and to dissect the nature of any conflict. The artist or filmmaker plays a critical role in any society providing a perspective beyond the confines of the everyday. As such ‘Tampa’ has been conceived as an aesthetic platform to develop a deeper understanding of current world events as they relate to Australia and the refugee crisis”, said Mireille.

“The Sydney Arab Film Festival affirms Australia’s participation in contemporary cultural discourses worldwide. Arab artists and filmmakers are at the cutting edge of contemporary art practices. Therefore the Sydney Arab Film Festival is more timely and relevant than ever, she said.

“We are very proud to be hosting this event as part of Holroyd City Fest,” said Holroyd Mayor Cr. Mal Tulloch who has chosen for proceeds to go to the Neuroscience Institute for Schizophrenia and Allied Disorders. “We anticipate that the event will attract a diverse and large audience from our area and beyond,” he said.

Following his six-month artist residency in Lebanon and tour of the Middle East, filmmaker and music artist Khaled Sabsabi’s experimental films ‘Rain’ and ‘Dog’ will premier at the festival, “This is an important event for Arab Australian filmmakers. Its a space to express and challenge the images of Arabs in popular media and to speak in our words on our terms,” said Granville-based Sabsabi..

Project Co-ordinator, Fadia Abboud agrees, “We hope it will bring together all communities, Arab and non-Arab, to be entertained, educated and informed”.

Project Co-ordinator, Fadia Abboud agrees, ” We hope it will bring together all communities, Arab and non-Arab, to be entertained, educated and informed”.

MEDIA ENQUIRIES:
To arrange an interview with the filmmakers or Festival representative, please phone
Fadia Abboud 0416 077 464 or Linda Mirabilio 0408 774 800