MEDIA RELEASE

Siren Call - a celebration of culture in word, image and sound.

Released 5 July 2006

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

Be warned – an intoxicating fusion of spoken word, moving image, sound and film is about to lure audiences into a world from which they may never return: the night of SIREN CALL.

Appearing for a night each at Newtown, and at Riverside Theatres, Parramatta, the Auburn Poets and Writers Group will present their work, infused with multimedia projections and sound. The group includes writers from Iraq, Zambia, South Africa, Lebanon, Turkey, Sri Lanka and Malaysia, some of whom speak in their own language with translation and all of whom speak from the heart.

Their spoken words will be followed by the screening of The Siren, a lyrical Egyptian film exploring a mysterious legend associated with the SIMSIMIYYIA (an ancient Egyptian lute). The legend warns that the Simsimiyyia will bewitch her players through music. The short film last inspired audiences when it screened for the first time in Australia at the 2005 Sydney Arab Film Festival.

SIREN CALL offers a rare second chance to be absorbed by the depths and mysteries of Egyptian musical traditions embedded within an evening of words and live music.

“Poetry is a display of our cultural legacy, the sounds and rhythms of our lives, diverse landscapes of our home countries…” – Dona Samson Zappore of the Auburn Writers and Poets Group

These mysteries of word and sound will then transcend from screen to stage, materialized at the Parramatta event by the guest appearance of ‘Egypt’s Ambassador of Rhythm and the World’s Leading Name in Egyptian Dance Music’, the one and only Hossam Ramzy – legendary Egyptian percussionist.

Synergy Percussion, Information and Cultural Exchange, Auburn Community Development Network and Liverpool Migrant Resource Centre are proud to present this event that is part of Synergy Percussions’ PULSE:HEART:BEAT festival celebrating cultural diversity. SIREN CALL is about the poetry of music, spoken word you could reach out and touch; stories from the heart and from the world that shapes and is shaped by us.

Sunday 16 July, 6pm – 7.30pm
@ Newtown, Enmore Rd. Newtown
$10/8
Featuring the Auburn Poets and Writers Group followed by a short film.
Bookings: 02 9572 8595

Monday 17 July, 6pm-8pm
Riverside Theatres, Church St, Parramatta
FREE EVENT
Featuring the Auburn Poets and Writers Group, a short film and a special guest appearance by Hossam Ramzy.
Bookings: 02 9897 5744

Media Enquiries:

Soraya Asmar
Phone: 9897 5744
Email: ccd@ice.org.au