NIGHTFALL – Queer Talks & Screening #16 – Careen Koleilat

ENG: SAQMI invites you to Nightfall #16, an evening dedicated to the work of the filmmaker Careen Koleilat. Join us for film screenings and a thought-provoking conversation moderated by Amra Heco, as we explore the intersections of personal history, resilience, and storytelling within Careen’s work. The event is free to attend, but the evening will take place in solidarity with the people of Palestine and Lebanon. In light of the urgent situations in Lebanon and Gaza, your contributions will make a meaningful impact in solidarity with those affected.

The doors open at 18:30. The film screening starts at 19:00.
Afterwards there is a conversation between Careen Koleilat and Amra Heco. The conversation will be in English.

SVE: SAQMI bjuder in dig till Nightfall #16, en kväll tillägnad filmskaparen Careen Koleilats verk. Kvällen består av filmvisningar och ett tankeväckande samtal modererat av Amra Heco, där vi utforskar kopplingar mellan personlig historia, motståndskraft och berättande i Careens arbete. Evenemanget är gratis, men kvällen anordnas i solidaritet med befolkningen i Palestina och Libanon. Med tanke på den akuta situationen i Libanon och Gaza kan ditt bidrag göra en betydande skillnad för de drabbade.

Dörrarna öppnar kl. 18:30. Filmvisningen börjar kl. 19:00.
Efteråt blir det ett samtal mellan Careen Koleilat och Amra Heco. Samtalet kommer att ske på engelska.

Filmprogram – Careen Koleilat

In Search – البحث  (2023, 3:22 min)
Carpet Session (2023, 3:56 min)
The East Rises (2024, 2:50 min)
Deduction 2.0 (work in progress, 2:23 min)
Water Earth Wind Fire (2014, 7:20 min)
From Where to Where – من وین لوین  (2023, 19:23 min)
Lost Arab (2022, 4:49 min)
Total Length ca 45 min

(Short Break)

20:00 there will be a conversation between Careen Koleilat and Amra Heco. NOTE: The conversation will be in English.

Careen Koleilat is a Lebanese-Palestinian Trans/Non-Binary filmmaker, academic, and creative entrepreneur. With 16 years of global experience, Careen’s work challenges narrative structures, delves into diasporic storytelling, and bridges the gap between audience and filmmaker through a sensory, sound-driven approach. Educated in Beirut, London, and Gothenburg, including an MFA from HDK-Valand, Careen co-founded Blue Fox Studios in 2013, a queer-led post-production company based in London and Dubai. Their work aims to transform the screen into a space where distance and closeness resonate, inviting audiences into layered, immersive experiences that transcend boundaries and initiate conversations.

Amra Heco is a filmmaker, radio producer, and human rights activist currently teaching film at HDK-Valand. Her artistic practice explores personal memory and its connections to sites of trauma marked by the erasure of people, cultures, and natural landscapes. Oscillating between storytelling and story-making, she employs diverse technologies to create a process that becomes an act of reconciliation, recollection, and reconnection with fragmented geographic or mental memories. Through intuitive engagement with these spaces and different forms of listening to what calls to be uncovered and addressed, each process gives birth to its own methodology of practice. Each piece thus emerges as a gesture of offering, envisioning new pathways toward a collective imaginary.

STÖDKVÄLL FÖR PALESTINA OCH LIBANON!!!

Situationen i Gaza och Libanon är akut, och många människor behöver omedelbar hjälp. Du kan stödja genom att swisha till Palestinagruppernas akutinsamling för Gaza på nummer 1239011578  eller swisha (via Careen) till en lokal gräsrotsrörelse i Beirut på nummer 0703115969. SAQMI kommer under kvällen skänka allt som kommer in direkt till nämnda insamlingar. OM du ej kan närvara kan du ändå hjälpa genom att swisha till dessa nummer. Skriv gärna SAQMI Koleilat. Tack på förhand!

SUPPORT NIGHT FOR PALESTINE AND LEBANON!!!

The situation in Gaza and Lebanon is urgent, and many people need immediate help. You can support by swishing the Palestinian groups emergency fundraiser for Gaza on 1239011578 or swishing (via Careen) a local grassroots movement in Beirut on 0703115969. SAQMI will during the evening donate all income directly to the fundraisers. IF you cannot attend, you can still help by swishing these numbers. Feel free to write SAQMI Koleilat. Thanks in advance!

Mer information om filmerna:

In Search – البحث  (2023, 3:22 min)
In Search is an essay film tracing my journey through archival footage as I seek a history that is built by erasure. I attempt to uncover my grandfather’s story, revealing both the power and limitations of archives. This film confronts the colonial gaze that shapes these records, questioning who controls our narratives and what it means to reclaim a personal history within a fractured archive.

Carpet Session (2023,3:56 min)
Carpet Session fictional story set within a unique therapy session centred around a Persian carpet. Through this intimate object, the film explores themes of family ties, displacement, and the complex process of building a sense of home. As memories are woven into its threads, the carpet becomes a witness to the struggles and connections that shape the characters’ identities and their journey toward belonging.

The East Rises (2024, 2:50 min)
The East Rises is a visual poem exploring migration, ancestral memory, and the balance of power in storytelling. The film draws on themes of movement, language, and land, inviting viewers to reflect on histories often overlooked and the shared connections that rise each day with the sun.

Deduction 2.0 (work in progress, 2:23 min)
In examining how AI and surveillance technology are marketed, I delve into the extensive surveillance imposed on Palestinians by the illegal settler-colonial powers. With the rapid rise of AI-driven machinery, I imagine how weapon manufacturers might advertise their products—specifically, a new AI-operated machine gun designed for use at checkpoints in Palestine. This exploration raises questions about the ethics of weaponized technology and the commodification of human control under the guise of “security.”

Water Earth Wind Fire (2014, 7:20 min)
This short dance film follows the journey of a unique jacket, symbolising the four elements of life. Water represents the inspiration and fluidity in its design, while wind captures the effortless sensation of wearing it. Fire conveys the boldness and confidence it bestows upon its wearer, and earth reflects the craftsmanship and grounded process of its creation. Through evocative dance sequences, the film explores the powerful connection between clothing and the elements, merging fashion with nature and the human experience.

From Where to Where – من وین لوین  (2023, 19:23 min)
From Where to Where – من وین لوین introduces audiences to the profound yet absurd confines of airport border control, a space where mundane reality intersects with critical reflections on identity and power. The film follows the Passenger, whose journey through bureaucratic quicksand is a depiction of the broader struggle individuals face against the mechanisms of control. The Officer, both a reflection and executor of these systems, complements this narrative, offering insights into the dualities of power and identity shaped by systemic forces.

Lost Arab (2022, 4:49 min)
Lost Arab is a visual poetry film reflecting my personal journey as a queer Arab immigrant. It captures the dislocation of belonging, the impact of the Beirut port explosion on August 4, 2020, and the exploration of gender identity and queerness. Inspired by Omar J. Saker’s “The Lost Arabs,” this film merges textual and visual elements, creating a new poem that conveys the complex emotions and struggles of my identity.

Kvällen genomförs med stöd av Göteborgs stad.