Becoming Iphigenia

Diana-on-big-screen_02-1030×579 (1)

becoming

Film by: Reem Al Ghazzi

Syrian, uk, ksa 2023, 67 min, eng sub

synopsis

Before taking the stage, a group of young Syrian women acting in a work of documentary theatre must unravel the legacy of patriarchy in their upbringing – all while making their lives anew in Germany and coming into their own. — A casting call brings together nine young Syrian women, whose ages range between 20 and 27 years old, and who have recently settled in Germany. They were chosen among several others to perform for the first time on stage, in a contemporary adaptation of the Greek tragedy Iphigenia, by Euripides, in the vein of what is known as “documentary theatre”. Based on the weaving intersections between the destiny of Iphigenia and each of their own lived experience, the performance is created during intensive workshops and rehearsals with the director, Omar Abu Saada, playwright, Mohamad Al Attar, and each of these young women. Once on stage they will discover that the reason they left Syria wasn’t only the war. Observing the process of the performance’s creation, the film follows the intimate experience of the young women in the cast, with a focus on six (Zeina, Alaa, Diana, Leila, Sajida and Bayan) as they project themselves into Iphigenia, plumbing their relationships to the fatherland they left behind and patriotism, their own father and patriarchy, the challenges of making their lives anew in Germany and the crucible of coming into their own.

Iphigenia

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Credits:

Director: Reem Al Ghazzi
Production: Ramzy Haddad & Reem Al Ghazzi
Year: 2023
Info: 67 min, color, DCP

Sunday 26th Nov

16:30 in Cinemateket