New York: The Walter Reade Theatre
May 5 - 18, 2006

For Tickets and Locations, please visit http://www.filmlinc.com/wrt/onsale/syriancinema.html

The Road to Damascus: Discovering Syrian Cinema

Often described as Arab cinema's “best kept secret”, the film series provides and unprecedented opportunity for audiences in New York to discover over 30 Syrian features, documentaries and shorts screening May 5 - 18 at the Walter Reade Theatre. A particularly timely and relevant program, THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS includes nonfiction films, comedies, political dramas and historical epics, all representative of one of the richest-albeit lesser-known-of world cinemas.

The films selected for THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS cover an impressive breadth of subjects: some films offer highly critical views of Syria's government and society, while others take positions on controversial subjects such as the Arab/Israeli conflict and the tragedy of Palestine. Although the work doesn't shy away from making pointed political statements, Syrian filmmakers often rely on allegory, the microcosm of a single family serving as stand-in for the nation. Historical events are never far off screen, however, and often permeate even the most intimate relations.

“What first strikes one about Syrian films is simply just how well made they are,” (read Richard Peña's entire text) explains Peña. “Many of the filmmakers studied filmmaking at VGIK, the great Soviet film school in Moscow. And all are fine examples of the VGIK 'style,' an approach that opts for carefully composed, almost iconographic shots-the opposite perhaps of the more fluid, hand-held style adopted widely after the explosion of the French New Wave.”

This shooting style is perhaps a natural outgrowth of certain realities of the Syrian film industry. With film production for the country not exceeding more than four or five features annually, many Syrian filmmakers are forced to wait years between projects (for example, 15 years passed between Oussama Mohammad's first and second features). As a result, Syrian filmmakers are acutely aware that each film-indeed, each shot-has got to count.

“Working under what can only be described as very difficult conditions-ranging from the watchful eyes of the censors to the lack of a real industrial infrastructure for film production-Syrian filmmakers have nevertheless managed to create a powerful and provocative cinema,” says Peña. “These are films brimming with both personal expression as well as perceptive social analysis that are often startling in their courage and commitment.”