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Leila and the Wolves (Layla wa zi’ab)

Leila and the Wolves (Layla wa zi’ab)

Leila and the Wolves (Layla wa zi’ab)

Dir. Heiny Srour
90 min

Leila and the Wolves (Layla wa zi’ab)

Friday, February 16 at 9:00pm

Highlighting restored, archival, and silent cinema from Il Cinema Ritrovato's annual festival in Bologna, Italy.

About Leila and the Wolves (Layla wa zi’ab)

Weaving together memory, myth and archival materials, Layla wa zi’ab is a significant point of intersection between the militant and anti-colonial cinema of the pioneers of Tercer Cine and feminist historiography. The project was made all the more ambitious by the fact that Heiny Srour does not limit her examination to a specific historical period, but captures sixty years of conflict. Using narrative structure of the “mosaic,” a common device in SWANA (Southwest Asian and North African) stories, Leila travels through time, from the British Mandate of Palestine to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, participating in the Arab uprisings of the 1920s, the revolution of 1936-1939––during which women organized a wedding to transport weapons––and the Zionist massacre of the Palestinian village of Deir-Yassin.

Thanks to this new restoration, we rediscover a work of great complexity, which even in its most imperfect moments speaks beyond its, albeit fundamental, feminist message. —Cecilia Cenciarelli (edited)

This film is courtesy of Nadi Lekol Nas
LEILA AND THE WOLVES

Returning to the Twin Cities for a second year, Il Cinema Ritrovato on Tour presents rare, restored, and recovered archival cinema. Il Cinema Ritrovato On Tour–Minneapolis will screen films at The Main Cinema from February 15–17, 2024. Closing night (February 18) will take place at the Heights Theater and will feature a new restoration of Ernst Lubitsch’s take on an Oscar Wilde classic, Lady Windermere’s Fan.

Presented in partnership by Archives on Screen, Twin Cities, MSP Film Society, and Cineteca di Bologna, the festival will screen highlights from Il Cinema Ritrovato’s 2023 lineup. Il Cinema Ritrovato is an annual international film festival that exhibits new restorations and archival films in Bologna, Italy.

Archives on Screen is proud to partner with Il Cinema Ritrovato and Cineteca di Bologna to curate selections from their festival for Twin Cities audiences.

SPONSORS

Film Details

Program: Il Cinema Ritrovato On Tour
Release Year: 1980-1984
Runtime: 90 min
Country/Region: United Kingdom, Lebanon, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden
Language: Arabic

Cast/Crew

Director: Heiny Srour
Cinematographer: Curtis Clark, Charlet Recors
Screenwriter: Heiny Srour, Ahmed Beydoun
Editor: Eva Houdova
Composer: Zaki Nassif, Munir Bechir
Principal Cast: Nabila Zeitouni (in the various roles of Leila), Rafik Ali Ahmad, Raja Nehme, Emilia Fowad, Ferial Abillamah, Zafila Cattan, Wissal El Sayyed, Yolande Asmar, Toufic Mrad, Antoniette Negib, Mona Ramadan, Hayat Lozi, Majwa Mehdi