19th Arab Film Festival

Saturday, September 27 at 5:00 PM

Post-screening Discussion with visiting filmmaker Jihad Saade.

ABOUT THE FILM

Shapes of Normal Human Beings is a documentary that challenges traditional modes of storytelling by following the threads that radiate from each of its encounters. As a small team of filmmaking friends embark on an eight-day journey across the sprawling web of contemporary Lebanon, they move from one scene to another in a sort of exquisite corpse fashion. Their mission: trying to depict their country in a specific moment in time. What emerges, eventually, is an image of Lebanon with apocalyptic undertones. A deeper truth comes to the surface, however painful. Lebanon seems to be going back to “the times of proverbs and orality,” a time of plagues and prophecies. Violence lurks in the dark and insecurity is everywhere. And yet, there is tremendous love, both romantic love as well as a deep and profound yearning for the mother and the homeland.

FILMMAKER BIOS

Sélim Mourad was born in Beirut in 1987. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in audiovisual studies (2009) and his master’s degree in filmmaking (2012) from IESAV, Saint Joseph University of Beirut. His filmography explores the intimacy of the self, family secrets and dynamics, the nude human body, and spiritual seeking and documents stories and spaces in an ever-changing country landscape. He has made multiple, award-winning films, and he currently teaches filmmaking.

Jihad Saade ??(b. 1989) is a Lebanese filmmaker who began his journey in cinema at Notre Dame University, graduating in 2012. Starting out in cinematography, he has contributed to a range of projects, steadily developing his skills and artistic perspective. His directorial debut, a graduation film, won Best Student Film at the Barcelona International Film Festival in 2012, marking an early milestone in his career. Since then, Saade has directed and codirected numerous short films, documentaries, and multimedia campaigns.

PRESENTED BY MIZNA

Mizna is a critical platform for contemporary literature, film, art, and cultural production centering the work of Arab and Southwest Asian and North African artists. For more than 25 years, Mizna has been creating a decolonized cultural space to reflect the expansiveness of our community and to foster exchange, examine ideas, and engage audiences in meaningful art.