myDylarama

All We Imagine As Light - hope and despair in an indifferent urban jungle

Sally Zarzour — 2024-11-20T10:45:08Z

‘I've lived here for 23 years, but I am afraid to call it home. There's always the feeling that I have to leave.' The opening line of the film All We Imagine as Light perfectly depicts the turmoil of being an immigrant, away from a land you call home.

All We Imagine as Light opens with lively shots of Mumbai's packed streets, capturing the city's bustling energy. The overwhelming yet soft shots immediately set the tone for the film's exploration of migration and new beginnings, as millions arrive in the metropolis, chasing dreams or escaping realities. The camera weaves through these streets, with a stylistic choice of a hand-held camera, almost voyeuristic style, as if we are not merely observers but confidants to the characters' inner worlds.

Payal Kapadia's first narrative feature blends poetic realism with sharp social commentary. The story focuses on three nurses: Prabha, Anu, and Parvaty. Prabha, recently abandoned by her husband after an arranged marriage, navigates a life filled with yearning and duty, while Anu juggles the precariousness of a Hindu-Muslim romance. Parvaty faces eviction due to looming gentrification. Their struggles encapsulate the tension between hope and despair in an indifferent urban jungle.

Kapadia's artistry is apparent in her tactile use of sound and image. Melancholic shades of blue flood the screen, reflecting the characters' loneliness, while moments of surrealism—such as a nearly drowned fisherman becoming a vessel for Prabha's longing—break the narrative's realism, hinting at a mystical undertone. The camera's closeness to the characters creates an intimacy that transforms even mundane moments into profound reflections.

The film's title, All We Imagine as Light, gains resonance from the line: “in the darkness you try to imagine light but you cannot.” It encapsulates the characters' desperate attempts to hold onto a glimmer of hope amidst their suffocating realities. Whether it's Prabha finding solace in poetry or Anu stealing moments of love in public spaces, the film poignantly illustrates the resilience required to imagine light in overwhelming darkness.

Kapadia's work, reminiscent of Apichatpong Weerasethakul's dreamlike storytelling and Wong Kar-wai's color palettes, brings global sensibilities to an Indian setting. Her poetic, yet precise portrayal of Mumbai captures its dual nature: a city of dreams and relentless hardships. This debut confirms Kapadia's place as a vital voice in contemporary cinema.

The London Migration Film Festival will screen All We Imagine as Light as part of their 2024 programme. The inclusion of the film amplifies its themes, inviting audiences to reflect on the struggles faced by those who navigate the precariousness of migration, whether across continents or within the soul.

The festival's 9th edition runs from 20-27 November 2024 at a number of venues across London.

Bye Bye Tiberias A hopeful by Lina Soualem - A hopeful and nostalgic ode to those we leave behind

Sally Zarzour — 2023-11-10T14:14:12Z

Bye Bye Tiberias follows Hiam Abbass, who leaves her Palestinian village of Deir Hanna, to pursue her dream of becoming an actress, leaving behind her mother, grandmother, and sisters. Abbass returns to her village, with her daughter, Lina Soualem, to explore her the history behind those four generations of women, and through that prism, the Palestinian people as a whole.

Bye Bye Tiberias is what a firm hug feels like, in the shape of a film - nostalgic, raw, powerful, and sentimental. It allows us to indulge and sit with the different ways it has left a mark. It is quite clear why Bye Bye Tiberias is Palestine's official submission in the 'Best International Feature Film' category at the 96th Academy Awards in 2024.

Director Lina Soualem has a personal connection with the various characters in her second feature documentary; this is clear in the intricate conversations that sometimes feel too personal for us to be listening in on. The exchanges between them blend together love and humour, and encapsulates what it truly means to be Palestinian, and indeed Arab. The complication of belonging to a place you may never step foot in or see, whilst trying to navigate your way through life. The concept of being forced to build a home outside of home triggers a lingering feeling, which stays with you long after the credits roll. The longing and pain of leaving behind the ones you hold dearest to your heart in pursuit of making your dreams come true, unaware of the lifelong consequences that may follow.

Lina covers four generations of the women in her family, including her mum, the notable actress Hiam Abbas, known for her role in Gaza Mon Amour and the series Succession. By presenting history over several decades, Lina is able to portray how everything changes, yet remains the same. Bye Bye Tiberias powerfully depicts the numerous experiences these resilient Palestinian women share. In spite of exile, dispossession, and heartache, they preserve their history, heritage, and legacy through the power of their relationships.

In the scene where Hiam is battling between pursuing success as an actress and wanting to go back to her mother is one of the countless moments that really resonates with us viewers. The regular video calls with her mother promising that she will be back before she knows it remind us all of the universal need to make the most of the time we have left with the ones we love. Hiam also narrates stories of her family's displacement, as she
stands in Palestine between the Mediterranean Sea, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. Her family's story is one of many, representing the dispersion and forceful exile of Palestinians all over the world.

In her own lens, Lina also captures the experience of being a third-generation kid. She mentions in her Q&A how she was not intending to be a part of the film. However, the story felt incomplete without the narrative of the current generation. Bye Bye Tiberias is an encouraging story, one of uncovering the past knowing it may not lead to the answers we seek. The film emphasises the importance of archiving and maintaining our heritage and stories; of preserving them by any means possible.

Bye Bye Bye Tiberias is a compelling commemoration of existence defined by exile, banishment, and obliteration. With the current events we are witnessing, the relevance of the film shines bright for the region, encouraging us to never stop sharing our narratives.

Mother Of All Lies: documentary hybrid trawling through layers of deception and willful oblivion

Sally Zarzour — 2023-06-14T14:10:00Z

Asmae El Moudir won the best director prize in Cannes' Un Certain Regard for Kadib Abyad (The Mother Of All Lies)

A story about forgotten history and buried secrets unravels when a young girl realises she only has one picture from her childhood and that girl in the picture is not her. ‘Mother of All Lies' transports us to a story in Morocco's history with the director, Asmae's own narration as she debuts her first feature film. From her own perspective, Asmae tries to relay the history of the 1981 Bread Riots in Morocco and reflects the national story of her country embedded through her own personal tale. The documentary hybrid is Asmae's film entry to Cannes.
‘Mother of All Lies' starts as Asmae decides to seek the truth behind her singular photo. She works with her father to build a miniature set to re-create all the details from the neighborhood she grew up in - from the people who walked the streets to the shops and their colourful decorations to preserve the memories and moments that her family went through.

Asmae's choices in colour grading and lighting depict the essence of Morocco from warm undertones to bright colours as we move between stories and horror realities. ‘Mother of All Lies' alternates between the miniatures Asmae and her father have built to scenes of the real characters suffering from their current realities and struggles because of the ongoing bread riots.

Slowly, she starts to peel the layers of her family's story by posing questions about her home, country, and family dynamics and understands the truth of the deception and lies her family has covered up. Asmae's narration leads the story as she understands from her words how difficult it is to build one's identity while battling with chasing her own aspirations and maintaining the family's traditions. The hint of whispering in her narration almost lets us feel as though we are part of the family's secrets behind the doors, and we should not reveal what we are watching to anyone else. The treatment between the family members and the words they use along with their tone of voice portray the unhealed wounds that exist between them.
She slowly begins to question the stories her mother, father, and grandmother have told her throughout her life about her homeland and country, and understands all the layers of deception and willful oblivion that have shaped her life.

Asmae mirrors traditions and the mindset of her grandma, who seems to be the keyholder to the family's secrets and old values, with one line in the film: “stop saying you're a filmmaker. Filmmakers never leave the bars. You shame us..you're a journalist.”

Furthermore, Asmae's storytelling challenges traditions, passed down stories, and hidden secrets while tackling a relevant political issue that shaped generations to come.

The film ends with a closing shot on the grandma who still holds onto the old traditions and mindset as she breaks the third wall and the sun finally sets on her unimpressed facial expressions - almost a metaphor to reflect she remains set in her ways while the rest of her family moves on to break these habits.