The Boy and the Sea
The story did not begin with the worldwide TV snatched image of the Syrian child Elan, thrown on the Turkish shores by the waves, and it most certainly did not end with it either. There was once a boy who had joy in drawing the sea. One day, in hope to escape war and misery, into the bottom of the sea he dove. Alas, he found himself trapped amongst swarms of screens that distorted his image and stole his story. No… the story did not end there. Images are still flowing, and the world is still watching…
Director: Samer Ajouri
Producers: Mohammad Ali Atassi, Maya Shurbaji
Language: Arabic with English subtitles
Countries: Syria, Lebanon
Duration: 6 min
2016
Emily
An elderly florist looks back at her life. After a lifetime devoted to sowing love with her flowers, will she ever harvest?
Director: Marlies van der Wel
Producers: Gijs Kerbosch, Christine Anderton
Language: (No Dialogue)
Country: The Netherlands
Duration: 8 min
2018
Father and Daughter
This bittersweet tale explores the deep bond between father and daughter. Set against the wide Dutch landscape, the father bids farewell to his young girl. Through the seasons, the girl matures to a woman, raising a family of her own... yet the longing for her father always remains with her.
Director: Michael Dudok de Wit
Producers: Claire Jennings (UK), Willem Thijssen (Holland)
Language: (No dialogue)
Countries: UK, The Netherlands
Duration: 9 min
2000
Make A Wish
A young Palestinian girl will do whatever it takes to buy a birthday cake.
Director and Producer: Cherien Dabis
Language: ِArabic with English subtitles
Countries: Palestine, USA
Duration: 12 min
2006
Samer Ajouri (born in Damascus in 1977) studied video editing and visual effect arts in Syria and worked as Art Director for many media production houses, making music videos, commercials, experimental video art, animated graphics, and other film visual effects for local and Arabic films and TV drama.
Marlies van der Wel is a Dutch animator and illustrator whose short films have been recognized at prestigious festivals including the Berlinale, Toronto Film Festival, and Sundance. Her award-winning shorts JONAS AND THE SEA and SABAKU were the result of a meticulous collage process in which she weaves drawings, textures and random objects together - brought to life through a technique that she calls ‘digital cut-out animation.’ Addressing big themes in small packages, Marlies uses simple images and words to tell stories that are emotional (but not tearjerkers), universal (yet still personal) and lighthearted (with a healthy dose of humor).
Michael Dudok de Wit (1953) grew up in the Netherlands and lives in London. He directs TV commercials and independent short animated films, and also illustrates children’s books and teaches animation at art colleges in England and abroad. Michael’s short films have won numerous international awards, including an Oscar and a BAFTA award in 2001 for FATHER AND DAUGHTER. His most recent film, THE RED TURTLE, is his first feature length film.
Cherien Dabis is a Palestinian American film and television writer, director, actor and producer. Her films have opened the Sundance Film Festival and premiered at Cannes, Venice and Berlin, and won dozens of awards including the FIPRESCI. Her debut feature AMREEKA (2009) was nominated for Best Picture Gotham Award, 3 Independent Spirit Awards including Best Picture, and was named one of the Top Ten Independent Films of the Year by the U.S.’s National Board of Review. In television, Dabis has written and directed on Showtime’s groundbreaking series THE L WORD, USA Network’s THE SINNER, and Netflix’s OZARK. She recently co-executive produced and directed Hulu’s critically acclaimed RAMY, the first half hour Arab American comedy on television.