Twin Cities Arab Film Festival: A State of Passion

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About

19th Arab Film Festival

Sunday, September 28 at 1:00 PM

ABOUT THE FILM

This harrowing documentary depicts the story of British-Palestinian reconstructive surgeon, Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah, as he recounts his experiences working under constant bombardment in Gaza’s Al Shifa and Al Ahli hospitals. The current genocide in Gaza marks Abu Sittah’s sixth and most horrific humanitarian visit to assist in Gaza’s overtaxed and underresourced emergency rooms. A State of Passion includes interviews with Abu Sittah and his family, who describe the scene on the ground during the first days of Israeli violence in 2023. The film documents his passion for using his training to save the lives of Palestinians under siege, and he explains why he chooses to risk his life returning to Gaza time and again. Filmmakers Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi, close friends of Abu Sittah and his family, share a similar passion: to make the voices of Palestinians heard.

Content warning: This film includes disturbing images.

FILMMAKER BIOS

Carol Mansour is an independent documentary filmmaker who focuses on issues of social justice and human rights. After ten years of working in television, she founded Forward Film Production in 2000 in Beirut, Lebanon, through which she uses film to give voice to the marginalized. With more than twenty-four years in documentary production, Mansour has covered the world from Sri Lanka to Lebanon to Yemen to Uzbekistan. She has achieved international recognition and honor for her films, with hundreds of film festival screenings and official selections worldwide.

Muna Khalidi holds a PhD in health policy and planning, and she has more than thirty-four years of experience working in the social and health development fields in Lebanon and the region. She has worked with numerous health organizations, assisting in the development of strategic plans and to design. In 2011, she began collaborating with filmmaker Carol Mansour on the research and production of documentary films dealing with issues of social justice and human rights, bringing her experience in academia and in the public, private, and NGO sectors. .

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.