On Friday 21st July, we were delighted to have Diana Drake, author of 'My House in Damascus,' give a talk as part of the 'Celebrating Syria' festival. Diana took us on a journey into the heart of Syria as it is today, illustrated with her own photos and writing.
We held a panel discussion on Thursday 20th July with four creatives with experience on both sides of this, who discussed their experiences of writing about social and political change and the effectiveness of this. Afterwards there was an interesting Q&A and discussion session with the audience.
Panellists:
On Wednesday 19th July we hosted world renowned guitarist Ayman Jarjour, who played music of Spanish, Latin American, Classical and Middle Eastern influence.
On Tuesday 18th we had a film screening of Tadmor followed by a Q&A with the directors Monika Borgmann & Lokman Slimvia. This was the first time the film was screened in the UK, Tadmor is the winner of Best Political Film Award (2016) Filmfest Hamburg.
We had an amazing evening of magical storytelling and music on Monday 17th July with a performance of Damascus Stories. The Diwan Foundation have adapted for performance the stories of award-winning Syrian novelist Ulfat Al-Idlibi.
On Sunday 16th July, we screened La Dolce Syria: A Short Film Trilogy by Ammar al-Beik. Here is what people have to say about the film:
On Saturday 15th July we joined two of the finest Syrian artists, Manya and Khalda, based in Manchester to get our hands dirty in a creative arts workshop. One of the themes of the Celebrating Syria festival is the importance of creativity. In this workshop, everyone was welcome to come and have a go at making their own inspired sculpture or drawing.
On the evening of Saturday 15th July, we had Noma Omran singing Syrian Notes at the Royal Northern College of Music.
Noma Omran has been described as a ‘Divine Diva’
We screened a film viewing of Silvered Water: Syria Self Portrait on Friday 14th July, directed by Ossama Mohammed. This film documents the destruction and atrocities of Syria’s war through a combination of eye-witness accounts, shot by a reported 1,001 Syrians on mobile phones and posted to the internet, and footage shot by Bedirxan during the siege of Homs.
We had a lovely afternoon with Nora Carlin from CARE UK, at Alderley Edge Community Primary School talking to the children about Syria. It was heart warming to see the items the children had collected to help Syria. Thank you to the school for inviting us.
Rethink Rebuild Society
First Floor
Discovery House
Crossley Road
Manchester
SK4 5BH
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 161 222 9779
Mobile: +44 7730 194083