Wednesday, September 23, 2015
7 p.m.
Joukowsky Forum
Light refreshments provided.
Interview with Director Amer Shomali
The movie director, Amer Shomali, will be speaking via Skype at the beginning of the event. Nicola Perugini, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in Italian Studies and Middle East Studies, will be taking questions from the audience at the end.
About the Movie:
Just Vision is partnering with Kino Lorber, Intuitive Pictures and the National Film Board of Canada to bring The Wanted 18 to communities across the U.S.
Voted best documentary at the Arab World Film Festival in Abu Dhabi, 2014.
Directors: Amer Shomali, Paul Cowan
Country: Canada, France, Palestine
Language: Arabic, English, Hebrew (with subtitles)
Running Time: 75 Minutes
Film Synopsis:
Humorous and thought-provoking, The Wanted 18 shows the power of mass mobilization and nonviolent resistance to the Israeli occupation during the First Intifada. The film tells the story of 18 dairy cows being brought to the West Bank town of Beit Sahour, as part of a self-sufficiency movement, which were then declared a threat to the security of the state of Israel. Using stop-motion animation, archival footage, interviews, and graphic novel cartoons, the film uses humor to get at a serious subject. This is a poignant film about nation-building from the bottom up, by the people not the politicians. Variety called the film ‘mind-opening’ & ‘ingenious.’
More Information
Center for Middle East Studies
About the directors:
AMER SHOMALI (Director, Artist)
Amer Shomali uses fine art, digital media and technology as sociopolitical tools for change. After studying at the Van Art School in Canada, he completed an MFA in Animation at Bournemouth, UK. One of the founders of Zan Studios in Ramallah, Amer works as an animator and illustrator of children’s books, posters, and multimedia productions. His work has been exhibited in galleries across the Middle East and Europe. Amer’s short film “Dying of the Light” was screened in the UK, Belgium, Lebanon, and Palestine. He was also co-director and animator of “Animated Concerns”, the animated TV series, in Palestine from 2006-2007.
PAUL COWAN (Director, Writer)
In his 25-year career as a filmmaker, Paul Cowan has never been one to shy away from controversy. He’s chronicled the rise and fall of renegade billionaire Robert Campeau, followed Dr. Henry Morgentaler on his controversial abortion crusade, dramatized Donald Marshall’s landmark battle against Nova Scotia’s justice system, and stirred up a storm of debate in the Canadian Senate with a hotly-contested docudrama about First World War flying ace Billy Bishop. His strength is creative documentaries that combine documentary techniques with evocative images and recreations. Paul recently wrote and directed the feature documentary Paris 1919.
CREDITS
A film by Amer Shomali and Paul Cowan
Written by Paul Cowan
Executive Producers: Saed Andoni, Dominique Barneaud, Ina Fichman
Executive Producer: Colette Loumède
Directors of Photography: Daniel Villeneuve, German Gutierrez
Editor: Aube Foglia
Animation Design Director: Michelle Lannen
Artistic Director: Dominique Côté
Principal Animator: Myriam Elda Arsenault
Original Music: Benoit Charest
Line Producers: Christine Rocheleau, Mélanie Lasnier (NFB)
Location Sound: Daniel Fontaine-Bégin
Sound Editor: Sylvain Bellemare
Drawings: Amer Shomali
The Cows:
Goldie – Alison Darcy; Ruth – Heidi Foss; Lola – Rosann Nerenberg; Rivka – Holly Uloth “O’Brien”
Casting Director: Rosann Nerenberg
