Our Memory Belongs to Us

Our Memory Belongs to Us

Rami Farah

Denmark, France, Syrian Arab Republic

2021 | 90’ | Documentary

Nearly 10 years after the beginning of the Syrian revolution, three Syrian activists – Yadan, Odai and Rani – reunite on a theatre stage in Paris. Through life-size projections onto a big screen, director Rami Farah confronts the three men with footage, some of it their own, depicting events that changed their destinies forever. Watching the brutal footage together, they reflect on their personal journeys, revive their collective memory, and wonder what is left of their hopes and dreams. Their reunion serves as a unique window into the complexity of the situation in Syria, where a peaceful uprising was replaced by a ferocious war.

Rami Farah is a Syrian dancer, actor and filmmaker. Farah’s meeting with the revered Syrian director Omar Amiralay, who would later go on to be his mentor, marked a turning point in his approach to filmmaking. Amiralay had also encouraged Farah to ‘go search for the truth’, resulting in his graduation from The Arab Film Institute in 2007, where Rami made a 35-minute documentary about the Golan Heights entitled Silence. After he fled Syria and entered France where he made his most recent work Our Memory Belongs To Us.

SAFAR Film Festival

The SAFAR Film Festival is the only festival in the UK dedicated to cinema from the Arab world. Founded in 2012, SAFAR offers a unique space for audiences to explore and celebrate Arab cinema past, present, and future.

The 2022 edition is an important milestone for the festival. SAFAR is celebrating its 10 year anniversary and is, for the first time, expanding to screen in 7 other UK cities alongside its flagship London festival.

Curated by Rabih El-Khoury, this year’s theme, The Stories We Tell in Arab Cinema, invites you to go back to the very essence of filmmaking: storytelling. Featuring UK premieres, new releases and classics, the film selection explores the devices used by Arab filmmakers to push cinematic boundaries, reclaim overlooked histories, and present new perspectives to audiences both at home and abroad. It sees controversial characters run amok and experimentations in form blend the traditional with the radical. Period pieces bring colonial traumas to the global stage and social issues are inspected through surreal and fantastical lenses.

Live discussions will unpack the role of the storyteller and examine the power that lies within the industry to build worlds, shape memories and change perceptions. It’ll look at who’s telling the stories, who isn’t, and why that matters. An industry programme will offer emerging filmmakers networking and development opportunities.

SAFAR Film Festival: The Stories We Tell in Arab Cinema runs from 1-17 July with screenings in London, Coventry, Cardiff, Glasgow, Hull, Liverpool, Manchester and Plymouth. More films will also be available to watch by donation on the SAFAR website.

Explore the full programme on www.safarfilmfestival.co.uk