Film of the Week

Curated by Third Cinema Days

We conclude by reclaiming the narrative through art and performance. Neo Nahda explores cross-dressing and queer archives in the Levant as a resistance to colonial modernity. Parajanov uses the naïve art of Pirosmani to construct a surreal, textured identity that defies Soviet realism. Both films argue that Liberation is an aesthetic act—a reclaiming of our bodies, our history, and our beauty.

Neo Nahda (2023)

12m
UK/Lebanon

Mona, a young woman in London, finds archive photographs of Arab women crossdressing in the 1920s. Somewhere between her fantasies and reality, she starts a feverish journey of uncovering lost histories and her own identity. Through a coming-of-age narrative, the film explores the euphoric relationship those who are marginalised create with images and symbols, and how archive images can be a portal for the world of inner projections, creating meaning and grounding one's identity.

Director and Writer: May Ziadé
Cinematography: Luciano Riso
Composer: Layale Chaker
Starring: Eman Alali, Nadia Nadif

Arabesques on The Pirosmani Theme (1985)

Documentary, 21m
Georgia/Armenia

A documentary film about the great Georgian outsider artist Niko Pirosmani. By filming the detail and themes of his colourful paintings, Parajanov creates an engaging and mysterious portrait of Georgia itself. 

This film is streaming via Cavea Plus. Please click the link below and you can access it directly using our event pass login:

https://cavea.plus/en/movies/arabesques-on-the-pirosmani-theme

Username: thirdcinemadays@gmail.com

Password: thirdcinemadays1