Greenhouse: Courageous Filmmaking in Progress

By Sigal Yehuda, director, Greenhouse Documentary Development Program

Radicalism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, misogyny, refugees, immigration, and discrimination are all disputes we have been exposed to, especially in recent years. These issues are all perpetuated by separation between populations, and is often sustained and encouraged by political leaders, media, education, and extremists of all sorts.

We would like to challenge your thoughts about these topics in film screenings of inspiring documentaries, and a stimulating discussion with four courageous filmmaking women from the Middle East, North Africa, and North America.

Ayse Toprak , Ekin Çalışır, Laura Bustillos, and Sara Nacer have all won the 2017 Greenhouse–Jacob Burns Film Center Artist-in-Residence Award!

Greenhouse brings together passionate and courageous filmmakers from our fascinating, but fraught region. These filmmakers possess a profound understanding of the issues their communities and societies are facing. Over the past ten years, despite the many violent conflicts in the region, Greenhouse has persevered and upheld its critical role as a meeting point for regional filmmakers, and we believe that now more than ever is the time to strengthen these ties and sustain this unique platform for filmmakers to form a real dialogue on the pressing socio-political issues of this region.

We, together with the Jacob Burns Film Center, are excited to offer thought-provoking discussions about topics that are so relevant today to Americans.

Bustillos and Nacer, immigrants from Mexico and Algeria respectively, have worked hard to open national dialogue concerning discrimination towards women in North America and North Africa. In La Rockeuse du Desert, their co-directed collaboration, they follow a sexagenarian musician, Hasna El Becharia, and her efforts to unite her fellow Algerian women to redefine their role and challenge cultural norms.

Similarly, Mr. Gay Syria shows how difficult Syrian gay men’s lives are as refugees who lost their country and are now struggling to find a better future in Turkey and Europe. Toprak and Çalışır are Turkish filmmakers and both work hard to this day to explore taboo issues. Mr. Gay Syria exemplifies their passion for these topics. By filming these struggles, Toprak and Çalışır hope to highlight neglected issues in their favorite medium.

If you would like to learn more and meet these talented women, you can attend one of the screenings in the fascinating Greenhouse series at the JBFC April 23-27. Tickets are on sale now!

You can also follow their works-in-progress at ghfilmcentre.org, and the Greenhouse Facebook page.