Greenhouse 2017: Emerging Documentary Voices from the Middle East and North Africa

The Greenhouse Documentary Development Program nurtures emerging documentary filmmakers who are committed to representing their struggle for justice and freedom in the Southern Mediterranean region, including the Middle East, North Africa, and areas beyond. JBFC Film Programmer Karen Sloe Goodman along with Greenhouse Program Director Sigal Yehuda and Greenhouse Partner and Mentor Bruni Burres are delighted to be collaborating for the third year to present a selection of courageous and challenging films that highlight sexism, homophobia, and the struggle for human rights in these regions.

This series is presented with generous support from The Violet Jabara Charitable Trust and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Algerian filmmaker Sara Nacer is founder and president of the arts & films production company SN Productions, and a public relations specialist. She is co-director of the Greenhouse work-in-progress feature documentary La Rockeuse du Désert, and currently living and working in Montreal, Canada.

Mexican filmmaker Laura Bustillos is a documentary filmmaker and photographer from the Ciudad Juarez border sister city of El Paso, Texas, where she currently developing a film series Undocumented Freedom, and is co-director of the Greenhouse work-in-progress feature documentary La Rockeuse du Désert.

Turkish filmmaker Ayse Toprak is based in Istanbul, working on social and political documentaries about her country. She has produced films for Channel Thirteen/PBS and Al Jazeera in London and Doha, and is co-director of the Greenhouse work-in-progress feature documentary Mr. Gay Syria.

Turkish filmmaker Ekin Çalışır has worked at Al Jazeera Turk as a journalist and producer of short documentaries, and has produced international news and current affairs for the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation. She is is co-director of the Greenhouse work-in-progress feature documentary Mr. Gay Syria and is currently directing the Greenhouse documentary Our Border.

Read more about Greenhouse in our press release.