Party: Cinematters Screening: 'BASIL' - Ground-breaking Syrian Arts Film

Party: Cinematters Screening: 'BASIL' - Ground-breaking Syrian Arts Film

Free Sunday Cinematters screening of "BASIL" hosted by Watanili. Gather upstairs from 6:30pm, movie starts at 7pm.

The event is a fundraising premiere for “BASIL”, a ground-breaking short arts film by Syrian director Adnan Jetto, that also documents some of the creative education projects that Watanili has run with Syrian refugee children on the Turkey-Syria border. BASIL (the name of the child followed in the film) strives to show the hidden creativity and enduring human spirit bubbling under the surface of Syrian children; and that when given the opportunity, these young refugees still have that war-defying hope and courage to re-build their country. It’s a truly heart-warming film that we hope will inspire people to consider the bright future that is possible for Syria, despite the war.

https://vimeo.com/111693679

Just to give you a little bit more info about Watanili, we are a grassroots initiative, dedicated to providing support for displaced Syrians through arts therapy, educational programmes, and community orientated projects. We work directly with civilians within and outside Syria to empower communities to restore the social and intellectual fabric of their lives. A number of our initiatives have been financially supported by the British Council and HIVOS. Our focus is primarily on creative education and community building.

Our projects have diverged and expanded to other initiatives including art-therapy workshops, educational programs and community-based aid. We recently launched a mobile cinema in Aleppo, Syria, for children to re-connect with their childhood though cartoons to give them a sense of normality despite the conflict raging around them. Recent workshops with displaced Syrian children in Reyhanli, Turkey, have focused on calligraphy, graffiti, photography, Picasso’s Guernica and “Dreams in a Box” (part of a global humanitarian project to inspire youth to make their dreams come true). Watanili has also run sport and outdoor activities, as well as creating an ice cream pop-up stall.

https://www.facebook.com/Watanili-279165245576149/
www.watanili.com

www.passingclouds.org
1 Richmond Road E8 4AA