RGDST : Focus Bidayyat: New Beginnings

Focus Bidayyat: New Beginnings

This series consists of five screenings, three panels and two workshops at McGill University and the 2023 RIDM Film Festival.

Bidayyat is a Beirut-based Syrian production hub founded in the early days of the Syrian revolution. It was established with the intention of training young people in a tradition of Syrian and regional experimental documentary in order to tell the stories of ordinary lives in Syria during a time of revolution and war. Bidayyat has mentored dozens of young media activists, filmmakers, and writers, helping them produce over 50 shorts, 8 internationally acclaimed feature documentaries, and more than 100 online publications.

As Bidayyat now shifts its perspective from revolutionary production hub to revolutionary archive, Focus Bidayyat: New Beginnings spotlights innovative and award-winning films produced by Bidayyat and foregrounds the critical conversations about revolutionary media at Bidayyat that shaped their production and reception. These creative documentaries pioneered new cinematic languages, responding to the rapid proliferation of affordable digital cameras and cellphone video used by Syrian citizens to document the reality and legitimacy of their revolt. They bear witness to the transformation of the lives of millions of Syrians by revolution and war.

McGill University students and faculty can obtain free tickets to any of the Focus: Bidayyat screenings at RIDM by completing this form.

Please visit their website for more information on the program: RIDM - Focus

Supported by World Records, RIDM, the Critical Media Lab, The Research Group on Democracy, Space, and Technology, FRQSC, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.