My Paper Life
Vida Dena
Belgium, France, Iran | 2022 | 80 min
World premiere
Languages : French, Arabic, Persian
Subtitles : English, French
In Brussels, the Iranian artist and film director Vida Dena meets Naseem, father of a Syrian family who fled from the war. Within the walls of their precarious home, she talks with Hala and Rima, his two eldest daughters, through drawings. The little bits of coloured paper come to life on the screen to relate the memories, dreams and destiny of this family in exile.
In Brussels, the Iranian artist and film director Vida Dena meets Naseem, the father of a Syrian family from Homs who fled from the war. Within the pink walls of their provisional home, she talks with Hala and Rima, his two eldest daughters, through drawings. Sitting on the carpet, the two teenage girls talk about their memories of back home, of the war and then exile, but also of their dreams for this new life. The little bits of coloured paper come to life on the screen, in a suspended time located neither here nor there, to recount the fragility of these destinies. This war and exile resonate with the life of the director, herself an immigrant in Belgium. In this dazzling first film, Vida Dena successfully enhances the fantasy of the world dreamed by these children on the threshold of a new life, through animation. This rare achievement brings together her talents as an artist, storyteller and director, put to music by Noma Omran, the illustrious exiled Syrian singer and composer.
Aurélien Marsais
Ayan And The White Balloon, 2015
