Grandma, A Thousand Times: The story of a feisty and sharp-witted Beirut matriarch as she contemplates the last stage of her life.
To watch the full movie click on this link: Grandma, A Thousand Times - Witness - Al Jazeera English
FILM TRAILER:
The film is a UAE/ Qatar/Lebanon co-production, made with the financial support of Doha Film Institute and Screen Institute Beirut. It also marks the first documentary film to be produced by a partner of twofour54, the content creation community in Abu Dhabi. The film will had its world premiere at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival in Oct 2010, where it scooped the Audience Award for Best Documentary and a Jury Special Mention for filmmaker Mahmoud Kaabour. It was presented by a 100,000$ cash prize by legendary actor Robert de Niro. The film has since won 5 other awards, and became a NY Time Critic's pick following its release in NYC and LA as part of its Oscar qualification campaign in 2011.
The documentary's awards are:
1.Best Film: London International Documentary Film Festival 2011
2.Best Film: Mumbai Film Festival 2011 (Celebrate Age Category)
3. Audience Award for Best Documentary : Doha Tribeca Film Fest 2010
(a 100,000$ cash prize presented by actor Robert de Niro)
4. Audience Award for Best International Documentary: Dox Box Film Festival 2011 ( a 3000$ cash prize)
5. Special Jury Mention for filmmaker Mahmoud Kaabour: Doha Tribeca 2010
6. Special Jury Mention at DocsDF Mexico for filmmaker Mahmoud Kaabour for "an outstanding way of telling a story."
For more on the film please visit:
www.veritasfilms.ae
FB: http://tinyurl.com/32awls6
Twitter : @TetaAfMarra
Old age and a sense of life's ending cannot dampen the spirits of a feisty Beirut matriarch in this magical film about family, love and aging.
Fatima or Teta (grandmother) Kaabour is an 83-year-old family matriarch and sharp-witted queen bee of an old Beiruti quarter. She has been gripped as of late by the silence of her once-buzzing household where she raised children and grandchildren. Resigned to argileh smoking and day-long coffee drinking on a now empty balcony, Teta invokes the deepest memories of her violinist husband who died 20 years ago. She claims a preparedness to re-unite with him.
Filmmaker Mahmoud Kaabour, Teta's favourite grandson and the bearer of his grandfather's full name, has also been preoccupied for years with the memory of his grandfather. Prior to his death, the violinist had audio taped heart-wrenching violin improvisations in the privacy of his room in that same flat.
The filmmaker's anguish is compounded at the thought that this personal and cultural heritage, as well as his grandma's own stories, rare recipes and naughty humour, will go with her when she parts this life.
This award-winning film brings together grandfather, grandmother and grandson in a documentary that aims to defy a past death and a future one. It documents with great intimacy the larger-than-life character of Teta Kaabour, her telling of the trials of her violinist husband and his Beirut, as well as her imaginings of what awaits her beyond death.
"The Music of Mahmoud Kaabour Al-Rasheedi as featured in Grandma, a Thousand Times" was released last year. The seven improvisations that haunted me for years and were the impetus for this film are now available on iTunes, Amazon and in stores in Lebanon and the UAE. It feels like a load off my shoulders and an invitation for new obsessions
Full/Original article at: http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/witness/2012/05/201252463452738494.html
To watch the full movie click on this link: Grandma, A Thousand Times - Witness - Al Jazeera English
FILM TRAILER:
This is the official trailer of Veritas Films' latest documentary release, Teta Alf Marra (Grandma, a Thousand Times) directed by award-winning filmmaker Mahmoud Kaabour. It began touring the international festival circuit in October 2010.
The film is a UAE/ Qatar/Lebanon co-production, made with the financial support of Doha Film Institute and Screen Institute Beirut. It also marks the first documentary film to be produced by a partner of twofour54, the content creation community in Abu Dhabi. The film will had its world premiere at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival in Oct 2010, where it scooped the Audience Award for Best Documentary and a Jury Special Mention for filmmaker Mahmoud Kaabour. It was presented by a 100,000$ cash prize by legendary actor Robert de Niro. The film has since won 5 other awards, and became a NY Time Critic's pick following its release in NYC and LA as part of its Oscar qualification campaign in 2011.
The documentary's awards are:
1.Best Film: London International Documentary Film Festival 2011
2.Best Film: Mumbai Film Festival 2011 (Celebrate Age Category)
3. Audience Award for Best Documentary : Doha Tribeca Film Fest 2010
(a 100,000$ cash prize presented by actor Robert de Niro)
4. Audience Award for Best International Documentary: Dox Box Film Festival 2011 ( a 3000$ cash prize)
5. Special Jury Mention for filmmaker Mahmoud Kaabour: Doha Tribeca 2010
6. Special Jury Mention at DocsDF Mexico for filmmaker Mahmoud Kaabour for "an outstanding way of telling a story."
For more on the film please visit:
www.veritasfilms.ae
FB: http://tinyurl.com/32awls6
Twitter : @TetaAfMarra
To watch the full movie click on this link:
To read full article go to: http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/witness/2012/05/201252463452738494.html
Old age and a sense of life's ending cannot dampen the spirits of a feisty Beirut matriarch in this magical film about family, love and aging.
Fatima or Teta (grandmother) Kaabour is an 83-year-old family matriarch and sharp-witted queen bee of an old Beiruti quarter. She has been gripped as of late by the silence of her once-buzzing household where she raised children and grandchildren. Resigned to argileh smoking and day-long coffee drinking on a now empty balcony, Teta invokes the deepest memories of her violinist husband who died 20 years ago. She claims a preparedness to re-unite with him.
Filmmaker Mahmoud Kaabour, Teta's favourite grandson and the bearer of his grandfather's full name, has also been preoccupied for years with the memory of his grandfather. Prior to his death, the violinist had audio taped heart-wrenching violin improvisations in the privacy of his room in that same flat.
The filmmaker's anguish is compounded at the thought that this personal and cultural heritage, as well as his grandma's own stories, rare recipes and naughty humour, will go with her when she parts this life.
This award-winning film brings together grandfather, grandmother and grandson in a documentary that aims to defy a past death and a future one. It documents with great intimacy the larger-than-life character of Teta Kaabour, her telling of the trials of her violinist husband and his Beirut, as well as her imaginings of what awaits her beyond death.
"The Music of Mahmoud Kaabour Al-Rasheedi as featured in Grandma, a Thousand Times" was released last year. The seven improvisations that haunted me for years and were the impetus for this film are now available on iTunes, Amazon and in stores in Lebanon and the UAE. It feels like a load off my shoulders and an invitation for new obsessions
Full/Original article at: http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/witness/2012/05/201252463452738494.html
