On 8 December 2020, we welcomed Itab Azzam, co-director of We are not Princesses, for a Q&A about this engaging and woefully accurate documentary that follows four Syrian refugee women take part in a creative theatre workshop whilst in a refugee camp in Beirut. It was a highly engaging discussion with Itab.
Watch the film at any time before the event and discuss your thoughts with one of the creators! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30slGf-T1HQ
We Are Not Princesses is a documentary film about the incredible strength and spirit of four Syrian women living as refugees in Beirut as they come together to tell their stories of love, loss, pain and hope through the ancient Greek play, Antigone.
The film uses intimate footage and animation to follow how these women find laughter and purpose as they come together to perform the ancient Greek play, Antigone. Shot over three months in the Autumn of 2014, the film stems from Antigone of Syria, an eight-week drama workshop in Lebanon with 35 Syrian women from various refugee camps in Lebanon. The workshops culminated in three performances at Al Madina Theatre in Hamra, Beirut in December 2014.
We Are Not Princesses is about the resilient, intelligent, articulate Syrian women who are picking up the pieces of their lives and moving forward in spite of the situation back home. (openartfoundation.org). The screening will be followed by a discussion with the co-director Itab Azzam.
About Itab Azzam
London-based, award-winning filmmaker and theatre producer, Itab was born in Sweida, Syria, and moved to the UK in 2011. Itab was part of the team behind BBC Four’s Syrian School and one of the producers of the Peabody and BAFTA-winning documentary series Exodus: Our Journey to Europe. She produced independent films including Queens of Syria and theatrical productions with refugees including Antigone of Syria.
Itab co-founded Sabbara, a Syrian social enterprise empowering women through economic employment and psychological support, and also co-founded the Open Art Foundation, an arts charity that works with marginalised communities around the world. Her highly acclaimed cookery book Syria: Recipes from Home was released in the UK and US in 2017.