Rewind Bundle

Light-hearted yet deep, sad but heart-warming, these depictions of queerness between the past and the present leave us believing in a hopeful future.

EITR عطر dir. by Fateema Al-Hamaydeh Miller
Canada | English & Arabic | 15 min
Grinding away at the inherited family business, Mohamed works tirelessly making sales of knock-off perfume while living as a knock-off version of his true self. Grappling with the recent loss of his father, his mother’s anxious attempts to get him married and the shadow of his hidden Queer identity, Mohamed finds solace and connection in a day spent with a beautiful stranger who lives in self-acceptance and sees Mohamed for who he truly is under the many layers of polo-sport-adjacent cologne.

Neo Nahda dir. by May Ziadé
UK | English | 12 min
Mona, a young woman in London, finds archived photographs of Arab women cross-dressing in the 1920s. Somewhere between her fantasies and reality, she starts a feverish journey of uncovering lost histories and her own identity. Through a coming-of-age narrative, the film explores the euphoric relationship those who are marginalised create with images and symbols, and how archive images can be a portal for the world of inner projections, creating meaning and grounding one’s identity.”

Cousins dir. by Karina Dandashi
USA | English & Arabic | 13 min
Two cousins born in separate countries reunite in Brooklyn when a run-in with an ex makes the night even more chaotic.

When There Were Trees dir. by Shahin Gorgani
Iran | Persian (Farsi) | 22 min
Azar (82), a former Iranian actress, learns of the passing of her lover. With the help of a traveling theater troupe, she embarks on a journey to find the woman she was forced to leave because of society’s taboos. Her journey allows her to reflect on her past and her regrets, but instead of death, it brings her life.

Pacific Club dir. by Valentin Noujaïm
France/Qatar | French | 16 min
In 1979, the Pacific Club was opened in the basement of La Défense – the business district of Paris. It was the first nightclub for Arabs from the suburbs; a parallel world of dance, sweat, young loves, and one-night utopias. Azedine, 17 years old at the time, tells us the forgotten story of this club and of this generation who dreamed of integrating into France but who soon came face to face with racism, the AIDS epidemic, and heroin.

Sahbety/My Girl Fiend dir. by Kawthar Younis
Egypt | Arabic | 17 min
Desperate for intimacy, Ali follows his girlfriend’s suggestion that puts their relationship to the test. The plan unfolds unexpectedly when gender roles become blurred.

The Landmarks of Memory dir. by Christina Hajjar
Canada | English & Arabic | 7 min
A tattoo ritual and hookah session memorializes a pre-war flower shop in Beirut.