“not another word” - virbmedia.virbcdn.com/files/c0/fileitem-289095-nawprofile.pdf · “not...

Contact: Mynette Louie | Syncopated Films | 347.878.9321 | [email protected]

ITVS Presents

A Displaced Pictures Production In Association with Syncopated Films and Lemon Tree Productions

A Short Film by Cherien Dabis

“NOT ANOTHER WORD”

When a free-spirited Arab American woman receives word of a distant cousin’s marriage proposal, she and her family laugh it off at first. But the conversation takes a serious turn, and she finds herself struggling to get her conservative mother and traditional grandmother to understand that marriage isn’t at all for her.

“Not Another Word” is a dramatic short film commissioned by the Independent Television Service (ITVS) as part of its new “Women & Girls” series



CAST SHEREEN ZOUMOT | “Lama”

Shereen Zoumot is a film/theatre actress and Theatre Director. Born in Amman, she is a Theatre Arts graduate (acting and directing) from the University of Jordan. She has traveled to Italy, Sweden, and Egypt to participate in numerous performance. Shereen also teaches drama and acting, and focuses on the therapeutic process of teaching drama and creating plays with non-actors. She created a network called AAT, with three other female artists. They hold an annual festival in March celebrating Women’s Day. ____________________________ LINA ATTEL | “Asma”

Lina Attel has performed in Jordanian TV productions such as, "Jurooh" and "Beir Altai", and the children's program "Al Manahel." She is the founder and Director General of The National Center for Culture and Arts of King Hussein Foundation in Jordan since 1987, and the Director of The annual International Arab Youth Congress since 1993. She established the first Theater Arts School in 1998 in Jordan and the first professional National Interactive Theater Troupe in 1989, which produces issue-based plays and tours nationally and internationally. She has published articles and research papers on Theatre in Education methodology and practice for local, regional, and international organizations and is deeply involved in promoting issues related to democracy and human rights for youth and women, through multimedia programs. Lina directed several plays and musicals; amongst them, the musical play "Petra Rocks;" "Opera Abu Hassan" with the participation of artists from France, Lebanon, Moldavia & Jordan; and "Walking the Winds … Arabian Tales" at the Kennedy Center in Washington. Lina has an M.A. in Theater Arts from the University of Wales in the UK.



CAST (continued) JULIETTE AWWAD | “Najwa”

Juliette Awwad has directed numerous children’s plays since 1974 in various intuitions and cultural centers in Jordan since 1974. Juliette’s passion for theater and children led her to creating the national Jordanian syllabus for “Learning through Drama” which is adopted in Jordanian schools. She continues to teach children about drama and theater herself in private schools as well giving workshops for teachers and special needs children. Juliette has performed in tens of plays and acted in more than 120 TV series in Jordan, Syria, Iraq, UAE, Tunisia, Morocco and Greece. She has appeared in two feature films, one of them being The Kingdom of Ants, which is currently playing in cinemas in the Arab world. She graduated with an M.A. in Children’s theater and a BA in acting and directing from the university Erevan in Armenia. ____________________________ SUHAIR FAHID | “Hanan”

Suhair Fahid has performed in more than 50 plays ranging between drama, comedy, tragicomedy and even children’s plays. Suhair has performed on many radio programs, most notably “Al-Hajez”, or “The Barrier’ which received the best Radio program Award in Tunisia. Her distinctive voice gave her the opportunity to dub many cartoon and regular series. She has collaborated with many international artists and received numerous awards and recognitions. Suhair continues to work between theater, TV and program dubbing. She hosts her own radio show “Weinak,” about artists from the past and present day. She is an active member of the artists’ union in Jordan, and is constantly campaigning the government to grant them rights.



CREW CHERIEN DABIS | Writer-Director

AMREEKA (2009) world-premiered at the Sundance Film Festival (2009), opened New York’s New Director’s/New Films at the MoMA (2009) and won the prestigious FIPRESCI award in the Director’s Fortnight at Cannes (2009). It was nominated for a Best Picture Gotham Award (2009), 3 Independent Spirit Awards (2010), including Best Picture and was named one of the Top Ten Independent Films of the Year by the National Board of Review (2009). The same year, Dabis was also named one of Variety’s “Ten Directors to Watch.” AMREEKA was released theatrically to worldwide critical acclaim and was chosen as one of only five American films to take part in the Sundance Institute’s inaugural Film Forward: Advancing Cultural Dialogue initiative, an international cinematic cultural exchange and diplomacy program. Dabis recently premiered her second feature film, MAY IN THE SUMMER, as the Opening Night film at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. The film stars Hiam Abbass and Bill Pullman. With the screenplay, she won a Time Warner Storytelling Grant (2010), Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art Grant (2010, 2009) as well as the prestigious Sundance / NHK International Filmmaker Award at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. A Guggenheim Fellow (2012), USA Rockefeller Fellow (2010) and winner of the Humanitas Prize (2009) as well as the Adrienne Shelly Excellence in Filmmaking Award (2009), Dabis is an alumnus of the Sundance Screenwriter’s Lab (2010, 2005), Film Independent Director’s Lab (2005) and Tribeca All Access (2007), where she was honored with the first ever L’Oréal Paris Woman of Worth Vision Award. She was also appointed a New York Foundation for the Arts Artist Fellow in Playwriting / Screenwriting (2007) and has received a Renew Media / Tribeca Film Institute Media Artist Fellowship (2008). She has also been awarded generous grants from National Geographic, the Jerome Foundation and the New York State Council on the Arts. Dabis has been an advisor for the Sundance Screenwriter’s Labs in both Turkey and Jordan and has taught screenwriting in the graduate film program at Columbia University. She currently resides in New York City.

CHERIEN DABIS is an award-winning feature filmmaker who received her M.F.A. in film from Columbia University. She wrote, directed, produced and edited several short films including MAKE A WISH (2006), which premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival as well as Clermont-Ferrand where it won the Press Prize and Jury’s Special Mention. The film went on to win 11 more top international awards. Dabis worked for three seasons as a writer and coproducer on Showtime’s groundbreaking, original hit television series THE L WORD before going on to make her feature writing and directorial debut with AMREEKA.



CREW (continued) MYNETTE LOUIE | Producer

Louie also produced Doug Karr’s ART MACHINE, starring Joseph Cross, Jessica Szohr, and Joey Lauren Adams, which premiered at the 2012 Woodstock Film Festival and will be released in 2013. She served as consulting producer on Olivia Silver’s ARCADIA starring Oscar nominee John Hawkes, which won the Crystal Bear at the 2012 Berlin Film Festival and was released by Film Movement. She executive produced Ishai Setton’s THE KITCHEN, starring Laura Prepon, Bryan Greenberg, and Dreama Walker, which premiered as the Closing Night Film of the 2012 Gen Art Film Festival and will be released in 2013. She co-produced Andrew Bujalski's MUTUAL APPRECIATION, which premiered at SXSW and was named one of the top ten films of 2006 by Entertainment Weekly, Film Comment, the Village Voice, Artforum, Greencine, and The Onion's AV Club, among others. Louie is post-production Tze Chun’s crime thriller EYE OF WINTER starring Alice Eve, Logan Marshall-Green, and Bryan Cranston. She is developing several features, including Aaron Katz’s 1920s comedy caper DARLING AGNES (producing with Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Cooper’s Town Productions) and sci-fi film SETTLERS; Eric Lin's death industry thriller UNCLAIMED, winner of the NYU Richard Vague Production Award and selection of the Film Independent Directors Lab and Fast Track program; Rory Kelly's psychological hiking drama THE END OF SOMETHING, a selection of the Film Independent Screenwriters Lab and IFP No Borders Market; and Tze Chun's comedy NOWHEREVILLE and historical drama YOU'RE A BIG GIRL NOW, with which she was selected for the Sundance Creative Producing Lab and Fellowship. Louie was also a fellow of Film Independent, Rotterdam Producers Lab, and Berlinale Talent Campus. Louie is a consultant for international sales agent Visit Films, and has served on advisory committees for IFP and the Sundance Institute. She was named in Ted Hope's inaugural list of "21 Brave Thinkers of Truly Free Film" for the hybrid distribution strategy of CHILDREN OF INVENTION, and profiled in Indiewire’s “Futures” column, which features notable emerging talent in independent film. She frequently lectures and speaks on panels for the Tribeca Film Institute, IFP, Film Independent, and various film festivals and universities. Louie previously worked at the Hawaii Film Office, where she authored the state's 15-20% refundable production tax credit, oversaw the $7.3 million renovation of the state-owned film studio, and developed programs to foster local independent filmmaking. She also worked in business development and marketing at SportsIllustrated.com, Jupiter Research, and Time Magazine. A native New Yorker, Louie graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard University with a B.A. in East Asian Studies, focusing on Chinese literature and film.

Mynette Louie is a New York-based producer, and winner of the 2013 Independent Spirit Awards’ Piaget Producers Award. She produced Marshall Lewy’s CALIFORNIA SOLO starring Robert Carlyle, which premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, won the Best Narrative Feature award at Woodstock 2012, and was released by Strand Releasing; P. Benoit's Haitian immigrant drama STONES IN THE SUN starring Edwidge Danticat, which premiered at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won the special jury award for Best Narrative Director; and Tze Chun's critically acclaimed CHILDREN OF INVENTION, which premiered at Sundance 2009, played over 50 film festivals, won 17 festival awards, and was released theatrically and on VOD and DVD in 2010.



CREW (continued)

YASMINE GOMEZ| Producer Yasmine Gomez is the Senior Video Producer for Eveo, an interactive media company, where she has produced over 100 industrial and documentary films for the health care industry. As a filmmaker, she won Best Film in the 48 Hr Film Project San Francisco for the short film, CONSUMED, which Yasmine wrote and co-directed. Yasmine also directed her first music video, YOU WILL REMEMBER, for San Francisco band Lumaya, and a mockumentary short entitled ASIAN AMERICAN JESUS. Her latest short film, TERRA COTTA, won the Grand Prize at the 2011 72-Hour Film Shootout sponsored by the Asian American Film Lab, where Yasmine also won the honor of Best Director. Yasmine recently produced her first feature film, A PICTURE OF YOU, written and directed by JP Chan and currently in post-production. NADINE KIRRESH | Co-Producer NADINE KIRRESH has vast experience working in television as a host, reporter and producer for over 10 years. Her incredible knowledge of the film industry and unwavering all-round industry passion has allowed her to build up immense insider-knowledge. This passion for media paired with her contagious energy has been a huge asset on her latest venture as the anchor and producer of Al-Shasha Al-Kabeera, a weekly movie-review show with an unrivalled cutting edge on the Arab world’s leading news channel Al Arabiya. In 2007, Nadine established Lemon Tree Productions which has her and her staff working on a wide variety of TV programs, commercials and documentaries for regional and international broadcasters. Recent clients of Lemon Tree Productions are Al Arabiya, Abu Dhabi TV, Comedy Central Arabia, The European Film Festival Jordan and TwoFour54, just to name a few. Nadine launched her career in media and film with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Arts from the Lebanese American University.




ITVS Presents A Displaced Pictures Production

In Association with Syncopated Films and Lemon Tree Productions A Short Film by Cherien Dabis

CAST: Shereen Zoumot

Lina Attel Juliette Awwad Suhair Fahid

WRITER-DIRECTOR: Cherien Dabis

PRODUCERS: Mynette Louie

Yasmine Gomez

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER for ITVS: Sally Jo Fifer

CO-PRODUCER: Nadine Kirresh CINEMATOGRAPHER: Thierry Van Biesen EDITOR: Cherien Dabis PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Widad Shafakoj COSTUME DESIGNER: Phaedra Dahdael MUSIC SUPERVISOR: Rob Lowry

LINE PRODUCER: Carla Dabis

___________________________________ GENRE: Drama Short

RUNTIME / INFO: 14 minutes / Color / Arabic with English subtitles

SHOOT LOCATION: Amman, Jordan

"Not Another Word" is a co-production of Displaced Pictures, Inc. and Independent Television

Service, Inc. (ITVS), with funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting

“not another word” - virbmedia.virbcdn.com/files/c0/fileitem-289095-nawprofile.pdf · “not...

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