LEILA AND THE WOLVES (1980-84)
Randwick Ritz, Sydney:
12:30 PM
Saturday May 03
Lido Cinemas, Melbourne:
12:30 PM
Saturday May 10
Rating: MA15+
Duration: 90 minutes
Country: UK, Lebanon, France, Belgium, Holland, Sweden
Language: Arabic with English subtitles
Cast: Nabila Zeitouni, Rafik Ali Ahmad, Raja Nehme
Director: Heiny Srour
SYDNEY TICKETS ⟶
MELBOURNE TICKETS ⟶
12:30 PM
Saturday May 03
Lido Cinemas, Melbourne:
12:30 PM
Saturday May 10
Rating: MA15+
Duration: 90 minutes
Country: UK, Lebanon, France, Belgium, Holland, Sweden
Language: Arabic with English subtitles
Cast: Nabila Zeitouni, Rafik Ali Ahmad, Raja Nehme
Director: Heiny Srour
SYDNEY TICKETS ⟶
MELBOURNE TICKETS ⟶
4K RESTORATION – AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
“Visually, Heiny Srour’s film is a treat, combining tinted newsreel footage with memorable images and clearly loving shots of a strife-torn nation; the acts of courage she reveals, and the example she sets to other film-makers to engage their own history, are exalting.” Frances Dickinson, Time Out Film Guide
“Ignored and forgotten, the role of Arab women in the Middle East’s political history is illuminated here for the first time…Using narrative structures of the ‘mosaic’, a common device in oriental stories, Leila travels through time from the British Mandate of Palestine to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, participating in the insurrections of the 1920s, the revolution of 1936-39 – during which women organised a wedding to transport weapons – and the massacre of the Palestinian village of Deir-Yassin…
“Acclaimed by critics for its originality and the talent of its director Leila and the Wolves was distributed worldwide but censored in most Arab countries. Thanks to this new restoration we rediscover a work of great complexity, which even in its most imperfect moments, speaks beyond its, albeit fundamental, feminist message.” Cecilia Cenciarelli, Il Cinema Ritrovato 2023.
Introduced by Elly Carantinos at Ritz Cinemas and Samia Mikhail at Lido Cinemas.
“Visually, Heiny Srour’s film is a treat, combining tinted newsreel footage with memorable images and clearly loving shots of a strife-torn nation; the acts of courage she reveals, and the example she sets to other film-makers to engage their own history, are exalting.” Frances Dickinson, Time Out Film Guide
“Ignored and forgotten, the role of Arab women in the Middle East’s political history is illuminated here for the first time…Using narrative structures of the ‘mosaic’, a common device in oriental stories, Leila travels through time from the British Mandate of Palestine to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, participating in the insurrections of the 1920s, the revolution of 1936-39 – during which women organised a wedding to transport weapons – and the massacre of the Palestinian village of Deir-Yassin…
“Acclaimed by critics for its originality and the talent of its director Leila and the Wolves was distributed worldwide but censored in most Arab countries. Thanks to this new restoration we rediscover a work of great complexity, which even in its most imperfect moments, speaks beyond its, albeit fundamental, feminist message.” Cecilia Cenciarelli, Il Cinema Ritrovato 2023.
Introduced by Elly Carantinos at Ritz Cinemas and Samia Mikhail at Lido Cinemas.
THE RESTORATION
Source: DCP Cinenova, UK. Cinenova is a volunteer-run organisation preserving and distributing the work of feminist film and video makers. Selected for Venice Classics 2021.
The 16mm negative of Leila and the Wolves is conserved at the British Film Institute. It was scanned at the laboratories of the CNC (Paris) which carried out the digital restoration. The original magnetic sound was digitised by the British Film Institute and restored by Le Diapason.
Writer/Producer/Director: Heiny Srour; Production Companies: Leila Films, BFI, Ministère Nationale et de la Culture Française; Photography: Curtis Clark, Charlet Recors; Editor: Eva Houdova; Production Design: No’man Al Joud, Ahmed Malla, Heiny Srour; Music: Zaki Nassif, Munir Bechir
Cast: Nabila Zeitouni (Leila), Rafik Ali Ahmad, Raja Nehme, Emilia Fowad, Ferial Abillamah, Zafila Cattan, Wissal El Sayyed, Yolande Asmar, Toufic Mrad, Antoniette Negib, Mona Ramadan, Hayat Lozi, Majwa Mehdi
UK/Lebanon/France/Belgium/Netherlands/Sweden | 1980-84 | 90 Mins | 4K DCP | Colour | Arabic Version with English subtitles | UC 15+
The 16mm negative of Leila and the Wolves is conserved at the British Film Institute. It was scanned at the laboratories of the CNC (Paris) which carried out the digital restoration. The original magnetic sound was digitised by the British Film Institute and restored by Le Diapason.
Writer/Producer/Director: Heiny Srour; Production Companies: Leila Films, BFI, Ministère Nationale et de la Culture Française; Photography: Curtis Clark, Charlet Recors; Editor: Eva Houdova; Production Design: No’man Al Joud, Ahmed Malla, Heiny Srour; Music: Zaki Nassif, Munir Bechir
Cast: Nabila Zeitouni (Leila), Rafik Ali Ahmad, Raja Nehme, Emilia Fowad, Ferial Abillamah, Zafila Cattan, Wissal El Sayyed, Yolande Asmar, Toufic Mrad, Antoniette Negib, Mona Ramadan, Hayat Lozi, Majwa Mehdi
UK/Lebanon/France/Belgium/Netherlands/Sweden | 1980-84 | 90 Mins | 4K DCP | Colour | Arabic Version with English subtitles | UC 15+