Racism and mental illness are addressed in the film. There are depictions of physical, psychological and sexualised violence as well as war and fight scenes.
ALFILM – Arab Film Festival Berlin & MENA Prison Forum
Monika Borgmann & Lokman Slim “Tadmor”
Part of “ALFILM – Arab Film Festival Berlin”
Afterwards: Film talk with Monika Borgmann & Ali Abu Dehen
- Film
The MENA Prison Forum is an interdisciplinary initiative. Initiated in 2018, it is dedicated to researching prison culture in the MENA region. The project engages a collaborative international network that includes former prisoners, filmmakers, academics and activists from various countries addressing carcerality around the region. Together with ALFILM – Arab Film Festival Berlin, medico international, and UMAM Documentation and Research (UMAM D&R), the MPF is presenting a special event in HAU with a focus on Syria.
With the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024 images of freed detainees from Syria’s gruesome prisons flooded our screens. The present moment is a crucial one to shed the light on the inner workings of this intricate system and to explore the traumatic experiences of those who were held and tortured by it.
The event will feature the screening of “Tadmor” by Monika Borgmann and Lokman Slim followed by a film talk with co-director Monika Borgmann and one of the film’s protagonists, former detainee Ali Abu Dehen.
Film talk: English and Arabic with English translation
“Tadmor”
Documentary, 2016, 103 mins, Arabic with English subtitles
Amidst the popular uprising against the Syrian regime that began in 2011, a group of former Lebanese detainees break their long-held silence about the horrific years they spent imprisoned in Tadmor (Palmyra), one of the Assad regime's most dreadful prisons. They decide to testify publicly about the systematic torture and humiliation they experienced. To reclaim and overcome this dark chapter in their lives, they stage scenes they had experienced back in Tadmor in an abandoned school near Beirut. By playing the role of both “victim” and “victimizer,” they relive their experiences of both suffering and survival.
Dates
Current
Further Information
Visitor note
Notes:
In cooperation with MENA Prison Forum and medico international, HAU is organising the event series “Understanding Prison - MENA Prison Forum in Berlin”. The fourth edition of the series will take place on 18 June.
Credits
The 16th ALFILM is funded by: Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion, AFAC (Arab Fund For Arts and Culture), Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung with financial support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Council of the Arab League, Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient. In co-operation with HAU Hebbel am Ufer.
Location
HAU1
Stresemannstr. 29, 10963 BerlinThere are two marked parking spots in front of the building. Access to the Parkett by means of a separate entrance with lift when necessary. Barrier-free restroom facilities are available. Tickets for wheelchair users and accompanying persons can be booked via the ticketing system. If you need any help, please contact our Ticketing & Service team at +49 (0)30 259004-27 or send us an email at
tickets@hebbel-am-ufer.de.
