Family Motel
Social-realism drama follows a family as they discover the reality of immigrant life in Canada.
Concordia University (Montreal)
Monday September 15, 2008
Screening begins 19h30
Venue: Room H-110, 1455 de maisonneuve
Helene Klodawsky / Canada / 2007 / 84 min
For this special event all three principle characters as well as the filmmakers will be present to introduce the film and for a Q & A following the screening. To celebrate the first screening of the year and to mark our five year anniversary, we will be handing out the Fall 2008 Concordia CP Programs as well as giving away prizes, so don't miss it!
This event is co-presented by QPIRG Concordia's Alternative Orientation - A Different Side of Student Life - Sept 11-20
Alternative Orientation is a creative social and environmental justice orientation to the Concordia campus and the Montreal community for new and returning Concordia students. Film screenings, workshops, tours, benefit shows, and other activities introduce students to social and political issues, movements and organizations at Concordia and in Montreal. All the events are free or by donation. To check out the full schedule, visit our site.
FILM SYNOPSIS:
Headstrong Ayan, a refugee from Somalia, has big dreams. New to Canada, she’ll show anyone she can provide for her family. Still, it’s difficult to keep it all together. On top of the soaring rent, her daughters, 16-year-old Nasrah and 13-year-old Leila, need braces. And even working two jobs as a cleaner, it’s tough to find enough money to send to her anxious husband and two sons still stuck in East Africa.
Ayan’s confidence is shaken when she is unexpectedly evicted for late payment of rent. It is the beginning of the summer break from school, and the city faces a severe housing shortage. Ayan and her daughters are exiled to the city’s tattered hinterland among other homeless families, hookers and unsettled souls.
Ayan knows all too well the grief that comes with losing a home. A true survivor, she tries to rebuild from within her lonely motel room. But what Ayan cannot tolerate is Nasrah’s increasing estrangement, especially during her mother’s greatest time of need.
During the long days of summer, while Ayan is at work, Nasrah grudgingly does chores and looks after her doting sister. A handsome young motel neighbour, Rudy, surfaces offering Nasrah friendship and understanding. But he is not what he seems, and an innocuous cell phone sparks a new crisis. Ayan comes close to losing all she holds most dear.
A vibrant and contemporary feature drama fired by a trio of remarkable debut performances, Family Motel charts one eventful summer in the lives of Ayan and her girls as they confront life on the edge.
Directed by Helene Klodawsky and produced by Ina Fichman of Instinct Films and Ravida Din of the National Film Board of Canada, Family Motel employs an unusual improvisational approach to cinematic storytelling. Created in collaboration with Hodan Shafici Mohamed, the film introduces Nargis and her real-life daughters Asha and Sagal Jibril, who headline a lively cast of first-time performers.
Drawing upon a vivid palette of atmospheres and emotions, Klodawsky and cinematographer Germán Gutiérrez craft a richly detailed urban drama. Somali-Canadian rap artist K’naan and composer Bertrand Chenier contribute a score rich in colour and rhythm.
Finding inspiration in the alternative dramas pioneered at the National Film Board of Canada as well as community-based storytelling, Klodawsky and her collaborators deftly fashion a fresh and authentic tale of falling through the cracks in a land of plenty and a stirring portrait of dignity under fire.
STARRING
NARGIS, ASHA JIBRIL, SAGAL JIBRIL
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
GERMÀN GUTIÈRREZ
EDITOR
TONY ASIMAKOPOULOS
ORIGINAL MUSIC
BERTRAND CHENIER
SOUND
ESTHER AUGER, LOUIS DUPIRE, JEAN PAUL VIALARD
FEATURING MUSIC BY
K'NAAN
CASTING DIRECTORS
HODAN SHAFICI MOHAMED, LOIS SIEGEL
ORIGINAL CONCEPT AND TREATMENT
HELENE KLODAWSKY
CREATED IN COLLABORATION WITH
HODAN SHAFICI MOHAMED
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
SALLY BOCHNER (NFB), RAVIDA DIN (NFB), INA FICHMAN (INSTINCT FILMS)
PRODUCER FOR THE NFB
RAVIDA DIN
PRODUCED BY
INA FICHMAN
DIRECTED BY
HELENE KLODAWSKY
