I SAY DUST
“WINNER BEST IN FESTIVAL AWARD”
“WINNER BEST SHORT FICTION”
“WINNER BEST CREATIVE SHORT ”
“WINNER BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT”
“WINNER JURY SPECIAL AWARD BEST SHORT FICTION”
“WINNER JURY SPECIAL MENTION FOR BEST SHORT FICTION”
“WINNER JURY SPECIAL MENTION AWARD”
“WINNER AUDIENCE AWARD”
“There is romance, sweet and ephemeral - an encounter more potent, perhaps, for the sense of coming home. A thoughtful film which packs a lot of ideas into a tight space, I Say Dust speaks well to the talents of those involved. It’s no surprise that it has multiple awards to its name.”
“The characters are complex, the writing – interspersed with poetry – is so touching, and the shots so poignant it just seems like a damn shame it’s a short rather than a feature length film.”
“For the delicacy and intimacy with which this short was able to express a problem, that of diaspora, and be very intense and exciting. The inner world can structure the outer. Life writes poetry and poetry writes life, in this sense, I SAY DUST has managed to achieve the human desire to share it, and tell it.”
“I Say Dust is cleverly written, curiously directed and brilliantly performed!”
“The director Darine Hotait challenges the limits of conservatism with delicate elegance and metaphors. She also glimpses a concept of identity that is elastic, poetic and ever-changing. Only in this way, from a world without attachments, I Say Dust surrenders to the power of words.”
“In 15 minutes of beautifully shot frames, you travel through time, space, and various emotions. Hotait flirts with ideals that go beyond the norm of Arab-American culture, like two same-sex characters kissing. But she is clear that this isn’t meant to raise eyebrows or push buttons; she is merely translating what she sees as reality. This short film, like her others, packs a punch.”
“Rather than filling in the gaps for us, the narrative allows the audience to extrapolate. ”
“Privilégiant l’économie de l’action, la caméra de Darine Hotait prend son temps, saisit le mouvement dans son essence, dans vos sens qui se mettent en branle ; la musique qui accompagne le geste, le suit, le contorsionne et l’expulse, le papier qui grince, les pas qui caressent la neige, la fumée de la cigarette, l’attente tendue dans la nuit, comme un poème qui se lit, se dévoile et se pénètre avec le temps, ‘I Say Dust’ extrait ses murmures à qui se penche pour les entendre. ”
“The film’s power and beauty comes in its subtlety. The story’s intensity and potency lies in Darine’s ability to sing cinematic brilliance in the interstices between scenes and to reveal more about the characters in their silence. The plot is unsaturated and always in dialogue with the audience: what is strategically unpictured by Darine is viscerally felt by the viewer.”
I SAY DUST
written & directed by Darine Hotait
produced by Dina Emam | Cinephilia Productions
Two Arab-American women in New York City fall in love, argue home and identity, engage in a chess battle, and express themselves through the power of the spoken word.
cast: Mounia Akl & Hala Alyan
director of photography: George Lyon
production designer: Francisca Alegria Zenteno
music composer: Tarek Yamani
sound designer: Karim Khneisser
DATE OF RELEASE: SEPTEMBER 26th, 2015
Shot on Location in New York City at Chess Forum & Alwan for The Arts.
Behind the scenes photography & videography by: Luc Kordas
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BROADCASTING NOW ON
REVIEWS & INTERVIEWS
. Qahwa Project
December 28, 2016
Interview/Review
. Boston Palestine Festival
October 26, 2016
Interview
. Your Middle East
October 12, 2016
by Kurt Werren/Victor Argo
. Eye For Film
September 26, 2016
by Jennie Kermode
. AfterEllen
July 7, 2016
by Erin Faith Wilson
. The Establishment
April 7, 2016
by Jasmine Bager Cruz
. Kalimat magazine
July 30, 2015
pre-release
by Wided Khadraoui
. LA TIMES
June 22, 2016
by Trevell Andreson
. Florence of Arabia
March 7, 2016
by Zahra Hankir (London)
. Agenda Culturel
June 14, 2016
by Nayla Rashed
. Diario Sirio Libanes
February 16, 2016
by Jodor Jalit (Buenos Aires)
. We Are Moving Stories
May 23, 2016
by Carmela Baranowska
. Escribiendocine
November 11, 2015
by Rolando Gallego (Buenos Aires)
PAST FESTIVALS & SCREENINGS
. 34th OutFest Film Festival presented by HBO - Los Angeles, California | July 10 at Harmony Gold (director in attendance)
. Feminist Border Arts Film Festival - New Mexico, USA | April 24, 2017 at New Mexico State University (Gender & Sexuality Studies/Department of Interdisciplinary Studies) CMI Theater - Milton Hall
. Haus für Poesie as part of ZEBRA Poetry Film Club - Berlin, Germany | March 20, 2017 at 7pm
. 5th Evolution Mallorca International film festival - Palma De Mallorca, Spain | November 6 at Cineciutat
. Zebra Poetry Film Festival- Münster/Berlin, Germany | October 27-30
. 14th annual Southwest Film Festival - Albuquerque, New Mexico | Oct 7-16
. 10th Boston Palestine Film Festival - Boston, USA | October 14-30 at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
. New York Film Week - New York, USA | October 3-9
. Proud Film Festival- Aarhus, Denmark | October 1
. 2nd Scottish International Film Festival - Glasgow, Scotland | September 29 at Center of Contemporary Arts
. Mishkal Festival - Beirut, Lebanon | September 6 at 5:30pm at Madina Theater
. 6th St.George Bank Lebanese Film Festival - Sydney, Australia | August 28 at The Theatre Bankstown Sports
. Lit Up Literature Festival - Manchester, UK | August 14 at FabCare
. 6th National Literary Gathering Mizna + RAWI - Minneapolis, USA | June 17 at Open Book Loft (director in attendance)
. Cinema Celebration at Pages Bookstore - Istanbul, Turkey | June 15 at Bookstore Pages
. Vilnius Kreives Festival - Lithuania| June 15 (Skalvija)
. 12th Lebanese Film Festival - Beirut, Lebanon | June 2 (Beirut Souks Cinemas)
. New Filmmakers New York - New York, USA | May 25 (Anthology Film Archives) (director in attendance)
. 2nd Reel Festival of World Cinema - Sydney, Australia | May 21 (Sutherland Entertainment)
. Short Film Corner at Cannes Film Festival - Cannes, France | May 16-20 (director in attendance)
. Long Week of Short Films Festival in China - Shanghai, China | May 5-15 at Minsheng Museum of Contemporary Arts in Shanghai
. 11th FIFOG Festival International du Film Oriental de Geneve | 11-17 April 2016
. Middle East Film and Comic Con, Dubai Screening + Panel | 8 April 2016 (director in attendance)
. 10th IMAGENES International Female Film Festival - Malmo, Sweden | 4-10 April 2016
. 20th Festival Regard in Quebec, Short Film Market, Canada - 16-20 March, 2016
. Socially Relevant Film Festival, New York - March 17 2016 - Bow Tie Cinema Chelsea
. 14th Filmmor International Film Festival Women on Wheels - Istanbul, Turkey 14-15 March 2016 - Aynali Gecit
. La Feminista Series at Les Femmes Underground International Film Festival- Venice, CA | 12 March 2016 - Beyond Baroque Theatre
. 3rd Berlin Feminist Film Week - Berlin, Germany | 10 March 2016
. 9th NDU International Film Festival - Beirut, Lebanon | November 2015 (director in attendance)
. 3rd Arab Camera Festival - Rotterdam, The Netherlands | November 2015 (director in attendance)
. 10th Mizna Twin Cities Arab Film Festival - Minneapolis, USA | November 2015
. 21st Med Film Festival - Rome, Italy | November 2015 (director in attendance)
. 5th Latin Arab International Film Festival - Buenos Aires, Argentina | November 2015 (director in attendance)
. 29th Braunschweig International Film Festival - Germany | November 2015
. 15th International Diaspora Film Festival - Toronto, Canada | November 2015
. 5th Englewood International Film Festival - Chicago, USA | October 2015
. 5th Homochrom Film Festival - Cologne, Germany | October 2015
. 66th Montecatini International Short Film Festival - Montecatini, Italy | October 2015
. 3rd Herat International Women Film Festival - Afghanistan | October 2015
. 2nd Cinewest - Women Media & Arts Film Festival - Sydney, Australia | September 2015