Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/643092
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 21 FEBRUARY 2016 38 This Week IN CINEMAS TODAY St James Cavalier Valletta Tel. 21 223200 Met Opera in Cinema – Lulu 14:30 Shakespeare Film Festival – Richard III (1995) 20:00 Embassy Cinemas Valletta Tel. 21 227436, 21 245818 Deadpool (15) 10:30, 13:45, 16:10, 18:30, 20:50 Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Road Chip (U) 10:00, 12:10, 14:20, 16:30, 18:40, 20:50 20,000 Reasons (12) 10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:20, 21:00 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (12) 10:15, 14:15, 18:00, 21:00 The Revenant (15) 17:30, 20:50 Ride Along 2 (12) 10:00, 12:15, 14:30, 16:45, 19:00, 21:15 Eden Cinemas St Julian's Tel. 23 710400 Deadpool (15) 13:30, 14:00, 16:00, 16:25, 18:20, 18:50, 20:45, 21:15, 23:15 Just Jim 14:00, 16:05 The Danish Girl (15) 14:00, 19:00 Goosebumps (PG) 14:00 (3D), 16:15, 18:30 (3D), 20:55, 23:10 (3D) Dirty Grandpa (18) 14:05, 16:25, 18:45, 21:00, 23:15 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (12) 14:15, 18:00, 21:05, 23:00 Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Road Chip (U) 14:05, 16:20, 18:30, 20:50 The 5th Wave (12) 14:30, 18:00, 20:55 Concussion (12) 14:30, 18:05, 20:50, 23:25 The Revenant (15) 14:20, 17:50, 21:10 Daddy's Home (12) 14:15, 16:30, 18:40, 20:45 The 33 (12) 16:25, 21:30 20,000 Reasons (12) 14:15, 16:25, 18:25, 21:00 Do Re Mi Fa (18) 20:00 Empire Cinemas Bugibba Tel. 21 581787, 21 581909 The 5th Wave (12) 11:00, 14:00, 17:55, 20:45 Deadpool (15) 10:45, 13:20, 15:40, 18:05, 20:55 Dirty Grandpa (18) 10:55, 13:35, 16:00, 18:15, 21:05 20,000 Reasons (12) 10:30, 13:35, 15:45, 18:05, 21:00 Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Road Chip (U) 10:35, 13:30, 15:45, 18:00, 20:45 The 33 (12) 11:05, 14:00, 18:00, 21:00 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (12) 11:05, 14:05, 17:45, 20:55 AS we continue to gear towards the Oscars and the hype abounds for the already-gilded nominees – all the while our cinemas continue to drip-drab vacuous Hollywood produce – it's refreshing to have something slightly meatier to experience outside of the main- stream cinematic milieu. In this case, I'm referring to a screening organised by Inizjamed and the Valletta 2018 Foundation of Yasmin Fredda's Queens of Syria – a documentary on a the- atrical production of Euripides's Trojan Women performed by displaced Syrian female refugees in Jordan – taking place last week at Palazzo Pereira in Valletta, with the director in tow for a post- show Q&A. An immediately attention- grabbing conceit does not mean the film coasts on its logline, and Fredda's sensitive handling of the 'production diary' genre – per- fected by the likes of Robert Alt- man in the Western cinematic canon – works because the emo- tional arcs of the female charac- ters remain the point of focus. At the helm of the Syrian direc- tor Omar Abu Saada, the women are made to embody Euripides's characters from 415 B.C. But in a twist that's both appropriate and harrowing – and which, of course, lends further credence to the project – the plight of the play's Trojan Women, who are left to sift through the ravages of that legendary skirmish, tragically matches that of the contempo- rary actresses. Culminating in its premiere night in Amman in 2013, the performance was made possible thanks to British film- making couple Charlotte Eagar and William Stirling, classicists who saw the potential in linking the ancient play to current events. Apart from the harrowing epi- sodes that the participants them- selves recount – forced disap- pearances and executions appear to be the order of the day under the Assad regime – the most poignant aspect of the experience to emerge from Fedda's project is the complex and nuanced way these women process this unique development in their already tur- bulent lives. Abu Saada's obvious challenge is to elevate a non-professional cast to professional standards. But while a more conventional narra- tive – non-fictional or otherwise – may have focused on his strug- gles to keep ship afloat, Fedda documents how the construction of the play takes on the dynamics of a therapy session. It becomes clear that this is an integral part of the process in every sense of the word – the women need the space to tell their stories, which will end up mixed in with Euripides's play. This is of course a complicated process, and the most important thing to emerge is the different way in which the women tackle the necessities of the production. Even their very involvement is of- ten an issue – if it isn't fears of re- taliation from the regime, it's hus- bands who aren't so convinced that what they're wives are doing is ethical or in conformity with so- cial convention. In fact, the cast's dwindling numbers functions as a structuring device for the film – appearing on screen to lend some urgency and to remind us that the premiere date is approaching. The nervous but understand- ing Abu Saada keeps the ship on course regardless, placating wa- vering cast members with phone calls and reminding them that what they're doing isn't danger- ous, but an honest expression of their life experiences – an exer- cise in storytelling. But storytelling in this case becomes an act of advocacy, of witnessing. But what we end up witnessing is rich and varied. The real value of Fedda's film is to break open the flat, uniform perception of the victims of war, especially those coming from the Middle East, and especially Mus- lim women. Their suffering isn't uniform. And despite everything, hints of pride, humour and joy still shine through. By Teodor Reljic Hero hacks take on the clerical system ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ QUEENS OF SYRIA ★ ★ ★ ★ QUEENS OF THE ROAD ★ ★ ★ QUEEN FOR A DAY ★ ★ EN MARY I ★ QUEEN NO MORE FILM Queens of Syria documents the process of a group of displaced Syrian women transposing their experiences onto a production of Euripides's The Trojan Women QUEENS OF SYRIA ★ ★ ★ ★ The women are made to embody Euripides's characters from 415 BC