Teta, Alf Marra

Teta, Alf Marra
Teta, Alf Marra
Directed by	Mahmoud Kaabour
Written by	Mahmoud Kaabour
Produced by	Veritas Films
Cinematography	Muriel Aboulrouss
Edited by	Patricia Heneine
Music by	Nabil Amarshi
Distributed by	Taskovski Films
Release date	October 2010;
Running time	50 minutes
Countries	United Arab Emirates; Qatar; Lebanon
Languages	Arabic language, English

Teta, Alf Marra (Arabic for: Grandma, A Thousand Times) is an Arabic documentary film about a feisty Beiruti grandmother.

The 50-minute film was produced in 2010 as a UAE/Qatar/Lebanon co-production with the financial support of the Doha Film Institute and Screen Institute Beirut. The film was produced by Veritas Films. It was the first film to be released by a company based in Twofour54, Abu Dhabi’s media content creation freezone.^[1]

“Teta, Alf Marra” achieved several ‘firsts’ for the regional filmmaking industry.^[2] It was the first locally produced documentary to show in cinemas in the UAE and secure regional distribution. It was also the first documentary produced in the GCC to qualify for the Academy Awards, with theatrical runs in Los Angeles and New York City.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Synopsis[edit]

The film is a poetic documentary that puts a feisty Beiruti grandmother at the center of brave film exercises designed to commemorate her many worlds before they are erased by the passage of time and her eventual death.

Teta Fatima is the 83-year-old matriarch of the Kaabour family and the sharp-witted queen bee of an old Beiruti quarter. With great intimacy, the film documents her larger-than-life character as she struggles to cope with the silence of her once-buzzing house and imagines what awaits her beyond death. Meanwhile, her beloved violinist husband (deceased 20 years) is both an essential absence and presence. His features manifest through the face of their filmmaker grandson while his previously unpublished violin improvisations weave through her world and that of the film. Teta, Alf Marra brings together grandfather, grandmother and grandson in a playful documentary that aims to defy a past death and a future one.

Director[edit]

Teta, Alf Marra was directed by award-winning filmmaker Mahmoud Kaabour.

Awards[edit]

Teta, Alf Marra has won a number of international awards, including:

October 2010: Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival, Qatar
October 2010: Special Jury Mention for filmmaker Mahmoud Kaabour at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival, Qatar
March 2011: Audience Award for Best International Documentary at DOX BOX, Syria
May 2011: Best Film Award at the London International Documentary Festival, UK
September 2011: Trophy in recognition of its contribution to Lebanese Cinema from Fondation Liban Cinema, Lebanon
October 2011: Special Jury Mention for filmmaker Mahmoud Kaabour for "an outstanding way of telling a story" at DocsDF Festival, Mexico
October 2011: Best Film Award in the "Celebrate Age" category at the Mumbai International Film Festival, India
October 2012: Merit Prize at the Taiwan International Film Festival

Festival attendances[edit]

October 2010: World Premiere at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival, Qatar
October 2010: African Premiere at Carthage Film Festival, Tunisia
December 2010: Teta, Alf Marra screened at the grand opening of Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Arts, Qatar
January 2011: UAE Premiere in Abu Dhabi at the National Theatre
January 2011: European Premiere at International Film Festival Rotterdam, The Netherlands
March 2011: Dox Box International Documentary Film Festival Damascus, Syria
April 2011: American Premiere at Tribeca Film Festival New York, USA with a special screening and panel in the “TriBeCa Talks: After the Movie” series
May 2011: UK Premiere at London International Documentary Film Fest, UK
May 2011: Polish Premiere at Krakow Film Festival
May 2011: Festival Cinéma Arabe Amsterdam, the Netherlands
June 2011: Seattle International Film Festival, USA
June 2011: Screening at Royal Film Commission, Amman, Jordan
June 2011: Arab Film Week at INCAA, Buenos Aires, Argentina
July 2011: Arab Film Festival, Sydney, Australia
July 2011: Indianapolis International Film Festival, USA
August 2011: Santiago International Film Festival, Chile
August 2011: Montreal World Film Festival, Montreal, Canada
September 2011: Screening at Fondation Liban Cinema, Lebanon
October 2011: Vancouver International Film Festival, Canada
October 2011: DocsDF Festival, Mexico City, Mexico
October 2011: Arab Film Festival, San Francisco, Berkeley, San Jose, Los Angeles, USA
October 2011: St. John's International Women's Film Festival, Canada
October 2011: Calgary Arab Film Festival, Canada
October 2011: Iihlava International Documentary Film Festival, Czech Republic
October 2011: Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art, Greece
November 2011: Special Screening Tribeca Cinemas NYC, USA
January 2012: Tromsø International Film Festival, Norway
January 2012: Helsinki Documentary Film Festival, Finland
February 2012: Middle Eastern Film Festival Edinburgh, UK
February 2012: International Film Festival Port- land Oregon, USA
March 2012: Special Screening LAU Alumni Film Festival Beirut, Lebanon
April and May 2012: Documentary Edge Festival, New Zealand
May 2012: Jacob Burns Film Center New York, USA
June 2012: Shorts Shorts Film Festival & Asia in Japan Tokyo, Japan
Septembre 2012: Special Screening, Semaine du Liban in Paris, Embassy of Lebanon. France
October 2012: Taiwan International Documentary Festival, Taiwan
October 2012: London MINA Film Festival, UK
October 2012: Bjelovar Film Festival, Croatia

^[6] ^[7] ^[8] ^[9] ^[10]

References[edit]

^ "Veritas Films". Archived from the original on 30 January 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
^ Travelling man
^ Catsoulis, Jeannette (3 December 2011). "Loving Portrayal of a Beiruti Matriarch". The New York Times.
^ "Grandma, a Thousand Times". 30 November 2011.
^ "Review: Grandma, A Thousand Times". Slant Magazine. 30 November 2011.
^ Crane, Kelly (31 October 2010). "Doha Tribeca Film Festival Winners for 2010". Gulf News. Archived from the original on 13 March 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
^ Thomas, Jen (1 November 2010). "Family movie wins Doha Tribeca prize | The National". The National. Archived from the original on 19 March 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
^ Huneidi, Samar al (22 December 2010). "Prize film to open Arab art museum". The National. Archived from the original on 16 February 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
^ "Tribeca Film Fest 2011: Shakespeare, Wisdom and Love in the Arab World". HuffPost. 11 April 2011.
^ "Twofour54 Abu Dhabi media zone | Business Setup & Freelance Visa UAE". twofour54.com. 2011. Archived from the original on 24 April 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2023.

External links[edit]

Teta, Alf Marra at IMDb
Veritas Films

[1] "Veritas Films". Archived from the original on 30 January 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2022.

[2] Travelling man

[3] Catsoulis, Jeannette (3 December 2011). "Loving Portrayal of a Beiruti Matriarch". The New York Times.

[4] "Grandma, a Thousand Times". 30 November 2011.

[5] "Review: Grandma, A Thousand Times". Slant Magazine. 30 November 2011.

[6] Crane, Kelly (31 October 2010). "Doha Tribeca Film Festival Winners for 2010". Gulf News. Archived from the original on 13 March 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2023.

[7] Thomas, Jen (1 November 2010). "Family movie wins Doha Tribeca prize | The National". The National. Archived from the original on 19 March 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2023.

[8] Huneidi, Samar al (22 December 2010). "Prize film to open Arab art museum". The National. Archived from the original on 16 February 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2023.

[9] "Tribeca Film Fest 2011: Shakespeare, Wisdom and Love in the Arab World". HuffPost. 11 April 2011.

[10] "Twofour54 Abu Dhabi media zone | Business Setup & Freelance Visa UAE". twofour54.com. 2011. Archived from the original on 24 April 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2023.

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