Mr. Gay Syria and more

Mr. Gay Syria

2017. Turkey/France/Germany. Directed by Ayşe Toprak. Husein is an Istanbul barber yearning to escape to Europe. Mahmoud is a gay rights advocate who helps asylum seekers. What brings them together is a single dream: participating in Mr. Gay World and representing the LGBT community across the Muslim world. Turkish filmmaker Ayşe Toprak weaves a narrative about the challenges of being gay in the Middle East, the devastating realities of refugees, and the hope that comes with surviving it all. In Arabic; English subtitles. 84 min.

One Day in Aleppo

2017. Syria/Sweden. Directed by Ali Alibrahim. Among the ruins of Aleppo, Syrian journalist and filmmaker Ali Alibrahim focuses his lens on the lives of civilians trying to survive in a city ravaged by civil war. 24 min.