Germany / Lebanon / Norway 2018, 70 min., in German with English subtitles
Writer-Director: Jumana Mana, Director of Photography: Marte Vold, Editing: Katrin Ebersohn, Sound Design: Philippe Ciompi, Sound: Rawad Hobeika, Producers: Jumana Manna, Elisabeth Kleppe, Adeles
In person: Filmmaker Jumana Manna; curators Shoghig Halajian and Suzy Halajian
A “wild relative” is the natural counterpart of a domesticated plant—its pre-agribusiness archive, its memory. Going back and forth between Lebanon and Norway after the closure of a seed bank in Aleppo, Jumana Manna’s latest film powerfully ties two burning contemporary issues: the war in Syria and the need to protect bio-diversity. She weaves an intimate texture, combining small acts of resistance against the oppression of farmers, the well-meaning policy of international organizations, and the intensive labor of young female refugees gathering the seeds.
Jumana Manna
Manna is a US-born Palestinian filmmaker and sculptor whose films have been shown in such major festivals as the Berlinale, The Viennale, Rotterdam, Dokfest Kosovo, Sheffield, Cinéma du Réel, Haifa, and Göteborg. She lives and works in Berlin.
Presented with support of the Goethe-Institut.
Curated by Steve Anker and Bérénice Reynaud as part of the Jack H. Skirball Series. Funded in part by the Ostrovsky Family Fund. Presented as part of A Grammar Built With Rocks, a two-part exhibition by curators Shoghig Halajian and Suzy Halajian at Human Resources LA (September 29 - November 4, 2018) and ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at the USC Galleries (October 12 - December 22, 2018).
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