Life through a lens: Inspiring filmmaker screens movies at WCMC-Q

March, 2013

Budding director Dr. Suzannah Mirghani treated students and faculty of Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q) to a screening of two of her short films.

Dr. Mirghani presented her independently made films, Hamour and Eddie, at WCMC-Q’s Lecture Hall 4 as part of the university’s Literary Lecture Series, hoping to both entertain the members of her audience and inspire them to join Doha’s fledgling amateur film scene.

Hamour tells a fictional story from Doha’s fishing community, exploring the disparity between the lifestyles of the fishermen who bring in the catch and the customers who buy their produce. At once an entertaining tale about a group of fishermen who land a gigantic hamour and a biting social commentary, the film reveals the unseen lives of Doha’s working people, whose day-to-day struggles contrast markedly with the city’s conspicuous prosperity. Discussing Hamour, which was shown at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival 2011, Dr. Mirghani explained how the medium of film allows directors to express themselves in a unique way through the juxtaposition of images, sound and storyline.

Speaking at the event on Wednesday 27 March, she said: “The beauty of film is that you can influence the mood of the audience by contrasting different images against each other and through music. For instance, the lives of the fishermen revolve around their fishing dhow, which probably looks much like fishing dhows did 1,000 years ago, but in the background we can see the modern skyline of Doha. The contrast draws you in and makes you think of the lives of the fishermen as somehow distinct from the identity of the city that most of us are familiar with.”

Dr. Mirghani, who is Manager and Editor of Publications at the Center for International and Regional Studies of Georgetown University – School of Foreign Service in Qatar, used local people with no acting experience for both of her films, which were self-financed. In Eddie, starring Arnel B Salim as the film’s eponymous hero, she tells the tragicomic story of a lonely street sweeper who borrows a jacket and tie in the hope of wooing a girl to have dinner with him. The film also stars Uday Rosario and WCMC-Q Visiting Assistant Professor of English, Dr. Rodney Sharkey.

Dr. Mirghani said: “Both films draw on the multicultural character of Doha and the interesting encounters between people of different cultures that are thrown up. There is a real wealth of untold stories to be dug up in Doha, offering lots of opportunities and inspiration for amateur filmmakers.”

Dr. Ian Miller, Visiting Lecturer of English Writing at WCMC-Q, encouraged students to experiment with film as an art form. He said: “From our writing workshops we know that our students here at WCMC-Q have a great appetite for artistic storytelling. Making films is an excellent outlet for that creative drive.”