Join Us Together, Inc., Cleveland Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations
Join us for a free film screening of Salam Neighbor, an award-winning feature documentary and campaign to connect the world to refugees. The filmmaker's goal is to tell the stories of our refugee neighbors with the dignity they deserve and the depth the world needs. A Q-and-A with staff from a local refugee resettlement agency and other non-profits that work with refugees and immigrants will follow the film.
Lahore used to be a mecca of Pakistani culture, a thriving center of art, music and poetry. When the Islamic government took over, strict rules were imposed that made art a punishable sin. The Sachel Studio Jazz Ensemble help show a side of Pakistan rarely seen by Western audiences: a lively, colorful place, with cultural heart. When the group’s rendition of "Take Five" achieved viral status on YouTube, they are invited to play in New York City with jazz legend Wynton Marsalis.
Mr. Royami, an eccentric radio producer attempts to schedule an on-air collaborative jam session between an Afghan rock band and the legendary Metallica. Believing that music can go a long way towards demonstrating the kind of compassion missing from global politics, Royami tries to will into reality his most idealistic dream: watching Metallica shred with Kabul Dreams, one of Afghanistan’s premier rock bands.
Toll Bar: Made with a shoestring budget of 15,000 USD, Toll Bar is the first ever film from the "Partisan Movement," a manifesto in which guerrilla filmmakers aim to create social realism while rejecting conventional cinema. Toll Bar emphasizes the stark dichotomy between the haves and the have-nots in Kazakhstan. Two men residing in the same city, with the same internal ambitions, crossing paths daily at the toll bar the same parking garage are yet divided by a massive abyss.
Rarely explored in film, Memories of the Wind tackles the Armenian genocide in a subtle, yet affecting way. Aram is a poet on the run in the winter of 1943. Suspected of being a communist sympathizer, he is forced to flee Istanbul during the latter half of World War II. He winds up in secluded expanse of forest on the Soviet-Georgian border where a boorish Turkish man named Mikhail and a beautiful young Russian woman named Meryem provide shelter.
Set against the backdrop of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, Nawara lives in poverty with her grandmother because she and her husband of five years cannot afford to move in together. Despite her misfortune, Nawara remains sweet and optimistic. She works as a maid for Usama and Shahina, a couple so impressively wealthy and connected to Hosni Mubarak they take their privileged existence inside a posh gated community for granted. They understand nothing of Nawara’s world and she can only observe theirs.
Lahore used to be a mecca of Pakistani culture, a thriving center of art, music and poetry. When the Islamic government took over, strict rules were imposed that made art a punishable sin. The Sachel Studio Jazz Ensemble help show a side of Pakistan rarely seen by Western audiences: a lively, colorful place, with cultural heart. When the group’s rendition of "Take Five" achieved viral status on YouTube, they are invited to play in New York City with jazz legend Wynton Marsalis.
Mr. Royami, an eccentric radio producer attempts to schedule an on-air collaborative jam session between an Afghan rock band and the legendary Metallica. Believing that music can go a long way towards demonstrating the kind of compassion missing from global politics, Royami tries to will into reality his most idealistic dream: watching Metallica shred with Kabul Dreams, one of Afghanistan’s premier rock bands.
Join the Greater Pittsburgh Interfaith Coalition for a panel discussion on "Peace, Justice & Compassion: Can our communities live peace with compassion?" Free to the public, registration is encouraged.