New film premiering at ByTowne Cinema aims to challenge view of Middle East

A special question and and answer screening of a Canadian-Lebanese drama film is taking place at the ByTowne Cinema on July 4.

Anna Fahr, an award-winning Ottawa filmmaker, wrote and directed, Valley of Exile. At 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. The film will premiere in the nation’s capital before coming to theatres across Canada on Friday.

The cast includes a combination of professional and non-professional actors, including residents of the refugee camp, Fahr told CityNews in an interview. Nearly a decade went into creating the film. She began writing the script in 2014 followed by film production that started in 2021.

After immigrating from Iran, Fahr’s family relocated to the U.S where she was born. Her family moved to Ottawa soon after.

“As an Iranian Canadian, I’ve always wanted to create work that challenges people’s thinking about the Middle East, particularly people in Canada and the U.S.,” she said. “I grew up seeing images on the news and in Hollywood cinema that didn’t reflect my understanding and experience of my own culture.”

While certain stereotypes about the Middle East have been reinforced in western countries, there is much more to the culture — including close-knit families, traditional food, and dancing, said Fahr.

Graduating with a Bachelor in Fine Arts in Film Production at Concordia University in 2003, Fahr said her interest in questions of migration and identity have inspired her work, including a short narrative film called Transit Game.

With 20 years of experience in the film industry, Fahr, the founder of the company Morning Bird Pictures Inc., is dedicated to creating films about the contemporary Middle East and diaspora.

“I want to document all these beautiful aspects of our culture,” she added. “The mission has always stayed the same, which is to challenge ideas that have shaped a lot of stereotypical thinking, and things that don’t show the big picture and don’t help to humanize the people there.”

Filmed in a Syrian refugee camp, the movie tells the story of two Syrian sisters who travelled to Lebanon as refugees, in the early years of conflict.

“Two sisters arrive in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley at the onset of Syrian war, embarking on a journey into exile that tests their loyalty to their country, their family and each other,” Alya Stationwala, a spokesperson for the film, said.

“To me, the film is ultimately about what it means to give refuge because we’re living through a time where we’re seeing people who are being denied that very basic right,” Fahr explained. “I think this film really reminds people of the humanity that comes from the act of giving refuge to a stranger who’s in need of help.”

Funding for the film has been provided by the Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council, the Canadian film centre and more.

“With a modest budget, it was sort of a grassroots or guerrilla style project, working on the ground with local teams,” Fahr said.

Valley of Exile screenings across Canada include:

• ByTowne Cinema, Ottawa – July 4 
• Cineplex Yonge & Dundas, Toronto – July 5-7
• SilverCity Burlington – July 5-7
• Galaxy Cinemas Peterborough – July 5-7
• Carnival Cinemas, Red Deer – July 5-11 
• The Westdale, Hamilton – July 8, 10, 12 
• The Broadway Saskatoon – July 17-18, 20-23