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TRAILER SYNOPSIS DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT FILMMAKERS CAST FILM STILLS BEHIND THE SCENES SCREENINGS PRESS CONTACT TRAILER SYNOPSIS DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT FILMMAKERS CAST FILM STILLS BEHIND THE SCENES SCREENINGS PRESS CONTACT TRAILER SYNOPSIS DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT FILMMAKERS CAST FILM STILLS BEHIND THE SCENES SCREENINGS PRESS CONTACT TRAILER SYNOPSIS DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT FILMMAKERS CAST FILM STILLS BEHIND THE SCENES SCREENINGS PRESS CONTACT TRAILER SYNOPSIS DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT FILMMAKERS CAST FILM STILLS BEHIND THE SCENES SCREENINGS PRESS CONTACT TRAILER SYNOPSIS DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT FILMMAKERS CAST FILM STILLS BEHIND THE SCENES SCREENINGS PRESS CONTACT TRAILER SYNOPSIS DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT FILMMAKERS CAST FILM STILLS BEHIND THE SCENES SCREENINGS PRESS CONTACT 
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SCREENINGS
Sundance 2010
For more information please visit http://festival.sundance.org/2010/Time Venue Mon. Jan 25 12:30 p.m. Eccles Theatre, Park City Tue. Jan 26 5:15 p.m. Racquet Club, Park City Thu. Jan 28 8:30 a.m. Racquet Club, Park City Thu. Jan 28 9:30 p.m. Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, SLC Fri. Jan 29 8:30 p.m. Library Center Theatre, Park City -
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DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
The main focus with this film is to tell a story from a perspective which hasn't had the opportunity to be seen or expressed before on film. Partly because many people don't believe that these type of characters actually exist which makes it hard for a film like this to be made and also because we are the first generation from the Middle East like this. We're the Diaspora, whose families left the region, in large numbers, due to the instability there, for example, from the Palestinian displacement to Lebanon in '75 to Iran in '79. We were born and grew up outside of the Middle East in Europe or America. This story has not been told since we are only just coming into our voices, or reaching an age or maturity where we able to express this experience. In the past if our stories were ever told, it would often be by someone on the outside looking in, often resulting in a rather black and white portrait full of contradictions, because for the outsider the fusion of daily life and constant political tensions stemming from ones connection with the Middle East is seen as a contrast. The storyteller will interpret our experiences into something digestible in their terms and language. Countering this perception was what was so empowering and exciting about making this film.
I wanted to tell the story of a woman who is of predominately Arab descent brought up in Europe, living in New York City in the way that I see her. She is not estranged from the Middle East nor an outsider in Paris or New York. She navigates all these spaces with familiarity and confidence. The idea that Arabs or Moslems brought up in the West find themselves constantly torn between their roots and their "Western" lives, has always annoyed me since I have never related to that conflict. The milieu in which I grew up produced a different type of person; a wanderer, who views the world as their home and all the things that other people may view as contradictions are simply normality for them. As a result the "contradictions" in their lives lose meaning and are transformed into a synthesis of experience. This film is also told through the perspective of a woman. It's something I took for granted when I wrote it, being the product of a feminist education, I never thought twice about how different this character was to the normal portrayal of women on screen.
The method through which the story is told is very much a part of its texture. I wasn't interested in simplifying the situation that my characters find themselves in, rather bringing all these different elements, be it context, location, emotional situation, political situation, wardrobe, nationality, encounters, to tell this story. This is precisely due to my fascination with the multifaceted moment that can be both funny and sad at the same time. I really tried to show that consistently throughout the film and it's something that everybody can relate to whether they realise it or not, from whatever walk of life you're from. We've all been in a situation when something grave has happened and yet something ridiculous or surreal occurs simultaneously.
I fought hard to make the film this way as that is how it flowed when I wrote it. Every time I experimented with the script, when under pressure to be more conventional, something would die in the story. It felt as though commonsense defeated the purpose of the film and I had to find the story energetically comparing scenes and sections against one another in terms of things like, how frenetic they were, or slow, or who were the characters that weaved in and out of that moment and then from there I sculpted it. This story could not live in a conventional form, which is very reflective of the way that the film deals with its themes and its tone. The fight that I had with form is very indicative of how the soul of the film fights in every way against a traditionalist view of storytelling, as Asya is not a traditional character but someone born out of a new perspective
Stylistically I was drawn to super 16mm since Asya is out of sync with her generation, she's more in the spirit of the sixties. It's also a lighter camera to use and considering that we shot this in only 23 days, we had to be super fast, dashing around to get things on film. It was also very important style-wise to get the anthropological details of the world right from the artists work that we used, Manhattan, locations, costumes, fashion styling, designers we used, background people, cameos from the scene, as these details and the faces tell the story.
I'm not looking to tell people how things are or the solutions needed. There is no real conclusion since the themes of rendition, imperialist wars, resistance, displacement, post feminism, that are tackled within the film have not been resolved so why would I try and resolve them in 84 minutes? I think finding a solution to our problems comes from analysing how we live and bringing up questions and different perspectives, which is what this film hopes to do.
I would like people to come out of this film and hope that some small part of their brain opens up and that they may start seeing things in a way that they hadn't even thought of. -
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CAST
Elodie Bouchez
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Jose Maria de Tavira
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Karim Saleh
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Rita Ackerman
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Marianna Kulukundis
ELODIE earned international acclaim for her starring role in Erick Zonca's DREAMLIFE OF ANGELS, also winning a Cesar Award and Best Actress at Cannes. Some of her other credits include the critical hit WILD REEDS, STORMY WEATHER, POETICAL REFUGEE. ELODIE has also worked in the USA, starring opposite Jennifer Garner in the final season of ALIAS, as well appearances on THE L WORD. Other US credits include SORRY,HATERS, opposite Robin Wright Penn, AMERICAN BROWN and THE BEATNICKS. THE IMPERIALSTS ARE STILL ALIVE is ELODIE's latest US production, directed by Zeina Durra and produced by Vanessa Hope.ELODIE BOUCHEZ top
Jose Maria de Tavira was born in Mexico City in 1983 to a family of theatre practitioners. He made his theatre debut at age 7 with Mexico's National Theatre Company. His first film was "The Mask of Zorro" at the age of 12. In 2002 he left Mexico for England where he studied Drama and Theatre Studies at Royal Holloway, University of London where he pursued a career in Theatre Directing. After finishing his studies he went back to Mexico where he started working as an actor in films like "Arrancame la Vida", "Amar a Morir" and "Enemigos Intimos". He currently lives and works in Mexico City.JOSE MARIA DE TAVIRA top
Was born in Lyon France,grew up in Beirut,studied in London at ALRA,but got kicked out,for supposedly an attitude problem,first job merchant and ivory production film called merci dr Rey,Ismael merchant introduces him to sandy rees agent in London,sandy arranges an audition with Antonia bird,they click and make the hamburg cell,then has a part in kingdom of heaven then Munich,munich casts a weird spell on his career and it goes quiet for a year so decides to look for parts in the middle east and audition for plays,while working on a play in London le marriage at the arcola theatre he runs into zeina durra at a bafta party,she gives him the role of Karim in the imperialists are still alive decision based on pure instinct,since he's moved to LA and has had a part in iron man 2.KARIM SALEH top
Rita Ackerman is a Hungarian born NYC based artist. Growing up under Communism, her main inspiration was largely living and dreaming through cinema. Since she lives/ burns her passion through art and its different forms, she could not say no to experience the inside of making a film that speaks about passion and art and being Middle Eastern.RITA ACKERMAN top
Marianna Kulukundis (actress/producer) was born and raised in London, England and has done both producing and acting work in New York. After playing a long line of comedic prostitutes in NY off off Broadway theatre, she performed in SHOCK ACT directed by Seth Grossman, which went on to win, Best Narrative Short in the Tribeca Film Festival and Chicago International Film Festival. THE IMPERIALISTS ARE STILL ALIVE! marks the continuation of a long time collaboration with director Zeina Durra, which began when she performed in Durra's first films at film school. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, she divides her time between London and New York. While continuing her work as an actress, she is currently producing a play off Broadway.MARIANNA KULUKUNDIS top -
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FILMMAKERS
Zeina Durra - Director
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Vanessa Hope - Producer
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Magela Crosignani - Cinematographer
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Jade Healy - Production Designer | Michael Taylor - EditorZEINA DURRA - Director
Zeina Durra is a writer/director based between New York City and London. Durra received her BA Hons in Middle East Studies from Pembroke College, Oxford and an MFA from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Graduate Film Programme. She graduated with the award wining thesis film, The Seventh Dog which went to over 20 festivals around the world. Durra recently made her directorial debut with THE IMPERIALISTS ARE STILL ALIVE!, starring the French actress Elodie Bouchez. Her script for this was selected for the Berlinale Talent Campus Script Clinic in 2006. She is currently working on her next film which will be shot in Jordan in 2010 and on other art projects.
Produced the feature documentary WILLIAM KUNSTLER: DISTURBING THE UNIVERSE which premiered in Sundance 2009, will be released by Arthouse Films and air on POV. She started her film career producing in China on Wang Quanan's film THE STORY OF ERMEI which debuted in Berlin 2004. She collaborated with Original Media when they produced the Oscar-nominated films, THE SQUID AND THE WHALE and HALF NELSON. Returning to China in 2006, Vanessa produced a photography series about contemporary artists, FILM STILLS OF THE MIND, and a short film, TOMBEE DE NUIT SUR SHANGHAI by Chantal Akerman. In addition to producing Zeina Durra's feature film directorial debut this year, Vanessa associate produced another quintessentially New York film, TWELVE by Joel Schumacher.VANESSA HOPE - Producer top
Magela Crosignani was born in Uruguay. She holds a BFA from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and an MFA from the prestigious American Film Institute where she earned her degree in cinematography. She has shot several short films and received a Kodak Cinematography award at the 2005 Palm Springs Film Festival and the Maurice Kanbar Achievement in Cinematography Award at the 2004 and 2005 Fusion Film Festivals. Her B camera operator and second unit cinematography work includes, "Everything is Illuminated" and Olivier Dahan's "My Own love song." "The Imperialists are Still Alive" is Magela's first feature film as Cinematographer.MAGELA CROSIGNANI - Cinematographer top
Jade Healy, a Native of Montreal Canada began her career in film production, as a production executive for Muse Films. However her desire to have a more creative impact on the films she worked on lead her to leave producing for the art department. Jade started off as a set decorator, decorating five feature films before moving onto production design and she just wrapped principal photography on her seventh feature as production designer. Her work has screened in festival's all over the world, including "Sundance", "Tribeca", "Slam Dance". "South By South West", "London" and " The San Sebastian Film Festival".JADE HEALY - Production Designer top
Michael's narrative feature editing credits include: Peter Callahan's Against the Current, which premiered at Sundance 2009, and won a Special Jury Award at AFI Dallas; George LaVoo's A Dog Year; Julia Loktev's Day Night Day Night, which won Le Prix Regards Jeune at Cannes 2006, and Best Film at the Woodstock and Montreal Film Festivals. Taylor's documentary credits include: Margaret Brown's The Order of Myths, winner of the Truer Than Fiction Award and the Cinematic Vision Award; Brown's Be Here To Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt; and Mitch McCabe's Youth Knows No Pain, for HBO, premiering next week.MICHAEL TAYLOR - Editor top
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- SYNOPSIS
A successful visual artist working in post-9/11 Manhattan, Asya lives the life of the hip and glamorous, replete with exclusive art parties, supermodels, and stretch limousines while she carefully follows the situation in the Middle East on television. Asya learns that her childhood friend, Faisal, has disappeared-the victim of a purported CIA abduction. That same night, she meets Javier, a sexy Mexican PhD student, and romance blossoms. Javier finds Asya's conspiracy theories overly paranoid-but nothing in Asya's world is as it seems. Asya's life is reflective of the themes of cultural fusion, and the complications and humor that arise simultaneously out of everyday life.
Zeina Durra's atmospheric debut feature is an alluring and intelligent look at the way the war on terror seeps into the texture of everyday American life. Gorgeous 16 mm grain imbues the film with an anachronistic feel that interestingly evokes times past. The Imperialists Are Still Alive! is an exceptional work and heralds the arrival of Durra as an exciting new directorial talent.
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PRESS
http://www.indiewire.com/article/living_in_the_present_the_imperialists_are_still_alive/ Variety Sundance Review - The Imperialists Are Still Alive! The Independent Talent 2010: The film-maker, Zeina Durra MOVIE LINE - Meet Zeina Durra, Sundance's Most Fascinating Fimmaker http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/features/sundance-2010-final-five-reviews-and-festival-scorecard.php Italian Vanity Fair http://www.huffingtonpost.com/roya-rastegar/favorites-from-the-2010-s_b_443356.html http://www.laweekly.com/2010-02-05/film-tv/sundance-s-rebel-yell/ http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=7783 http://www.ioncinema.com/news/id/4673 http://www.ioncinema.com/news/id/4672 Sundance ‘10 | Zeina Durra Explores Cultural Identity in “Imperialists” - indieWIRE Eugene Hernandez: Before Berlin Begins, The Ten Best from Sundance 2010 - indieWIRE http://www.esquire.com/the-side/feature/sundance-film-festival-reviews-012910#ixzz0e2sdXc4h
23 Movie Reviews from Sundance... in 23 Sentences http://oscars.blog.canalplus.fr/archive/2010/02/08/l-hebd-hollywood-emission-du-7-fevrier-2010.html FILMMAKER - Pushing Past Buzz, Discovering The Familiar MOVIE LINE - Meet Zeina Durra, Sundance's Most Fascinating Fimmaker Variety Sundance Review - The Imperialists Are Still Alive! The Independent Talent 2010: The film-maker, Zeina Durra Download the PDF version http://carpetbagger.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/02/sundance-tries-some-risky-business/
Screenings- 2010 Sundance US Narrative Competition http://www.wwd.com/fashion-week/spring-ready-to-wear-2009/fashion-scoops/
celebrating-margielas-20th-anniversary-1809731 http://www.indiewire.com/article/ifp_sets_narrative_filmmaker_lab_projects http://www.diadiwan.com/dia-daily/handbag/zeina-durra