Chaos

Sara Fattahi / 2018 / Arabic and German with English Subtitles / Austria, Syria, Lebanon, Qatar / 95 min / Toronto Premiere

Winner of the Golden Leopard Award at the 2018 Locarno Film Festival, Chaos tells the story of three women in three cities and asks: what’s the effect of war on the human spirit? As the personal stories of these Syrian women are intimately revealed, Chaos bears witness to the scarred existence of survivors. One woman lives in Damascus, spending her days in silence as she grieves for her teenage son. Another has fled the country to a Swedish village, where she’s coping with traumas by painting. The third woman is Sara Fattahi herself, Chaos’ director, who now lives in Vienna. She’s portrayed on-screen by an actor, while excerpts from a radio interview with the Austrian author Ingeborg Bachmann give expression to Fattahi’s innermost feelings. Fattahi explores the women’s immediate surroundings with equal attention to detail; interiors speak to us, the winds whisper clues and the rain is tangible. Beguiling our senses, Fattahi draws us into the processes of profound grief and inner disengagement.

Displacement and the Syrian Refugee Crisis

How does displacement affect those living with mental health conditions and how are mental health conditions a result of displacement? As we look at the film Chaos, we will take time to discuss the Syrian refugee crisis and how this global crisis intersects with gender, mental health diagnoses and the importance of sharing these stories.

Tuesday 15 October 2019 at 7:00 PM
Jackman Hall, Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) 317 Dundas Street West (McCaul St Entrance) Toronto, ON M5T 1G4
Post-Screening Discussion

Sara Fattahi, born in Damascus in 1983, studied Law at Damascus University and graduated at the Fine Art Institute in Damascus. Storyboard artist & animator for several channels such as Al Jazeera Kids and SpaceToon, as well as art director of soap-operas from 2003 to 2008. Since 2010, independent filmmaker and producer. Since 2014 collaborations in research and writing for independent short films.

First short documentary 27 METERS in 2013. Fattahi’s first feature length documentary COMA was produced in 2015 and was granted the ‘Regard Neuf Award’ for the Best First Feature Film at Visions du Réel 2015, the FIPRESCI Award at the Viennale 2015, and has been screened at numerous festivals such as MoMA’s Doc fortnight 2016, Berlinale’s Critics’ Week 2016, São Paulo 2016.