Republic of Silence

DIRECTED BY: Diana El Jeiroudi COUNTRIES: Germany, France, Syria, Qatar, Italy YEAR: 2021 LANGUAGES: Arabic, German, English, Kurdish SUBTITLES:German RUNTIME: 183 min

SECTION: Weekender 2022

SYNOPSIS
Censored images, prescribed silence, thoughts in secret. The life of Syrian filmmaker Diana El Jeiroudi was characterized by dictatorship, wars and fear. In her film, she reflects on a political tragedy of epic proportions and juxtaposes it with a mosaic of deeply personal moments. The time depicted ranges from her first memories at the age of seven, when she was given her first camera by her father, to the present day, when she lives with her partner in Berlin. She finds solace in cinema, music, the certainty of dreams and the solidarity of a deep love affair.
REPUBLIC OF SILENCE is not only a touching cinematic memoir, but also a multi-layered reflection on the political and social developments in Syria in recent decades. Diana El Jeiroudi’s poetic film essay had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

Diana El Jeiroudi

The films of director and screenwriter Diana El Jeiroudi reflect socio-political tensions and contradictions. She is best known for the medium-length documentaries “Dolls – A Woman from Damascus” (2007) and “Morning Fears, Night Chants” (2012). She also produced “Silvered Water – Syria Self-Portrait” (directed by O. Mohamad & W. S. Bedirxan), which was shown in Cannes in 2014, and “The Mulberry House” (directed by Sara Ishaq; 2013). She has received numerous awards for her contributions to the documentary film community, including the EDN Award, the Katrin Cartlidge Award and the Heart of Sarajevo, in particular for establishing the first Syrian documentary film festival DOX BOX and an associated Berlin-based organization to support documentary filmmakers. Diana El Jeiroudi is a member of the American Academy of Motion Pictures, the German Film Academy and the Asia-Pacific Screen Academy. She has been a member of various committees and juries, including the Golden Eye Documentary Award in Cannes, the Sundance Documentary Program and the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam.

FILMOGRAPHY Good Morning Damascus (2004), The Pot (2005), Dolls: A Woman from Damascus (2007), Morning Fears, Night Chants (2012), Republic of Silence (2021)

PRODUCERS: Orwa Nyrabia, Diana El Jeiroudi, Camille Laemle CINEMATOGRAPHY: Sebastian Baeumler, Diana El Jeiroudi, Orwa Nyrabia, Guevara Namer EDITED BY: Katja Dringenberg, Diana El Jeiroudi

WORLD SALES: No Nation Films (info@no-nation.de) GERMAN DISTRIBUTOR: Salzgeber (info@salzgeber.de)