Photos from the Culturist Film Club screening of Blue Heron
I hosted my first screening in Abu Dhabi as The Culturist Film Club thanks to Cinema Space who offered me a slot this month to show Sophy Romvari’s Blue Heron.
Last summer, I screened Sophy Romvari’s short film Still Processing, part of an event titled Collected Histories. Blue Heron is an expanded version of that, a feature length version that is about grief and memory from a sibling’s point of view, as a child and as an adult.
The screening took place in Manarat Al Saadiyat where I’ve curated screenings there for the CineMAS Film Festival between 2021-2023. The venue was upgraded after my last time there, better seats and a better stage.
The turnout was great, around 150 people. I sat upstairs where the projector was, and I could see and feel how engrossed everyone was during the screening. In my introduction I politely asked everyone to try and keep their phones away for 90 mins and the only screen they should look at is the one behind me. I’m glad they complied.
When the film ended, a part of me wished I included a post screening discussion with the audience, but I also think it’s the kind of film people need to time to process it on their own right after it ends. I’m sure most viewers would be able to relate to the film one way or another.
I ended my introduction with this quote by Sophy Romvari from an interview with Little White Lies:
“When we think about difficult things like grief and mental illness, or even a lack of understanding around those things, it’s about accepting difficult realities. In most of my work, that’s been the motivation. Making the work forces me to confront those realities, and then when you share the work, it becomes even more real and then you have to give it to other people to have their own experiences with, and it no longer is your own experience. If there’s any catharsis, it’s that. It’s not about closure, it’s more ‘this is as far as I can interpret this situation which is difficult, but it’s not something that I can solve’."
Several thanked me on their way out and one person said she attend because she thought the film was going to be similar to The Scarlet Ibis, a short story by James Hurt. She said the film is very different, but suggested I read the story. It pairs well with the film.
I took the photos below, and whilst they may not be perfect, I do like them as a keepsake from that night. It was nice to see a few familiar faces from my CineMAS Film Festival years attending the screening, and hope I get another opportunity to show more films there as The Culturist Film Club.
Thanks and gratitude to Mohammad Khawaja, and to everyone who attended the screening.
