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Past Film/Video | Documentaries
Presented in collaboration with CinéseriesDiscussion follows
Free for all audiences with ticket
ACCESSIBILITYWe strive to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals, including individuals with disabilities, to engage fully. If you have questions about accessibility or require an accommodation such as CART captioning or ASL interpretation to participate in this event, please email accessibility@wexarts.org or call (614) 688-3890. Requests made by two weeks in advance will generally allow us to provide seamless access, but the Wexner Center for the Arts will make every effort to meet requests made after this date.
Amel Alzakout and Khaled Abdulwahed’s unforgettable documentary Purple Sea will pull you from the comfort of the theater into the tumultuous waves of the Mediterranean.
Purple Sea follows Alzakout and over 300 migrants seeking passage from Turkey to Greece, when the boat carrying them capsizes. With a GoPro camera strapped to their wrist, an autonomous observer bears witness to a bright blue sky, deep murky expanses of ocean, pruning hands, and florescent orange life vests.
Capturing the experience from 1:30 to 5:30 PM on October 28th, 2015, the footage is overlayed with Alzakout’s narration, her voice rising above blaring whistles, splashing water, and anguished cries. Alzakout weaves the past into the present—a spoken portrait of life that reaches far beyond the moments captured by the camera. Her words become a poetic stance against being reduced to “Refugees? Criminals? Victims? Or just numbers.” In Arabic with English subtitles. (67 mins., DCP)
Stay after the screening to reflect and engage in conversation facilitated by Cinéseries in the café.
IMAGE CAPTIONPurple Sea, courtesy of Lightdox.
In the words of the members: Cinéseries is a student-led group that organizes monthly screenings in collaboration with the Wexner Center for the Arts. We aim to offer a space for students and the community to engage with film and expanded cinema from makers of a variety of backgrounds. We aspire to create an environment conducive to critical engagement by inviting filmmakers to showcase work that takes risks, challenges norms, and opens a conversation by devoting to a wide range of artist-centered and independent media.
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SUPPORT FOR FILM/VIDEO PROGRAMS PROVIDED BYRohauer Collection Foundation
WEXNER CENTER PROGRAMS MADE POSSIBLE BYOhio Department of DevelopmentGreater Columbus Arts CouncilThe Wexner FamilyInstitute of Museum and Library ServicesOhio Arts CouncilCampusParcOhio State’s Global Arts + Humanities Discovery ThemeThe Columbus FoundationNationwide FoundationVorys, Sater, Seymour, and PeaseADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BYMike and Paige CraneAxium PackagingNancy KramerOhio State Energy PartnersOhio History Fund/Ohio History ConnectionLarry and Donna JamesBruce and Joy SollJones DayAlex and Renée Shumate
Past Film/Video
Purple Sea
