Arab Film Series: PRIDE 2025
Featuring films by: Naaman Azhari and Tamara Shogaolu.
Screening Online: June 9 – 15, 2025
RSVP at arabfilmseries.org
Available Worldwide
Free / $5 Suggested Donation
In celebration of Pride Month, we are proud to present this month’s Arab Film Series program, featuring three animated films by filmmakers Naaman Azhari and Tamara Shogaolu.
Set in the U.K., Lebanon and Egypt, the films share narratives from queer communities often at odds with their respective families and cultures. Azhari’s Breathless Puppets focuses on the relationship of two young men in the U.K. preparing for a dance performance but who are forced apart by their fathers and the societal expectations set upon them. In Threaded, Azhari uses flashbacks to weave memories into the narrative. The film focuses on a mother’s love and pride for her son while unconsciously denying and concealing aspects of his life that go against the status quo in Lebanon.
Tamara Shogaolu’s Half a Life is a documentary-style account of a young man in Egypt who retells his struggles of fighting for the rights of the LGBTQ community which subsequently put his own safety into jeopardy. While the films in the AFS Pride 2025 program recount difficult narratives from queer Arab and diaspora communities, they nevertheless reflect the importance of supporting the filmmakers and providing a platform to amplify these stories.
The Arab Film Series Online highlights contemporary and classic films by Arab and diasporic filmmakers, and is presented by ArteEast in collaboration with the Arab American National Museum (AANM) and the Arab Film and Media Institute (AFMI)
Film Program:
Breathless Puppets, Naaman Azhari, U.K, 2021, 16 mins.
Animation, English with English subtitles.
Two boys are intrinsically connected by their affinity to dance and their disapproving fathers. The journey we go on sees them reunite as men through the tragedy of the pandemic.
Threaded, Naaman Azhari, Lebanon, U.K, 2024, 4 mins.
Animation, Arabic with English subtitles.
Threaded explores the complex relationship between a mother and her son, focusing on themes of control, familial expectations, and emotional tension. The story delves into how the mother’s influence and societal pressures shape the son’s identity and choices. From a young age, Faisal has been marked by his indecisiveness. Each birthday, his mother would lovingly knit him a sweater in a different color, symbolizing the various paths he could take in life. These colorful threads tell a story of a boy growing up under the warm and watchful eye of a mother who wishes only the best for her son.
Half a Life, Tamara Shogaolu, Netherlands, 2017, 12 mins.
Animation, Arabic and English with English subtitles.
What do you do when love for your country and your own safety are at odds? Half a Life is a multi-award winning animated documentary short that features the personal testimony of a young, gay Egyptian activist as he struggles to decide whether to continue to fight for LGBTQ rights in Cairo, the home that he loves, or seek safety in asylum elsewhere.
Biographies:
Naaman Azhari is a British-Lebanese filmmaker and animator, known for his exploration of family and sociopolitical themes through animation. Born to Syrian-Lebanese parents and raised in France and Lebanon, Azhari studied at the Royal College of Art in the UK. His notable works include Breathless Puppets (2021), a collaboration with choreographer Akram Khan about human connection, and The Magic Boat (2019), which addresses the refugee experience. Azhari aims to challenge stereotypes by showcasing authentic Arab narratives and has received BAFTA nominations for his work.
Tamara Shogaolu is an Emmy award-winning director, writer, and artist whose bold and visionary storytelling has been recognized by Forbes, The Guardian, and Vogue. With a background in film, animation, and emerging technologies, she creates immersive and boundary-pushing works that challenge traditional narratives and deeply connect with audiences worldwide. Her films and projects have been showcased at MoMA, Tribeca Film Festival, and IDFA, earning critical acclaim and numerous accolades.
Shogaolu’s directorial voice blends rigorous research with poetic storytelling, exploring themes of identity, resilience, and the intersections of memory and technology. Her latest project, Anouschka, an interactive storytelling experience reimagining history through the lens of a young girl traveling across time and cultures, being showcased at SXSW 2025. The project uses play as a tool for learning, critical thinking, and empowerment, inviting audiences to engage with history in a groundbreaking way.
Her accolades include a 2022 SXSW Innovation Award for Visual Media and the Best Digital Storytelling Award at IDFA 2021 and 2023. She has also been nominated for a Peabody Award and the Netherlands’ Gouden Kalf Award. Shogaolu holds an MFA from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts and is a Burton Lewis Endowed Scholar for Directing. She is currently a fellow at MIT’s Open Documentary Lab and an inaugural Academy Motion Picture Accelerator Fellow, with past honors as a Fulbright and Luce Scholar in Egypt and Indonesia respectively.
