Sea of Hope
Film premiere & talk
25th May, 6:00PM BST | 5:00PM UTC
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Sea of Hope is a short animation film by award-winning filmmaker Walid Salhab. It tells the story of a Middle Eastern refugee father and son that undertake a dangerous sea journey trying to escape the war-torn country. The film aims to highlight the fears and the peril refugees take to have a chance at a semi-normal life.
This event hosted by Gaia Education will consist of an online premiere of Sea of Hope, followed by a discussion with Jane Rasbash and Pedro Pedrosa & a representative from 100 Projectors (Myanmar), about the role of Arts & Activism for social justice and Human Search and Rescue.
Walid is from Tripoli in Lebanon, and the film is a labour of love that took five years to make as he learned animation from scratch. It was self-made in 2D by Walid then hand rotoscoped frame by frame by Italian artist Cristina Messina. It has been selected to show at 57 film festivals and won 46 awards so far.
Panel
Walid Salhab
Speaker
Is a Media Practice Lecturer at Queen Margaret University in Scotland and an award-winning filmmaker, creating a range of adverts and educational and co-operative films. His short films have been screened and won accolades at media festivals and competitions worldwide. His work has also been featured on television on BBC Reporting Scotland, STV Scotland Today and STV Scotland Tonight.
He has been interviewed for his work on various tv and Radio station (BBC, ITV, STV) In print media he has been featured in the Edinburgh List, The Scotsman, the Edinburgh Evening News (front page), The Sun, The Daily Record, the Scottish Film Magazine and Lebanon’s Al Adib newspaper.
100 Projectors Representative
Speaker
(unnamed for security reasons) - 100 Projectors is a peaceful protest initiative for Myanmar Democracy against the violent military dictatorship. Since the military coup on 1 February 2021 hundreds of civilians died. Brave creatives in Myanmar used video projections in public places to show pro democracy messages.
Jane Rasbash
Jane Rasbash works in sustainable development using an empowerment and engaged spirituality approach. She facilitated on many Gaia Education courses in Findhorn & Thailand. Jane mentors local and national NGO leaders in the Global South, often working in incredibly challenging situations particularly in Myanmar. She got interested in video to tell some of these stories and studied content creation with Walid at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh.
Pedro Pedrosa
Co-CEO of Gaia Education who has also been active in search and rescue efforts in Lesbos, a destination of many migrant boats. He has first-hand experience in Volunteer and NGO Management and has participated in several humanitarian missions.
Pedro has also managed a homeless support centre in Portugal with more than 400 volunteers and is part of the board of several organisations, among them the environmental organisation 'Quinta das Águias' and the animal welfare organisation 'Animais de Rua.'
