The Spring 2024 IIJS Film Series continues on Monday, March 4, at 12:00 PM ET with Egypt, a Love Song, a film from writer-director Dr. Iris Zaki.
In 1940s Egypt, Souad Zaki was a popular Jewish Arab singer married to a renowned Muslim musician. After her husband abandoned her and their child, Souad was forced to flee to Israel and make ends meet by working as a domestic cleaner. Souad's granddaughter, Iris, tells Souad's tempestuous story in a documentary that incorporates intimate conversations with her father, family photos and movies, reenactments of key moments in Souad's life, and rare footage of Souad singing and acting. (74 minutes; Hebrew and Arabic with English subtitles)
Please register for the event below. You will receive an email with a link to watch the film at home by Friday, March 1. This link will only be available until Monday, March 4, at 11:59pm EDT.
We will be hosting a Zoom Q&A session on Monday, March 4, at 12:00pm ET with writer-director Dr. Iris Zaki. You will receive a separate email with the Zoom link for the Q&A several days before the event.
Please note: at this time, only viewers in the United States will be able to stream the film.
Please email iijs@columbia.edu with any questions.
Dr. Iris Zaki is a Grierson award-winning artist-filmmaker with a signature cinematic style. Her first-person documentaries explore themes of complex identity, cross-cultural encounters and community representation. Her films, Women in Sink and Unsettling, have been shown at numerous festivals and universities worldwide, and have been featured on television and the NY Times’ OpDocs. Iris earned her PhD at Royal Holloway, University of London, and is teaching documentary filmmaking for BA and MA students at Sapir College in Israel.
Supported by the generosity of the Appel and Kaye families.
While all IIJS events are free and open to the public, we do encourage a suggested donation of $10.