Moraine Valley Community College will host a viewing of “Soufra,” a documentary about several women from a refugee camp in Lebanon, on Wednesday, March 18, at 6:30 p.m. in the Dorothy Menker Theater in the Fine and Performing Arts Center, 9000 W. College Parkway, Palos Hills.
Tickets are $5 each and can be purchased online, at the Box Office in Building F, or at the door the night of the event. Proceeds will benefit the Arab American Academic Excellence Scholarship fund.
The film, which premiered in 2017 and has been seen by audiences around the world, showcases the journey of Mariam Shaar, a refugee who has spent her entire life in the Burl El Barajneh refugee camp south of Beirut. Shaar and several women set out to change their fate by launching a catering company they call“Soufra” which is Arabic for “dining table.”
The refugee women, who are from Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Iraq, expand the company’s reach outside the camp with a food truck business, and together heal the wounds of war through the unifying power of food while taking their future into their own hands.
The film has received several awards, including Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2018. It is presented by the Arab Student Union (ASU) at Moraine Valley and the Chicago Palestine Film Festival, an independent organization that exhibits and promotes films by Palestinian directors and films about Palestine.
“We’re really excited to feature this film and we’re grateful to the Chicago Palestine Film Festival for teaming up with us,” said Dr. Nina Shoman-Dajani, assistant dean of Learning Enrichment and College Readiness and ASU club advisor. “It’s very timely in terms of the subject matter and something that a lot of people can relate to. This is a very inspiring documentary.”
For more information, contact Shoman-Dajani at shoman-dajanim@morainevalley.edu.
