The Amina Profile

Last updated
The Amina Profile
The Amina Profile POSTER.jpg
Directed by Sophie Deraspe
Written bySophie Deraspe
Produced byIsabelle Couture
Nathalie Cloutier
StarringSandra Bagaria
CinematographySophie Deraspe
Edited byGeoffrey Boulangé
Sophie Deraspe
Music by Sam Shalabi
Production
companies
Distributed byNational Film Board
F3M
Release dates
  • January 24, 2015 (2015-01-24)(Sundance)
  • July 24, 2015 (2015-07-24)
Running time
84 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguagesEnglish
French
Arabic

The Amina Profile (French: Le profil Amina) is a 2015 Canadian documentary film directed by Sophie Deraspe and coproduced by Esperamos and the National Film Board of Canada, which premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in the World Cinema category. It was pitched at Sheffield Doc/Fest's MeetMarket in 2014. The film was retitled A Gay Girl in Damascus: The Amina Profile by its U.S. distributor IFC for the theatrical release and for subsequent film festival screenings.

Contents

Synopsis

The film centres on Sandra Bagaria, a Montreal woman who was in an online relationship with star blogger Amina Abdallah Arraf al Omari. Bagaria became involved in the international attempt to rescue Arraf after her purported abduction by the Syrian regime. [1] [2]

Reception

Under its French title, Le profil Amina, the film was named Best Documentary:Society at the 2016 Prix Gémeaux, honouring the best in francophone Canadian television. [3]

The film received Canadian Screen Award nominations for Best Feature Length Documentary and Best Editing in a Documentary at the 4th Canadian Screen Awards.

It was shortlisted for the Prix collégial du cinéma québécois in 2016. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

A Gay Girl in Damascus was a blog purportedly authored by Amina Abdallah Arraf al Omari. Omari was, in fact, a hoax persona created by the American citizen and then-student of the University of Edinburgh, Thomas Jarvis MacMaster. During the 2011 Syrian uprising, a posting on the blog, purportedly by "Amina's" cousin, claimed that the girl had been abducted on June 6, 2011. This sparked a strong outcry from the LGBTQ community and was covered widely in mainstream media.

Sophie Deraspe is a Canadian director, scenarist, director of photography and producer. Prominent in new Quebec cinema, she is known for a 2015 documentary The Amina Profile, an exploration of the Amina Abdallah Arraf al Omari hoax of 2011. She had previously written and directed the narrative feature films Missing Victor Pellerin in 2006, Vital Signs in 2009, The Wolves in 2015,

<i>The Salesman</i> (2011 film) 2011 Canadian film

The Salesman is a 2011 Canadian drama film directed by Sébastien Pilote. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and had a theatrical release in Quebec on 11 November 2011.

<i>Corbo</i> 2014 Canadian film

Corbo is a Canadian drama film from Quebec, written and directed by Mathieu Denis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">François Delisle</span>

François Delisle is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, editor, actor, and composer.

<i>Resurrecting Hassan</i> 2016 Canadian film

Resurrecting Hassan is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Carlo Guillermo Proto and released in 2016. The documentary centres on the Hartings, a family of blind musicians in Montreal who supported themselves by busking in the Guy-Concordia station of the Montreal Metro.

Manic is a 2017 Canadian documentary film directed by Kalina Bertin. The film depicts Bertin's efforts, in response to a family history of bipolar disorder, to investigate parts of her father's prior life in Montserrat that she did not know about; she ultimately uncovers the revelations that her father was a cult leader who also suffered from bipolar disorder, and who had, unbeknownst to Bertin until making the film, also fathered at least 12 other children with four other women.

Fake Tattoos is a Canadian drama film, directed by Pascal Plante and released in 2017. The film stars Anthony Therrien as Theo, a young loner who meets and falls in love with Mag at a rock concert.

Tadoussac is a Canadian drama film, directed by Martin Laroche and released in 2017. The film stars Camille Mongeau as Chloé, an unhappy young woman from Montreal who abandons her urban life and travels to the small town of Tadoussac, where she befriends Myriam, a local tour guide who is battling emotional demons of her own. The cast also includes Isabelle Boivin, Serge Boulianne and Juliette Gosselin.

<i>Over My Dead Body</i> (2012 Canadian film) 2012 Canadian film

Over My Dead Body is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Brigitte Poupart and released in 2012. The film is a portrait of Dave St-Pierre, a dancer and choreographer from Montreal who is urgently awaiting a lung transplant due to his lifelong battle with cystic fibrosis.

<i>3 Indian Tales</i> 2014 Canadian film

3 Indian Tales is a Canadian docufiction film, directed by Robert Morin and released in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeremiah Hayes (filmmaker)</span> Canadian film director, writer and editor

Jeremiah Hayes is a Canadian film director, writer and editor. Hayes is known for being the co-director, co-writer and the editor of the documentary Reel Injun, which was awarded a Gemini Award in 2010 for Best Direction in a Documentary Program. In 2011, Reel Injun won a Peabody Award for Best Electronic Media. Hayes was the co-editor of Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World, which was awarded a Canadian Screen Award for Best Editing in a Documentary in 2018. In 2018, Rumble won a Canadian Screen Award for Best Feature Length Documentary, and in 2017 Rumble won the Special Jury Award for Masterful Storytelling at the Sundance Film Festival in 2017. In 2020, Rumble received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Arts & Culture Documentary. In 2021, Reel Injun is featured in the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures core exhibition of the Stories of Cinema.

<i>Diego Star</i> 2013 Canadian drama film

Diego Star is a Canadian drama film, directed by Frédérick Pelletier and released in 2013. Set in Lévis, Quebec where a Russian cargo ship has been docked following a serious on-board accident, the film traces the journey of Traoré, the ship's Ivorian mechanic, through both his decision to blow the whistle on the crew's neglect of ship maintenance issues and his developing friendship with Fanny, the local woman with whom he has been billeted during the ship's time in Lévis.

<i>Happy Face</i> (film) 2018 Canadian film

Happy Face is a Canadian drama film, directed by Alexandre Franchi and released in 2018. The film stars Robin L'Houmeau as Stan, a young man from Montreal who tries to cope with his mother's cancer treatment, which has disfigured her appearance, by disguising himself with bandages and joining a support group for people with disfiguring facial conditions in the hopes of better understanding her situation. Debbie Lynch-White plays Vanessa, the nurse who leads the support group, while the members of the support group are portrayed by real people with facial disabilities, including motivational speaker David Roche and actress and model Alison Midstokke.

<i>The Meteor</i> (film) 2013 Canadian drama film

The Meteor is a Canadian dramatic docufiction film, directed by François Delisle and released in 2013. The film centres on the experiences of Pierre, a man who is serving a 14-year prison sentence for manslaughter after accidentally killing a woman while driving under the influence, and his interactions with his mother, his ex-girlfriend Suzanne, a prison guard and a cellmate.

Prayer for a Lost Mitten is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Jean-François Lesage and released in 2020. The film centres on the lost and found office of the Montreal Metro system.

<i>Call Me Human</i> 2020 Canadian documentary film

Call Me Human is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Kim O'Bomsawin and released in 2020. The film is a portrait of Innu poet Joséphine Bacon.

<i>Babysitter</i> (2022 film) 2022 Canadian film

Babysitter is a 2022 Canadian comedy-drama film, directed by Monia Chokri. Adapted from a theatrical play by Catherine Léger, the film stars Patrick Hivon as Cédric, a man who goes viral after video surfaces of him drunkenly kissing a reporter during a live broadcast. Meanwhile, his wife Nadine (Chokri) is struggling with post-partum depression following the birth of their child. Cédric hires a babysitter to take care of the baby, to the surprise of Nadine, with whom she eventually develops her own special relationship.

Manor is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Martin Fournier and Pier-Luc Latulippe and released in 2015. The film profiles the residents of Gaulin Manor, a onetime hotel in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, which has been converted into a transitional housing facility for former psychiatric patients who remain at risk of homelessness, but is about to be closed and demolished for redevelopment.

Kalina Bertin is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, most noted for her 2017 film Manic.

References

  1. "'Gay Girl In Damascus:' A Personal Friend Sifts Through What's Real". NPR, June 9, 2011.
  2. Kenigsberg, Ben (January 25, 2015). "Sundance Film Review: 'The Amina Profile'". Variety. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  3. Lemieux, Marc-André. "Les pays d'en haut au sommet". Le Journal de Montréal. Retrieved September 26, 2016.
  4. David Rémillard, "Chorus remporte le Prix collégial du cinéma québécois". Le Soleil , March 19, 2016.