Aida Returns - A film by Carol Mansour
Donation protected
Mansour’s newest film “Aida Returns”, a personal film about her mother. Carol documents her conversations with her mother during the final years of her life, as she struggled with Alzheimer’s. Born in Yafa, Palestine in 1928 and forced out of her homeland during the mass exodus of Palestinians (nakba) in 1948, Aida Abboud Mansour spent the rest of her life in exile – in Beirut, Cairo and then Montreal. In intimate conversations with her mother, Carol captures Aida’s recollections of her life in Yafa, which resurfaced as the disease progressed. Following her death in 2015, Carol then chronicles the return of her mother’s ashes to Yafa.
Carol Mansour is a close friend of mine and an asset to the Palestinian diaspora worldwide. Her mother’s story is a testament to the power of memory, both individual and collective. It is also a story of displacement and the Palestinian diaspora, which echoes that of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who struggle with the impossibility of returning to their homeland, and for whom memory is the primary mode of preserving identity. It is particularly critical in times like these to help Palestinians preserve their memories and those of their families.
It is for this reason that I ask you to kindly support this project by donating. Carol has managed to cover the majority of production costs, but is falling short of funds to finish the one-hour film and screen it. Carol needs USD 35,000 to cover the final production costs, primarily post-production expenses to do with editing, color correction, sound mixing, graphics and festival placement screening,and help get this documentary the attention it deserves.
Any contributions are met with utmost appreciation.
The making of “Aida Returns”
When I asked Carol how this film came to be, she told me how what began as a personal project developed into something much bigger as she quickly realized that the elements of Aida’s story resonated deeply with the stories of displacement and memory for so many others in the Palestinian diaspora.
“Once she had developed Alzheimer’s disease, she steadily lost her memory and her sense of identity and I felt the need to “hold-on” to my mother before the disease took over.
Whenever I sat with her, the conversation would inevitably return to Yafa and to her childhood and youth there before 1948: her house, her school, her family, her friends. Despite having had a very privileged life in Beirut, Cairo, and Montreal, it was always the memories of Yafa that emerged again and again and it was those memories that brought a sparkle to her eyes.
My mother had been clear that she wished to be cremated when she passed away. After her funeral, I returned to Beirut withthe footage of our interviews along with some of her ashes. I always felt that it would have been her desire to one day return to Yafa for her final rest, a place I am prohibited from visiting.
Close to four years after her passing, my friend Tanya who lives in Ramallah came to visit me in Beirut. Along with Raeda, another friend, they agreed to smuggle Aida’s ashes back to Yafa. Their mission was to find Aida’s house, and trace some of the locations which Aida spoke about during our conversations. Using a phone so I could “join” them on this mission, I was able to journey along with them to Yafa.
Once I had this mix of material, it was clear to me what I needed to do was to make a film documenting my mother’s journey: her “returning” to Yafa and Palestine of her youth; where she would finally rest and be again. The journey isprivate and personal, but resonates with thousands of Alzheimer’s sufferers and their families as well as thousands of Palestinian refugees awaiting their return home.”
About the director
Carol Mansour is an award-winning independent Palestinian/Lebanese/Canadian documentary filmmaker living in Beirut Lebanon. She is renowned for her work on issues centered on the everyday struggles of regular people and the impact of injustice and war on them. Her films have screened in scores of international festivals and she has won several prestigious awards.
.
To get to know Carol better, watch this interview with her:https://tinyurl.com/4pnafjju
Carol Mansour is a close friend of mine and an asset to the Palestinian diaspora worldwide. Her mother’s story is a testament to the power of memory, both individual and collective. It is also a story of displacement and the Palestinian diaspora, which echoes that of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who struggle with the impossibility of returning to their homeland, and for whom memory is the primary mode of preserving identity. It is particularly critical in times like these to help Palestinians preserve their memories and those of their families.
It is for this reason that I ask you to kindly support this project by donating. Carol has managed to cover the majority of production costs, but is falling short of funds to finish the one-hour film and screen it. Carol needs USD 35,000 to cover the final production costs, primarily post-production expenses to do with editing, color correction, sound mixing, graphics and festival placement screening,and help get this documentary the attention it deserves.
Any contributions are met with utmost appreciation.
The making of “Aida Returns”
When I asked Carol how this film came to be, she told me how what began as a personal project developed into something much bigger as she quickly realized that the elements of Aida’s story resonated deeply with the stories of displacement and memory for so many others in the Palestinian diaspora.
“Once she had developed Alzheimer’s disease, she steadily lost her memory and her sense of identity and I felt the need to “hold-on” to my mother before the disease took over.
Whenever I sat with her, the conversation would inevitably return to Yafa and to her childhood and youth there before 1948: her house, her school, her family, her friends. Despite having had a very privileged life in Beirut, Cairo, and Montreal, it was always the memories of Yafa that emerged again and again and it was those memories that brought a sparkle to her eyes.
My mother had been clear that she wished to be cremated when she passed away. After her funeral, I returned to Beirut withthe footage of our interviews along with some of her ashes. I always felt that it would have been her desire to one day return to Yafa for her final rest, a place I am prohibited from visiting.
Close to four years after her passing, my friend Tanya who lives in Ramallah came to visit me in Beirut. Along with Raeda, another friend, they agreed to smuggle Aida’s ashes back to Yafa. Their mission was to find Aida’s house, and trace some of the locations which Aida spoke about during our conversations. Using a phone so I could “join” them on this mission, I was able to journey along with them to Yafa.
Once I had this mix of material, it was clear to me what I needed to do was to make a film documenting my mother’s journey: her “returning” to Yafa and Palestine of her youth; where she would finally rest and be again. The journey isprivate and personal, but resonates with thousands of Alzheimer’s sufferers and their families as well as thousands of Palestinian refugees awaiting their return home.”
About the director
Carol Mansour is an award-winning independent Palestinian/Lebanese/Canadian documentary filmmaker living in Beirut Lebanon. She is renowned for her work on issues centered on the everyday struggles of regular people and the impact of injustice and war on them. Her films have screened in scores of international festivals and she has won several prestigious awards.
.
To get to know Carol better, watch this interview with her:https://tinyurl.com/4pnafjju
Organizer
Nasser Jaber
Organizer
New York, NY