Directors in Dialogue

Before the film 78 Days starts, take a closer look at the marvelous minds of local filmmakers Diana Al-Halabi and Floor van der Meulen. 

Diana Al-Halabi and Floor van der Meulen come together on a vibrant plaza, inviting the audience into an intimate conversation about their lives behind the camera. They delve into what drives them to create, sharing the inspirations and urgent themes that shape their work. As they showcase scenes they are proud of, or those they wrestled with, the dialogue deepens. After the talk, there is time to ask the directors your questions and to have a drink together.

Diana Al-Halabi

Born in Lebanon in 1990, Diana Al-Halabi is a visual artist and filmmaker based in Rotterdam. Her work, viewed through an intersectional feminist lens, explores themes like the patriarchal gaze, institutional violence, and settler colonialism. Using moving images, text, performance, and painting, Al-Halabi’s 2022 film The Disaster Cannot Be Contained screened at IFFR and won Best Short at the Beirut Shorts International Film Festival. In 2023, she received the IFFR RTM PITCH Award for her short film The Battle of Empty Stomachs, premiering at IFFR 2024. Al-Halabi holds an MFA from the Piet Zwart Institute and completed a fellowship at Ashkal Alwan in Beirut.

Floor van der Meulen

Born in 1989 in the Netherlands, Floor van der Meulen studied Audiovisual Design in Rotterdam and New York. Her breakthrough documentary, Storming Paradise, aired on Al Jazeera and dazzled at DOK Leipzig. With 9 Days – From My Window in Aleppo, she won Best Short at BFI and Best European Short at the 29th European Film Awards. She moved on into feature-length films.  The Last Male on Earth (2019) is her documentary feature-length debut. The film had its world premiere at Copenhagen CPH:DOX festival. Pink Moon (2022) is Floor’s narrative feature debut. The film had its world premiere at Tribeca Film Festival where it was awarded with the Special Jury Mention for Best New Narrative Director. Currently she is currently working on a new feature fiction.

In collaboration with Film Platform Rotterdam

Film Platform Rotterdam is an organization for all types of filmmakers in and around Rotterdam. From large production houses to impassioned starters. We are orientated around robust networking, knowledge sharing and collective promotion of Rotterdam makers, organizations and productions. We operate with the goal of offering a stage for, and improving, the Rotterdam film world.

Please note that there are limited seats available. We recommend purchasing your ticket in advance because full = full.

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