Batata is a Canadian-Lebanese documentary film, directed by Noura Kevorkian and released in 2022.[1] The film is a portrait of Maria, a Syrian woman working in Lebanon whose life is upended by the Syrian civil war and its associated refugee crisis.[2]

Batata
Directed byNoura Kevorkian
Written byNoura Kevorkian
Produced byPaul Scherzer
Noura Kevorkian
CinematographyNoura Kevorkian
Edited byNoura Kevorkian
Mike Munn
Production
companies
Saaren Films
Musa Dagh Productions
Six Island Productions
Distributed bySix Island Productions
Release date
  • January 20, 2022 (2022-01-20) (FIPADOC)
Running time
125 minutes
CountriesCanada
Lebanon
LanguagesArabic
Armenian

The film had originally been conceived in 2009, prior to the outbreak of the war, as a portrait of Maria's father Abu Jamil and farmer Movses (Mousa) Doudaklian, two men who built a close friendship through years of working together on Doudaklian's potato farm in Lebanon despite the history of enmity between Lebanese Christians and Syrian Muslims. As the outbreak of the war turned the farm into a desolate refugee camp, its focus shifted more squarely onto Maria, depicting her determination to keep her family safe and united in the face of the larger forces that threatened to destroy them.[2]

Distribution

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The film premiered in January 2022 at the FIPADOC film festival in Biarritz, France,[3] and had its Canadian premiere in April at the 2022 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.[2]

Awards

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Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref(s)
Canadian Screen Awards April 2023 Best Feature Length Documentary Paul Scherzer, Noura Kevorkian Nominated [4]
Best Cinematography in a Documentary Noura Kevorkian Nominated
Best Editing in a Documentary Noura Kevorkian, Mike Munn Nominated
Directors Guild of Canada 2023 Allan King Award for Best Documentary Film Noura Kevorkian Nominated [5]
Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival 2022 Best Canadian Feature Documentary, Special Jury Prize Honored [6]
Peabody Awards 2023 83rd Annual Award Won [7]

References

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