When the boat on which she was crossing to Europe capsized off the coast of Lesbos, Syrian artist Amel Alzakout recorded the events using a waterproof camera strapped to her wrist. Co-directed with filmmaker Khaled Abdulwahed, Purple Sea is assembled from the extraordinary images captured during the period she and the other passengers spent trapped in the water. Adrift on the open sea, time seems to stand still as—beyond the chaos and a chorus of cries—a terrible calm descends. Alzakout poignantly narrates her perilous journey, and her poetic commentary feeds into a confrontational psychological reflection on this moment of personal crisis and collective tragedy.

Purple Sea will be screened with:

Shipwreck at the Threshold of Europe, Lesvos, Aegean Sea
Forensic Architecture | 2020 | UK | 23’

3 Logical Exits
Mahdi Fleifel | 2020 | Denmark, UK, Lebanon | 15’

Screening includes a Q&A with directors Amel Alzakout & Khaled Abdulwahed, hosted by Kevin B. Lee.