London to hold Syrian cinema event

An event discussing the industrial intricacies of Syrian cinema organised by the Council for British Research in the Levant (CBRL) and the London Middle East Institute (LMEI)is to take place in London. The first annual CBRL-LMEI lecture is to be held on Monday 28 November at London's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). Kay Dickinson, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Media and Communications at Goldsmiths, will give a lecture on Syrian Cinema: Out of Time? The official statement for the event read: "Given the current situation in Syria, it might seem untimely to dwell on some of the more laudable contributions its government has made to film production.  Yet questioning the very charge of untimeliness at a moment of rupture or change opens out crucial debates about how history functions politically.  Within the Syrian context, these include how fair labour conditions and a less marketized conceptualization of culture might be maintained through a period of violence and transition." The event is free and open to the public.