This is the first edition of Here & Elsewhere. What inspired you to launch a short film festival now, and why in Beirut?
Making a film is expensive! And securing grants or funding is rarely straightforward, especially when you are a filmmaker from the SWANA region or part of its diaspora. Too often, grant boards are politically inclined, preferring to manipulate or reshape stories from the region before they agree to support them. This is why building systems by the community, for the community is so essential: so that our stories can be told authentically and our films can come to life freely – or at least as smoothly as possible. That is exactly what this festival sets out to do.
It all began when Palestinian filmmaker Fateema Al-Hamaydeh Miller, based in Toronto, reached out to Lilith – co-founder of the festival and a Barcelona-based producer – for fiscal support to produce her debut feature film, Amwaj. Lilith then contacted me, and what started as Fateema’s desire to create a sense of community around her film and its making soon blossomed into a much larger idea: a three-day festival program in Beirut dedicated to supporting and celebrating SWANA filmmakers.
Beirut felt like the only place this first edition could happen. It’s where I grew up, where I learned filmmaking and film programming, and where the people and stories that shaped me continue to live. It’s also where Lilith spent her formative years before moving to Spain, and she had always wanted to return to collaborate on a project rooted here. Together, we built HERE & ELSEWHERE from that shared connection and shared vision.
This first edition supports Amwaj and marks the beginning of a long-term mission: to spotlight a new director with every edition and to keep SWANA filmmakers and their stories at the heart of everything we do.
Your mission emphasizes representing voices once silenced. How do you see this festival creating space for inclusivity and diversity within the SWANA film community?
We are showcasing stories that we wish we saw more often on screens. Artists from here and even elsewhere deserve space for their complexity: their contradictions, their rage, their tenderness, and their joy, without being reduced to stereotypes or filtered through external expectations. By centering filmmakers from the SWANA region and its diaspora, we aim to build a platform that reclaims the narrative power to tell our stories on our own terms. Inclusivity, for us, means creating a space where a multitude of experiences can coexist, challenge each other, and ultimately reflect the richness and diversity of our communities. The films programmed in this first edition embody that mission fully.
Many of the films you’re showcasing resist the typical images of despair often imposed on the region. How did you approach curating stories that center joy, resilience, and cultural vibrancy?
We were very intentional about choosing films that go beyond narratives of despair and victimhood. Joy, resilience, and cultural vibrancy are powerful forms of resistance too, and we wanted this edition to reflect the full spectrum of our lived experiences; not just our struggles, but also our creativity, strength, and everyday life.
A key part of your model is grassroots empowerment and alternative funding. How does bypassing conventional production houses change what stories get told — and how they’re told?
Bypassing conventional production houses opens up space for stories that might otherwise never be told, or that would have to be reshaped to fit someone else’s expectations. Large institutional funding often comes with conditions: creative compromises, censorship, or pressure to make a story more “palatable” to broader audiences (to then capitalize off of it). This is especially true for SWANA filmmakers, whose work is frequently filtered or sidelined in mainstream spaces.
Another part of this reality is that many Western production houses with the financial power to produce films tend to support stories that center victimhood, trauma, or hardship – as if those are the only narratives worth telling from our region. But our experiences are far more complex and multifaceted. Building alternative, grassroots systems allows filmmakers to explore the full spectrum of their realities: joy, resilience, creativity, resistance, and to do so entirely on their own terms.
The festival’s first edition highlights the work of Palestinian filmmaker Fateema AI-Hamaydeh Miller. What drew you to center her voice and her film Mawtini?
Fateema had reached out to Lilith because she needed some support in a part of the production of her feature debut Amwaj. When the format of the festival came to be, we thought Mawtini is the perfect “proof of concept” for both HERE & ELSEWHERE and Fateema’s in-the-works film: it embodies a SWANA character’s identity crisis, confusion in belonging and valid example of the stories we almost never hear on the big screen.
With what’s happening in Gaza and across the region, there’s often the question of “How relevant is art amidst genocide? How do you see cinema functioning as a tool of resistance and preservation in such times?
In moments of violence and erasure, art becomes more vital than ever. Cinema serves as both a form of resistance and an act of preservation; it archives our histories, protects our cultural memory, and ensures that stories which deserve to be heard are documented and passed on.
Beyond screenings, the program includes panel discussions and networking. What kinds of conversations and connections are you hoping to spark between filmmakers and audiences?
We hope to create a space where filmmakers and audiences can meet beyond the screen; to exchange ideas, question narratives, and build solidarity. Our panel discussion, moderated by film programmer and director Nour Ouayda, will bring together theatre practitioner Aliyyah Khalidi and comedian Ahmad Seifeddine to explore how art, storytelling, and performance intersect with resistance and everyday life. The goal is to spark meaningful conversations that connect cinema to lived experience, inspire future collaborations, and strengthen a sense of collective responsibility toward how and why we tell our stories.
Looking ahead, what impact do you hope Here & Elsewhere will have on SWANA filmmakers, both in the region and in the diaspora?
We hope HERE & ELSEWHERE becomes a sustainable platform that uplifts SWANA filmmakers wherever they are, one that not only showcases their work but also helps them access resources, build networks, and gain visibility beyond conventional barriers. Our aim is for the festival to grow into a space where stories from the region and its diaspora can thrive, inspire new collaborations, and continue shaping how we see ourselves and how the world sees us.
Stephani Moukhaiber
Stephani Moukhaiber is the founder and CEO of Al Rawiya, a media company amplifying voices from the Levant and its diaspora. She also leads Al Rawiya Studio, the creative and strategic arm of the company, providing branding, content, and media services to clients. In addition, she serves as the Director of Programs and Operations at the 2048 Foundation, overseeing program strategy, communications, grants management, and operational excellence. Originally, Stephani worked as an organizational development consultant specializing in workplace strategy, including roles at global tech and consulting firms.
- Stephani Moukhaiber
- Stephani Moukhaiber
- Stephani Moukhaiber
- Stephani Moukhaiber
- Stephani Moukhaiber
- Stephani Moukhaiber
- Stephani Moukhaiber
- Stephani Moukhaiber
- Stephani Moukhaiber
