Noor: Three Generations, One Sixty Year Fight, One Long Journey Home

Director's Statement

Two and a half years ago I was in my professors car driving back to Manhattan from a shoot. She asked me where I was from, and being of Palestinian descent, I couldn't just say my home state, "Virginia". When I was through telling my story, she turned to me and said, "That's your movie". So I came back to my dorm and told my roommates what my professor had said - we all laughed at how impossible the idea seemed and never really discussed it again. Secretly, I started writing.

One year later I had a script and approached my best friend, Allison LeSaffre, to see if she would be interested in helping me produce this crazy project. She agreed to do it and we started trying to figure out how we should shoot this movie. Everyone we spoke to thought it was impossible; teachers would laugh, student's thought we were nuts, and yet we continued. After hundreds of emails and only God knows how many phone calls, we managed to do the impossible - raise enough money to send a crew to Amman, find an amazing cast, and secure what we thought would be our downfall, insurance from NYU! So, on New Years Eve of 2008, eight NYU students boarded a plane to Amman, Jordan to shoot Noor.

The shoot was the most exciting, challenging and rewarding experience any of us had ever been through. Not only did we have to troubleshoot your average film set problems, but we also had to grapple with things as hilarious as tracking down missing sheep and finding ways to cue the donkey! We also had to deal with the emotions that came along with shooting in a refugee camp as well as in some of the most impoverished places any of us had ever seen. We became a family.

I share all this in order to show you how far reaching Noor has proven itself to be. It has become a part of my life, and it is with a great mixture of fear and joy that I let it out into the world to see if it has the strength it takes to walk on its own! I hope that it does what it was originally intended to do - show a political situation through human eyes. I hope the reality of place and the importance of family shine through the narrative and that it is accessible to anyone who watches it. All I can ask for is that the audience of Noor enjoys watching it as much as I have enjoyed making it because if I have accomplished that - then I have succeeded beyond my wildest dreams.

Yours,
Razan Ghalayini

Upcoming Screenings

Rhode Island Film Festival
Wednesday August 5, 2009 @ 3:15 PM
Saturday August 8, 2009 @ 7:00 PM

San Antonio Film Festival
Friday June 26, 2009 @ 6:00 PM

West Hollywood International Film Festival
Schedule TBA

Previous Screenings

Watch Noor on DVD

For those of you who couldn't get out to a screening or, even better, enjoyed a screening so much that you would like to add Noor to your collection, we're proud to present the Noor on DVD.

$10.00 + S/H

Our Supporters

This film was made possible through assistance from a Warner Bros. Film Award and produced at New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, Maurice Kanbar Institute of Film and Television.

Your Turn

Please consider sponsoring Razan, Allison, and 5A Productions and help us with future projects like Noor. For sponsorship inquiries, contact us by email.

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