Hiiraan Online

Thursday, April 10, 2008

U.S. PREMIERE

• SOMALI ACTRESS, Samsam Ahmed WILL BE PRESENT Headstrong Ayan, a refugee from Somalia, has big dreams. New to Canada, she'll show anyone she can provide for her family. Still, it's difficult to keep it all together. On top of the soaring rent, her daughters, 16-year-old Nasrah and 13-year-old Leila, need braces. And even working two jobs as a cleaner, it's tough to find enough money to send to her anxious husband and two sons still stuck in East Africa. Ayan's confidence is shaken when she is unexpectedly evicted for late payment of rent. It is the beginning of the summer break from school, and the city faces a severe housing shortage.

Ayan and her daughters are exiled to the city's tattered hinterland among other homeless families, hookers and unsettled souls. A true survivor, she tries to rebuild from within her lonely motel room while facing increasing estrangement from her daughters.

With remarkable debut performances from the non-professional cast, Family Motel charts one eventful summer in the lives of Ayan and her girls as they confront life on the edge.

First fiction feature by Montreal documentarian Helene Klodawsky introduces Nargis and her real-life daughters Asha and Sagal Jibril, who headline a lively cast of first-time performers. Film's Somali lead, Nargis, will be on hand for screenings.

SCREENINGS:

SATURDAY, APRIL 19, 7:00PM; OAK STREET

SUNDAY, APRIL 20, 7:00PM; ST. ANTHONY