This event is in the past.It took place on December 12, 2025 at The Film-Makers’ Cooperative (NACG).
DocumentaryDocumentaryChristine Gedeon's "A Portrait of Michel": Film Screening & Exhibition
Venue
The Film-Makers' Cooperative
Address
475 Park Ave South, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10016
Dates and Times
Friday, December 12th, at 7 PM
Tickets
Tickets are available for purchase here.
Host, Artists, and Performers
Christine Gedeon, a visual artist born in Aleppo, raised in the U.S., and splitting her time between Berlin and New York, will introduce her film and exhibition and participate in a Q&A session with the audience. Her work, since the start of the war in Syria, has focused on her family history in Syria, pre-civil war, across various mediums. She has received grants and fellowships from Stiftung Kunstfonds, The Berlin Cultural Senate, The Harpo Foundation, and the Bronx Museum, New York. Her book, "Aleppo: Deconstruction | Reconstruction," was published in 2020.
The poster for the event was designed by Matt McKinzie and Christine Gedeon.
Activity Description
The event features a screening of Christine Gedeon's experimental documentary, "A Portrait of Michel" (2024, 43:57), presented in conjunction with an exhibition in the lounge. The film investigates the disappearance of Gedeon's uncle, Dr. Michel Saadé, who was abducted in Damascus in 1978 by the Hafez al-Assad regime.
Gedeon created the film after discovering a pouch belonging to Michel, which contained miscellaneous objects, documents, and scraps of paper. The documentary combines photographs of these "Objects of Evidence" with voice-over interviews with family members, vintage photographs, music, and archival 8mm family footage. Through these fragmented memories and found documents, Gedeon reconstructs his life and disappearance.
The search for answers unfolds across Beirut, Damascus, and Toulouse, with haunting questions lingering about Michel's fate. The film interweaves poignant 8mm footage of joyful family moments in Syria and Lebanon from 1946, juxtaposing past happiness with the enduring weight of loss and unresolved history. "A Portrait of Michel" reconstructs a true-crime mystery that intersects with contemporary politics, reflecting Gedeon’s determination to uncover the truth, while her creative approach to the sparse material encourages viewers to decode the conclusion themselves.
Tips
A Portrait of Michel: Film Screening & Exhibition
DocumentaryDocumentaryChristine Gedeon's "A Portrait of Michel": Film Screening & Exhibition
Venue
The Film-Makers' Cooperative
Address
475 Park Ave South, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10016
Dates and Times
Friday, December 12th, at 7 PM
Tickets
Tickets are available for purchase here.
Host, Artists, and Performers
Christine Gedeon, a visual artist born in Aleppo, raised in the U.S., and splitting her time between Berlin and New York, will introduce her film and exhibition and participate in a Q&A session with the audience. Her work, since the start of the war in Syria, has focused on her family history in Syria, pre-civil war, across various mediums. She has received grants and fellowships from Stiftung Kunstfonds, The Berlin Cultural Senate, The Harpo Foundation, and the Bronx Museum, New York. Her book, "Aleppo: Deconstruction | Reconstruction," was published in 2020.
The poster for the event was designed by Matt McKinzie and Christine Gedeon.
Activity Description
The event features a screening of Christine Gedeon's experimental documentary, "A Portrait of Michel" (2024, 43:57), presented in conjunction with an exhibition in the lounge. The film investigates the disappearance of Gedeon's uncle, Dr. Michel Saadé, who was abducted in Damascus in 1978 by the Hafez al-Assad regime.
Gedeon created the film after discovering a pouch belonging to Michel, which contained miscellaneous objects, documents, and scraps of paper. The documentary combines photographs of these "Objects of Evidence" with voice-over interviews with family members, vintage photographs, music, and archival 8mm family footage. Through these fragmented memories and found documents, Gedeon reconstructs his life and disappearance.
The search for answers unfolds across Beirut, Damascus, and Toulouse, with haunting questions lingering about Michel's fate. The film interweaves poignant 8mm footage of joyful family moments in Syria and Lebanon from 1946, juxtaposing past happiness with the enduring weight of loss and unresolved history. "A Portrait of Michel" reconstructs a true-crime mystery that intersects with contemporary politics, reflecting Gedeon’s determination to uncover the truth, while her creative approach to the sparse material encourages viewers to decode the conclusion themselves.
Tips
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