The Little Match Girl | An Experimental Cine-Concert

Film: The Little Match Girl

Music: Performed by Joseph Junior Sfeir, Patrik Abi Abdallah and Renata Sabella of Frequent Defect

THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL a cinè-concert co produced by Alserkal and Metroplis in collaboration with Cinema Akil and Irtijal, the oldest music festival of Beirut, this cine-concert will feature three Lebanese musicians, bringing together the worlds of regional music and international film in a fusion of experimentation and creativity making this an immersive interpretive experience for our audiences. The members of the band will work on interpreting the films through a full- length live set against and in sync with the scenes from the films. THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL directed by Jean Renoir, a film that has influenced the world of innovation, music and creation since it was first released to the world is a story of a frozen girl who tries to sell matches during Christmas and dreams about a toy store. The film is based on the 1845 short story of the same name by Hans Christian Anderson.

THE FILM

THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL

Directed by: Jean Renoir

France |1928 | 40 min |Rated G

The Little Match Girl (La petite marchande d'allumettes) is a 1928 French drama featurette film directed by Jean Renoir and starring Catherine Hessling based on the 1845 short story of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen.

One Christmas time, Karen, a young match seller, falls into a deep sleep and starts to dream. Karen finds herself in a well stocked toyshop and is surprised when all the toys around her suddenly come to life. A regiment of wooden soldiers become animated and one of them, a handsome young officer, invites Karen to share a dance with him.

THE MUSICIANS

PATRIK ABI ABDALLAH: Patrik Abi Abdallah, a Lebanese based multidisciplinary artist with works in the form of music, audio and visual art as well as art installations. Patrik has collaborated and performed with artists like Jawad Nawfal(MUNMA), George Tabatadze(TryHarder), Jad Taleb, Frida, Felix Fivaz, Florian Boliger among others. Debuting with Flum Project as a drummer, co-composer & co-producer, in 2016 he co- founded the Beirut based collective Frequent Defect along side Junior Sfeir(june as) with Renata joining shortly after, this led to the launch of his solo project H.W.G.A. (He Who Goes Anywhere). Patrik is currently a resident artist at Frequent Defect as well as a core member of the crew organizing a variety of art oriented events in beirut he is also a session drummer and percussionist actively working with local artists.

RENATA SABELLA: Renata Sabella’s sound was shaped throughout her years of beat-based explorations, using the decks and drum machines in her deconstruct/reconstruct approach. Her art draws vision and inspiration from the murkier edges of beat processions, and takes shape as a manifestation of dissent through her ever evolving modus operandi. During her stint in London, she branched out through residencies within the local scene alongside launching her own series under “The Calling” banner. She then returned to Beirut in 2016 and joined the Frequent Defect team with whom she shares a similar drive to address collective issues through multidisciplinary art forms. Renata is consistently endeavoring as an artist, curator and co-director of Frequent Defect while feeding into the collective force seeking to confront conditioning and the underlying taboo subjects through unapologetic radical art.

JOSEPH JUNIOR SFEIR: Joseph Junior Sfeir is a Beirut based synthesist and DJ. Drawing on a strong connection between industry and vitality, june is steadily developing a peculiar approach to both his live and DJ sets, with a distinctive gritty flow and technique to pair, consistently weaving tales of a sort of resolute rapture. With a keen ear for the eerie and uncanny, june’s diggings have led into cavernous mixes and recordings, breaking patterned motion and eliciting a heightened sense of frequency. His interest in sound synthesis and academic background have also led to endeavors in composing for film and theater. He co-founded Frequent Defect in 2016 alongside Patrik Abi Abdallah (h.w.g.a.), with Renata Sabella joining shortly after - and took on the role of creative director and curator among the many other mantles the collective shares. He has been an integral element in the latest resurgence in the local community, and works regularly alongside Jad Atoui, Try Harder and NÂR, as well as having performed live with the likes of the legendary Yo-yo Ma and renowned artists like Sharif Sehnaoui, Jawad Nawfal (Munma) and Ziad Moukarzel among others.

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About Cinema Akil Cinema Akil is the UAE’s first and only independent cinema platform that brings quality films from across the world to the audiences in the UAE. Showcasing directors and filmmakers across decades, Cinema Akil aims to create awareness and interest in film and the cinematic arts while amplifying the exposure of international films to a regional audience. Launched in 2014 as a nomadic cinema, Cinema Akil has held over 75 pop-up cinemas attracting over 85,000 attendees in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah In 2022, Cinema Akil also held its first-ever regional pop-up in Doha during the World Cup followed by a popup in Al Ula, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2023. In September 2018, Cinema Akil opened its first permanent location in Al Quoz, Dubai making its flagship home the GCC’s first arthouse cinema which has been brought to you in partnership with Alserkal. In November 2023, Cinema Akil in 25hours Hotel Dubai opened its purpose-built space as a seasonal outdoor outpost acting as a public cinema and multipurpose venue in Dubai One Central. The independent cinema has grown to launch the UAE’s first-ever Arab Cinema Week in 2022 to celebrate Arab Cinema and has also hosted global film festivals to bring innovative cinematic artworks from the lands of Hong Kong and Italy here in the GCC region. Cinema Akil is a member of the Network of Arab Alternative Screens (NAAS) which includes members from the MENA region such as Metropolis in Beirut, Zawya in Cairo and Cinematheque du Tangier in Morocco. www.cinemaakil.com // Facebook - Cinema Akil // Instagram - @CinemaAkil #followusintothedark #cinemaakil #alserkalavenue

About Irtijal Irtijal is organized by MILL, a non-profit association founded in 2000 by musicians Mazen Kerbaj and Sharif Sehnaoui, with the intent of promoting contemporary and experimental practices in music, and assisting projects that do not fit within the Lebanese mainstream, yet still present undeniable artistic value. The 20th century has witnessed a strong worldwide spread of new and alternative musical styles, which in turn constitute an important aspect of the historical evolution of music as an art form. MILL was created to boost and support these practices in Lebanon: free improvisation, free jazz, contemporary classical music, post-rock, experimental electronic music, sound-art as well as many other attempts to explore new and uncharted territories in sound. In the same manner, and thanks to the importance of Beirut on the cultural map of the Arab world, we strive to extend these ideas to neighboring Arab countries. With a keen eye on these practices, Irtijal is a yearly meeting that focuses on presenting works by both local and foreign artists, all the while encouraging interaction between them. The festival does not confine itself to any specific style or genre of music, but rather tries to advocate an experimental and innovative approach to each and every genre it showcases. Irtijal has achieved considerable growth during its 15 years of existence, going from a one-day festival in 2001 to 4-6 days since 2003; the number of concerts has grown from 4 to 20, while that of international guest artists from 5 to 30. Over the past 15 years Irtijal has unquestionably inscribed itself as the main annual event for new and innovative music in the Lebanese artistic scene, and is rightly considered as the largest structure of its kind in the Arab world. https://irtijal.org/ https://www.facebook.com/Irtij... https://www.instagram.com/irti... https://twitter.com/irtijal https://vimeo.com/irtijal

About Metropolis Art Cinema The Metropolis Art Cinema Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting independent cinema in Lebanon and the MENA region. It was established in 2006 at a time where independent cinema was only very rarely making it to the Lebanese commercial screens. At the core of Metropolis’ mission is the belief that cinema has the power to create communal spaces of shared experiences that allow discussions and new discoveries. The work of the association is divided into four pillars: film programming, young audience activities, industry trainings and film heritage preservation. Through these four axes, Metropolis aims to provide greater accessibility to alternative films locally and regionally. Metropolis’ 15 years of success have been made possible through strong partnerships and long-term collaborations with key players in the Lebanese film industry as well as local, regional and international cultural institutions and film festivals. https://www.metropoliscinema.n... https://www.facebook.com/Metro... https://twitter.com/metropolis... https://www.instagram.com/metr... https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq5-Q2c_kim9NopTX_Y6wkQ

About Frequent Defect Frequent Defect is a collective of sound and visual artists mining the fringes of art and club experience. Since 2016, Frequent Defect has been growing as a multifaceted platform, curating and exploring various mediums on which local and international artists can freely convey and experiment with their work. Since 2017, the collective had started organizing events in their own space in the industrial area of Mkalles, outer Beirut, after a year’s residency Yukunkun club. For the first couple of years, the warehouse was running as a clandestine club and slowly transformed into what we would call a modular space. In 2019, Mkalles Warehouse expanded to become a home for the collective, where living and multi-functional workspaces were put together to facilitate artistic production, curate residencies and capacitate the collective on a daily basis, thus promoting a new creative flow and opening the way to further collaborations among the artists. Some of the prominent collaborations that have been made throughout the years were with figures like YoYo Ma, entities such as Irtijal Experimental Festival, Zoukak Theater Company, Exist festival, labels such as Modular mind, Morphine records, Syrphe and VV-VA, and Barakunan publication. All the efforts put forth by this community have since been gaining ground and materializing in various projects, covering a large spectrum of mediums. Frequent Defect has gained an even more tenacious spirit throughout the last few years of distress which solidified the innate motivation to grow with each other by defying any circumstance. Frequent Defect aims at providing a safe area where vivid and radical artistic expressions, ideas and performances are nurtured to further challenge a constant stream of control, evolving towards an organized autonomy allowing artists to materialize their visions and showcase their art. https://soundcloud.com/frequentdefect

8-10PM | 17 December