Stranger than Fiction

Stranger than Fiction (بدا الواقع مختلفاً) is a research and screening series programmed by Nour Ouayda on the ways observational, non-fictional images and sounds produce speculative fiction to relate experiences of time and space that are constantly unsettled by catastrophes and major transformations. Taking her own practice as a starting point, she calls on works by others that explore this same gesture across various times and territories. Previous iterations of the program took place in Montreal, Beirut, Brussels, and Stockholm and included films by Panos Aprahamian, Giorgio Bassil, Miryam Charles, Helena Girón & Samuel M. Delgado, Reeda Fneiche, Cameron A. Granger, Jorge Jácome, Lina Selander & Oscar Mangione, Lara Tabet, and Riar Rizaldi.

Details about each program below. Contact Nour Ouayda at nourouayda@hotmail.com if interested in hosting an iteration of this series.

ZITA FOLKETS BIO | STOCKHOLM
13/09/2025

Program (73′) 

The Eye Is the First Circle (2024) by Lina Selander & Oscar Mangione
A Hundred-Headed Dragon (2025) by Helena Girón & Samuel M. Delgado
Flores (2017) by Jorge Jácome
Tellurian Drama (2020) by Riar Rizaldi

This iteration of the program entitled Stranger than Fiction: Out of Place, Out of Time was presented as part of Houred Time, a programme curated by anorak for September Sessions 2025, Stockholm. The screening was followed by a conversation between Nour Ouayda and anorak (Johanna Markert and Lukas Ludwig) at cues bar.

More information here.

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METROPOLIS CINEMA | BEIRUT
18/01/2025

Program (51′)

Undergrowth (2023) by Reeda Fneiche
Resilience Overflow (2023) by Lara Tabet
Fly, Fly Sadness (2015) by Miryam Charles
Before I let Go (2023) by Cameron A. Granger

This program was presented within the framework of Ecrans du Réel / Doc Screens – Beirut Documentary Encounters 2025.

More information here.

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CINEMA GALERIES | BRUXELLES
10/09/2024

Program (56′)

Undergrowth (2023) by Reeda Fneiche
Resilience Overflow (2023) by Lara Tabet
Fly, Fly Sadness (2015) by Miryam Charles
The Secret Garden (2023) by Nour Ouayda

Followed by a discussion between Nour Ouayda (Filmmaker & Film Programmer) and Carine Doumit (Co-Writer & Editor).

More information here.

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BEIT AAM CINE CLUB | BEIRUT
12/03/2024

Program (55′)
Not All Things That Shine Are Beautiful (2022) by Nour Ouayda
Resilience Overflow (2023) by Lara Tabet
The Secret Garden (2023) by Nour Ouayda
Odorless Blue Flowers Awake Prematurely (2021) by Panos Aprahamian

Followed by a discussion between Nour Ouayda (Filmmaker & Film Programmer), Rami el Sabbagh (Filmmaker & Musician) and Yazan el-Saadi (Writer & Researcher) on science-fiction filmmaking and cinema’s ability to conjure ghosts.

More information here.

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LA LUMIÈRE COLLECTIVE | MONTRÉAL
05/12/2023

In the framework of the VISIONS screening series in collaboration with Hors Champ.

Program I (50′)
I was grateful the wind tore out my camera’s microphone (2020) by Nour Ouayda
Odorless Blue Flowers Awake Prematurely(2021) by Panos Aprahamian
Towards the Sun (2019) by Nour Ouayda
Not All Things That Shine Are Beautiful(2022) by Nour Ouayda
Archive of the Future (2023) by Giorgio Bassil

Program II (58′)
Every Morning (2022) by Nour Ouayda
Before I let Go (2022) by Cameron A. Granger
Fly, Fly Sadness (2015) by Miryam Charles
The Secret Garden (2023) by Nour Ouayda

In the presence of the filmmaker and programmer of the series Nour Ouayda.

More information here.

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