The Institute of Cultural Activism International in collaboration with Good Taste Epicurean SpeakEasy, present a screening of Christine Gedeon’s short film, A Portrait of Michel (2024), followed by a Q&A with the artist/director. Good Taste Epicurean SpeakEasy is located at 438 Main Street, Franklin, NY, 13775.

A Portrait of Michel is an investigation of Gedeon’s uncle, Dr. Michel Saadé, who was abducted in Damascus in 1978 by the Hafez al-Assad regime and never seen since. After finding a pouch that belonged to Michel containing his miscellaneous objects, documents, and scraps of paper, Gedeon created this film, which combines photographs of these “Objects of Evidence” with voice-over interviews with family members, as well as vintage photographs, music, and archival 8mm family footage. Reconstructing a true-crime mystery that intersects with contemporary politics, A Portrait of Michel reflects Gedeon’s determination to get to the truth, while her creative approach to the sparse material leaves the conclusion for the viewer to decode.

Doors at 6:15 pm; screening at 6:30 pm. $10 suggested donation.

Christine Gedeon, a visual artist, was born in Aleppo, Syria, raised in the US, and lives between Berlin and New York. Since the start of the war, Gedeon’s work has focused on her family history in Syria in various mediums. Her work has been shown worldwide, with recent grants from the Berlin Cultural Senate, the Goethe Institute, and the Harpo Foundation. Her book Aleppo: Deconstruction | Reconstruction was published in 2020 by Kerber Verlag in Germany.

Watch a short 3:30 min clip here