Sarah Bahbah Presents HER / BLUE VALENTINE

ABOUT THE EVENT:

The American Cinematheque is excited to welcome acclaimed Palestinian/Jordanian Artist and director Sarah Bahbah to the Aero Theatre in celebration of her new fine art book, Dear Love. Please join us for a book signing and an introduction to a Bahbah-curated double feature centering around the theme of love, HER and BLUE VALENTINE. Copies of Dear Love will be on sale. Program begins with Bahbah’s short film, “Untangled.”

ABOUT DEAR LOVE:

With work spanning more than ten years, Dear Love is a collection of photographs that details the artistic and emotional world of visual artist Sarah Bahbah. Many of the photographs have been globally exhibited in major art fairs and solo exhibitions, and acquired by esteemed art collectors, while others have never been shown before. Bahbah’s signature style places complicated emotions at the forefront of visually striking and often decadent tableaus. Her quasi-narrative photography series speak to those who lend their lives to love yet feel trapped between their heads and their hearts. As an independent artist, Bahbah single-handedly propelled her career, finding strength and inspiration from her personal experiences of trauma. Showcasing a unique understanding of her generation, her body of work presents a pivotal voice that champions emotional liberation and vulnerability.

ABOUT SARAH BAHBAH:

Sarah Bahbah is a Palestinian/Jordanian Artist and director born and raised in Australia, now residing in Los Angeles. Raised by immigrant parents, her culturally conservative upbringing led to a great rebellion of Art. Over the past decade Bahbah has become renowned for her signature style, giving birth to visually striking, culture-shifting stories that combine her most intimate psyche appearing as subtitles placed over cinematic stills. Bahbah’s art explores the power of vulnerability by way of giving voice to the vast spectrum of chaos and desire in imperfect relationships. She believes in embracing emotional vulnerability to break taboos and celebrate the liberation of guilt and shame. With every story Bahbah releases on Instagram, her large audience responds, leading the works she creates to go internationally viral.

Bahbah founded her creative agency Possy in 2016 and has worked with the likes of Gucci, Condé Nast, Capitol Records, Sony Music, and GQ – and was the first Arab photographer to shoot a cover for GQ Middle East. She has directed three music videos for music producer Kygo, collecting over 100 million views. Her art has been exhibited internationally at 25 art fairs and galleries including Saatchi Gallery London, Zonamaco Mexico, and Scope Art Basel, before she left to do it on her own and become an independent artist. Since, she has self-funded five international solo exhibitions which saw huge success, and to challenge traditional Art world norms, she launched a ‘pay what you can’ sliding scale initiative, making her art more accessible to the public. Bahbah has independently sold over 25,000 prints.

ABOUT THE FILMS:

HER, 2013, Dir: Spike Jonze, 126 Minutes, Park Circus, USA

A sensitive and soulful man earns a living by writing personal letters for other people. Left heartbroken after his marriage ends, Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) becomes fascinated with a new operating system which reportedly develops into an intuitive and unique entity in its own right. He starts the program and meets “Samantha” (Scarlett Johansson), whose bright voice reveals a sensitive, playful personality. Though “friends” initially, the relationship soon deepens into love.

FORMAT: 35mm

BLUE VALENTINE, 2010, Dir: Derek Cianfrance, 112 Minutes, Lionsgate, USA

Shifting back and forth over a period of several years, BLUE VALENTINE follows the spiraling courtship of Dean and Cindy (Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams), two working-class parents desperate to maintain their relationship for daughter Frankie. Equal parts tender and devastating, their story depicts a love worn away at by time but undeniably special. One of Gosling and Williams’ earliest co-star vehicles, Derek Cianfrance’s film remains an American independent favorite.

FORMAT: 35mm