"Syrian Dessert and a Movie" is presented in conjunction with the Scholars at Risk (SAR) United States 2d General Assembly, which is convening in Pittsburgh Oct. 16 & 17, 2024. This event is free and open to the public.

Plot: As winter hits hard in Syria, all Sana wants is to cook a hot meal for her son. When a seemingly simple errand – a search for gas – goes awry, Sana is dragged deeper into the war, where people lose their shadows.

About: The Day I Lost My Shadow premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2018 and won the Lion of the Future Award for Best Debut Film. It made history for being the first Syrian fiction film to win in Venice, and was screened at many festivals including TIFF, BFI London, Busan and IFFR. The film has garnered many other awards, including the World Fiction Special Jury Prize for Best Direction at the LA Film Festival (2018), Official Selection at the Valencia Film Festival (2019), Best Feature Fiction Award at the Karama Human Rights Film Festival (2018), Best Feature at the Vancouver International Women in Film Festival (2019), and Best Film at the Joburg Film Festival (2018).

Co-sponsorship and support for this event have been provided by The Humanities Scholars Program Diane and Bradford Smith Family Fund, The Humanities Center, The Sustainability Initiative, The Center for Black European Studies and the Atlantic, the Artists and Scholars at Risk Program, and the University of Pittsburgh's Global Studies Center.