Before Vanishing (Qabla el-Ikhtifa’), by Joude Gorani (France/Syria, 2005, 18 min, Color, DigiBETA PAL) Synopsis: In Before Vanishing, filmmaker Joude Gorani travels from the beginning to the end of the Barada river that surrounds the capital city of Damascus. Often deemed iconic of nature's wondrous beauty, we discover how the Barada river has suffered from exploitation, neglect, pollution and unplanned urbanization. The film also uncovers the transformation of the river's social life and provides an intelligent measure of the distance between ideology and reality, in contemporary Syria. Credits: Cinematography: Joude Gorani Sound: Ghanem Leprince Editing: Delphine Dumont Production: Femis Filmmaker’s Biography: After graduating from the FEMIS in 2005 with a degree in cinematography, Joude Gorani now lives and works in Syria. Before Vanishing is her graduation film, she has since worked as a cinematographer on documentaries such as Black Stone (al-Hajar al-Aswad, directed by Nidal el-Dibs), and When I Evaporated (directed by Camilla Magid).