Aida Schlaepfer
Encyclopedia
Aida Schlaepfer is a Swiss film director and writer. Born in Baghdad
, to a Lebanese
mother and an Iraq
i father, and spending her life between her parents two countries, Schlaepfer has experienced living in a war-torn country and is aware of how this can affect an entire life. This led way to her most notable piece Gangs of Baghdad, which was entered in the Al-Jazeera International Documentary Film Festival at Doha
in Qatar
and the French Culture Centre in Cairo
, Egypt
.
Schlaepfer studied art and media in Zurich
.
Director Aida Schlaepfer she is Swiss, originally from the Middle East where she studied German for several years before eventually settling in Switzerland. Always interested in film and the arts despite having been trained as an accountant, Aida earned a degree in Art and Media Design at F+F Schule für Kunst und Mediendesign in Zurich. In 2003, she relocated to Egypt to attend the High Cinema Institute at the prestigious Academy of Arts in Cairo, earning a post-graduate diploma in Film Directing. Aida has several films to her credit, including Shadow Black and White (2001), Silent Screening inside a Woman (2002), East and West Dancing (2003), Marionette (2005), Gangs of Baghdad (2007), Homeland (2008), and an educational film created in 2006 for the German School in Cairo.
Marionette, in particular, received wide exposure and was screened at film festivals around the world, including Poland (2006), Houston (2006—Bronze Medal winner), Cairo (National Festival of Cinema; Saqeyat Al Sawee Cultural Center; French and Russian Cultural Centers, 2006; Independent Film Encounter IFE, 2007), France (2007), Berlin (2007) and Tunisia (2007). Gangs of Baghdad was featured at the 11th Annual Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Awards - ArcLight Cinemas in California, USA (2007), the Russian Cultural Center in Cairo (2008), the French Cultural Center in Cairo (2008), the Gulf Film Festival in Dubai (2008), Al-jazeerah International Documentary Film Festival in Qatar (2008), and at the Horcynus Festival in Rome (2008). International Festival of Muslim cinema Golden Minbar Kazan (2008)
Aida was on the jury in:
- The Media School Film Festival in Poland in 2005
- FIDADOC International Documentary Festival in Agadir Marocco November 2008
- International Arabic Film Festival Zurich Association President www.iaffz.com 2009
In addition, her paintings have been exhibited throughout Lebanon, Switzerland and Egypt. Aida credits her personal experience of having watched Lebanon and Iraq descend into war and anarchy with instilling within her a deep understanding of how destructive war is—both physically and psychologically. This understanding and personal experience with war motivated Aida to complete a one-year professional training in mediation in Zurich; it was also the impetus behind the creation of Gangs of Baghdad. More than anything, Aida hopes to bring global attention to the plight of the vulnerable and galvanize action for change with her films.
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, to a Lebanese
Lebanese people
The Lebanese people are a nation and ethnic group of Levantine people originating in what is today the country of Lebanon, including those who had inhabited Mount Lebanon prior to the creation of the modern Lebanese state....
mother and an Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i father, and spending her life between her parents two countries, Schlaepfer has experienced living in a war-torn country and is aware of how this can affect an entire life. This led way to her most notable piece Gangs of Baghdad, which was entered in the Al-Jazeera International Documentary Film Festival at Doha
Doha
Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
in Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
and the French Culture Centre in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
.
Schlaepfer studied art and media in Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
.
External links
Director Aida Schlaepfer she is Swiss, originally from the Middle East where she studied German for several years before eventually settling in Switzerland. Always interested in film and the arts despite having been trained as an accountant, Aida earned a degree in Art and Media Design at F+F Schule für Kunst und Mediendesign in Zurich. In 2003, she relocated to Egypt to attend the High Cinema Institute at the prestigious Academy of Arts in Cairo, earning a post-graduate diploma in Film Directing. Aida has several films to her credit, including Shadow Black and White (2001), Silent Screening inside a Woman (2002), East and West Dancing (2003), Marionette (2005), Gangs of Baghdad (2007), Homeland (2008), and an educational film created in 2006 for the German School in Cairo.
Marionette, in particular, received wide exposure and was screened at film festivals around the world, including Poland (2006), Houston (2006—Bronze Medal winner), Cairo (National Festival of Cinema; Saqeyat Al Sawee Cultural Center; French and Russian Cultural Centers, 2006; Independent Film Encounter IFE, 2007), France (2007), Berlin (2007) and Tunisia (2007). Gangs of Baghdad was featured at the 11th Annual Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Awards - ArcLight Cinemas in California, USA (2007), the Russian Cultural Center in Cairo (2008), the French Cultural Center in Cairo (2008), the Gulf Film Festival in Dubai (2008), Al-jazeerah International Documentary Film Festival in Qatar (2008), and at the Horcynus Festival in Rome (2008). International Festival of Muslim cinema Golden Minbar Kazan (2008)
Aida was on the jury in:
- The Media School Film Festival in Poland in 2005
- FIDADOC International Documentary Festival in Agadir Marocco November 2008
- International Arabic Film Festival Zurich Association President www.iaffz.com 2009
In addition, her paintings have been exhibited throughout Lebanon, Switzerland and Egypt. Aida credits her personal experience of having watched Lebanon and Iraq descend into war and anarchy with instilling within her a deep understanding of how destructive war is—both physically and psychologically. This understanding and personal experience with war motivated Aida to complete a one-year professional training in mediation in Zurich; it was also the impetus behind the creation of Gangs of Baghdad. More than anything, Aida hopes to bring global attention to the plight of the vulnerable and galvanize action for change with her films.