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The Amina Profile

Sophie Deraspe
2015 | 1 h 26 min
Part love story, part international thriller, and a gripping chronicle of an unprecedented media and sociological hoax, this feature documentary travels from San Francisco and Washington to Istanbul, Tel Aviv and Beirut in a quest to reveal the true identity of the person behind the popular blog A Gay Girl in Damascus. Who is this Syrian-American revolutionary who goes by the name of Amina Arraf? Not even Montrealer Sandra Bagaria, with whom Amina is carrying an online affair, seems to know for sure. As the Syrian uprising gains momentum, the blog attracts a huge following. But it’s Amina’s subsequent abduction that sparks an international outcry to free her. Telling a detective story that involves various intelligence agencies and top-tier global media, the film tells a thoroughly modern tale of technology, love and news-as-spectacle questions the ways in which people connect in today’s virtual world.

Awards and distinctions

  • Best Work in the Lifelong Learning category
    International Educational Program Contest Japan Prize, Tokyo
    2016
  • Grand Prix Japan Prize
    International Educational Program Contest Japan Prize, Tokyo
    2016
  • Best Documentary: Society
    Prix Gémeaux, Montréal
    2016
  • Best Documentary
    LesGaiCineMad- International Lesbian Gay and Transsexual Film Festival, Madrid
    2015
  • Best Documentary
    GAZE International LGBT Film Festival, Dublin
    2015
  • Best Documentary Feature
    TLVFest- Tel-Aviv International LGBT Film Festival, Tel Aviv
    2015
  • Special Jury Prize for Canadian Feature
    Hot Docs, Toronto
    2015