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The Amina Profile

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 …
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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.

 This work deals with mature subject matter. Viewer discretion is advised.
Sexuality and Reproduction Social Issues All subjects
  • writer
    Sophie Deraspe
  • director
    Sophie Deraspe
  • participation
    Sandra Bagaria
    Ali Abunimah
    Fady Atallah
    Andy Carvin
    Nathalie Claude
    Benjamin J. Doherty
    Liz Henry
    Irem Köker
    Thomas J. MacMaster
    Elsa Miquel
    Rami Nakhla
    Leila Nahas
    Daniel Nassar
    Danny O'Brien
    Elizabeth Tsurkov
  • actor
    Nilay Olçay
  • editing
    Geoffrey Boulangé
    Sophie Deraspe
  • camera
    Sophie Deraspe
  • original music
    Sam Shalabi
  • visual effects
    Élise Simard
  • sound
    Frédéric Cloutier
  • producer
    Isabelle Couture
    Nathalie Cloutier
  • executive producer
    Hugo Latulippe
    Michel St-Cyr
    Guy Villeneuve
    Colette Loumède
  • associate producer
    Jean-Philippe Massicotte
  • production manager
    Jacinthe Lauzier
    Charles Mordret
  • camera assistant
    Soner Emanet
    Köksal Mataraci
  • assistant for extras
    Ezgi Güzel
    Mehmet Ali Tasar
  • set design - assistance
    Ezgi Güzel
    Mehmet Ali Tasar
  • production assistant
    Ilker Evecen
  • additional voice
    Marya Zarif
    Selin Murat
    Sophie Deraspe
  • song performer
    Ezgi Güzel
  • accompanist
    Mehmet Ali Tasar
    Ilker Evecen
  • research
    Sophie Deraspe
  • post-production manager
    Jacinthe Lauzier
    Suzanne Chouinard
  • technical support - editing
    Pierre Dupont
    Isabelle Painchaud
    Patrick Trahan
  • online editing
    Yannick Carrier
  • assistant editor
    Chloé St-Laurent Lapointe
    Jean-Simon Asselin
  • visual effects assistant
    Ian Deraspe
  • voice-over coach
    Paul Sarrazin
  • dialogue editing
    Stan Sakell
  • effects editing
    Mathieu Beaudin
  • re-recording
    Luc Boudrias
  • foley artist
    Nicolas Gagnon
  • foley assistant
    Louis Duranleau
  • foley recordist
    Daniel Bisson
  • re-recording assistant
    Léonard Vasco
  • technical assistant
    Christophe Bertrand
  • technical support
    Gabrielle Labelle-Joly
    Louis-Antoine Lassonde
    Léonard Vasco
  • original sound co-ordinator
    Marcelle Cadieux
  • head of sound services
    Martin Cazes
  • marketing manager
    François Jacques
  • marketing manager - assistance
    Theodora Kolovos
  • administrator
    Sia Koukoulas
  • production co-ordinator
    Hélène Regimbal
  • administrative assistant
    Larissa Christoforo
  • technical coordinator
    Mira Mailhot
  • line production
    Mélanie Lasnier
  • administrative director
    Marie-Michelle Emond
  • financial director
    Marie-Michelle Emond
  • administration
    Nancy Bélanger
    Nathalie Bouchard
    Claude Hallé-Morin
    Hélène Parent
    Suzanne Lapierre
  • bookkeeping
    Nancy Bélanger
    Nathalie Bouchard
    Claude Hallé-Morin
    Suzanne Lapierre
    Hélène Parent
  • production secretary
    Luce Skelling-Parent
  • production intern
    Robin Rigault
  • transcription
    Catherine Brunet
    Danilo Bulatovic
  • subtitles
    Robert Gray
  • rights clearances
    Karine Perron
    Sophie Moreau
  • legal counsel
    Remy Khouzam
  • international media relations
    Marie-Claude Lamoureux

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Ages 15 to 18

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The Amina Profile
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