Schedule

Tuesday, November 15, 2022
7:30 p.m. Film Screening 

Asia Society Texas is thrilled to host the Houston Cinema Arts Festival screening of the inspiring, electrifying rock doc Sirens. HCAF 2022 features a wide variety of curated feature films with a focus on the diverse cultural communities of Houston, Texas.

Sirens
United States, Lebanon, 2022, 78 minutes
Director: Rita Baghdadi 

Sirens intimately chronicles the lives and music of Slave to Sirens, a band made up of five young metalheads whose burgeoning fame is set against the backdrop of the Lebanese revolution. Its members wrestle with friendship, sexuality, and destruction as their music serves as a refuge to Beirut’s youth culture.

At the band’s core are its two founding members, Lilas Mayassi and Shery Bechara, whose complicated relationship and subsequent tense fallout threatens the very fabric of the band. An even greater looming threat, however, is Lebanon’s criminalization of homosexuality, as well as the wholly devastating effects of their country’s political regime.

Despite their obvious challenges, the members of Slave to Sirens persist in trying to create a revolution of their own: living their truth.

About Houston Cinema Arts Festival

The 14th annual Houston Cinema Arts Festival takes place from November 10th through 17th, virtually and in person, at venues across Houston. HCAF 2022 will feature a wide variety of curated feature films with a focus on the diverse cultural community of Houston, Texas. HCAF 2022 will also see the return of CineSpace, an annual short film competition with NASA, as well as the third annual regional short film competition, Borders | No Borders.  https://www.cinemahtx.org/

Performing Arts and Culture programs at Asia Society Texas are presented by Syamal and Susmita Poddar. Major support comes from Nancy C. Allen, Chinhui Juhn and Eddie Allen, the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance, Houston Endowment, and The Brown Foundation Inc. Generous funding also provided by AARP, The Anchorage Foundation of Texas, The Clayton Fund, The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts, and the Wortham Foundation. Additional support provided by the Texas Commission on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, United Airlines, and through contributions from the Friends of Asia Society, a dedicated group of individuals and organizations committed to bringing exceptional programming and exhibitions to Asia Society Texas.

Performing Arts and Culture Presenting Sponsors

Syamal and Susmita Poddar

Official Airline Sponsor

Program Sponsors

Presenting Partners

About Asia Society Texas

Asia Society Texas believes in the strength and beauty of diverse perspectives and people. As an educational institution, we advance cultural exchange by celebrating the vibrant diversity of Asia, inspiring empathy, and fostering a better understanding of our interconnected world. Spanning the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, our programming is rooted in the educational and cultural development of our community — trusting in the power of art, dialogue, and ideas to combat bias and build a more inclusive society.