AJYAL: A Programme to Support Arts Education | Joint Programme with Saint-Joseph University of Beirut (USJ): Postgraduate Degrees in Theatre and Film Studies

Academic Year | 2024-2025

Al-Monther Al-Damani | Masters in Theater, Institute for Theater, Audiovisual and Cinematic Studies, Saint Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon

Al-Munthir Al-Damani is a writer, dramaturge, and theater director with a BA in Theater Studies from the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Damascus. His graduate research explored “Manifestations of Death in the Mythological Character (Caligula - Roberto Zucco as a Model),” examining the relationship between death and freedom within characters defined by their demise. He continued this research by producing theatrical performances that discuss this duality, with his latest performance, “Touq,” staged in Beirut in 2023. Al-Munthir also worked as a dramaturge for the dance performance “There” in Beirut in 2023. In addition to his theatrical work, he is involved in journalism and art criticism, having published in various newspapers, magazines, and websites.

Ghaith Hasan | Second Year Masters in Theater, Institute for Theater, Audiovisual and Cinematic Studies, Saint Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon

Ghaith Hassan is a second-year MA student in Theater at Saint Joseph University in Beirut, holding a BA in Theater Studies from the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts. He has participated in specialized workshops in writing, theater directing, and interactive theater. Since 2020, Ghaith has worked as an interactive theater trainer, presenting performances in displaced communities that address sensitive social issues. In 2021, he founded the “Mauj Theater Laboratory” and presented his first performance, “Who is the Inspector?” (Man Il Moufattich?)- an adaptation of Nikolai Gogol's "The Inspector General"- at the Tartous National Theater. Ghaith is currently focused on developing his knowledge and skills as a director, researcher, and dramaturge, aspiring to become more effective in his artistic environment.

Selection Committee: Marie Elias, Sawsan Bou Khaled, Yara Nashawati,

Jury statement

This is the second edition of AJYAL’s joint framework with Saint-Joseph University of Beirut (USJ), which provides a model for addressing the challenges of art education in the Syrian context specifically, and in the Arab world more generally, and acts as an example for strengthening cooperation between cultural and educational institutions. There were many important applications, but given the general and abstract answers and content of most of them, the jury was compelled to review the applications several times over and even conduct interviews with some of the applicants.
The jury was unable to select any applications for film studies because the language requirements in French, which are a basic prerequisite for studying the subject, only allowed selection in the theatre category. The jury would like to emphasize at this point that this particular circumstance does not diminish the value of the applications and the level of the applicants and their performances, and it hopes that those who were not selected this year will continue to apply for future editions.