Online Film Premieres

The Levantine Foundation is proud to announce the online premieres of two films, relating to its preservation work with manuscripts dating from the fifth century AD held at the monastery Deir al-Surian in Egypt’s Wadi el Natrun. Made possible by a British Council grant, the films’ aim is to extend our role in advocacy and education for both local and world heritage.

1. Preserving World Memory: The Levantine Foundation & Deir al-Surian

This is a 20-minute documentary giving an overview of the collection for future scholars and students in the related fields of cultural history, Near Eastern Studies, anthropology, religious studies, medieval history, and the history of the book as both textual and material artefact. It covers the history of the Deir al-Surian Collection, details the Foundation’s role in its preservation as well as scholarly commentary on the different language collections: Coptic, Arabic, Syriac and Ethiopic,

2. The Wonders of Writing: The Story of How Books were Made

Created with 9–11-year-olds in mind, this film is intended as a resource for teachers in primary schools, both in Egypt and further afield, and for those running educational programmes in museums and libraries. The film aims to raise awareness of the historical importance of writing and shows the making of a simple note-book, using Coptic binding techniques: the basis of book making since the first century AD.

The films will be screened via Zoom, following an introduction by the Foundation’s Chief Executive, Elizabeth Sobczynski, and the screenings will be followed by a panel discussion.

Should you have any queries or require additional information regarding the launch event, please email our Project Manager, John J Johnston, at john.j.johnston01@btopenworld.com

It would help the Levantine Foundation enormously, if you could register for this event by stating not only your name and email address, but also your affiliation and position.

The Levantine Foundation’s project “Preserving Egyptian Coptic Heritage through conservation, scholarship and educational dissemination’ is funded by the British Council’s Cultural Protection Fund, in partnership with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

The Levantine Foundation is a non-political charity, registered in England 4506398, registered charity number 1094436, and in The Arab Republic of Egypt under Law No 84 (2002), with the aim of preserving Egyptian and Near Eastern cultural heritage on paper and related materials and disseminating this knowledge through training and education.