Noura Kevorkian was just 17 years old when she arrived in Toronto from a small village in Lebanon. All alone, carrying a suitcase and $400, she was determined to carve her own path in Canada.
“I wanted to be respected as a human being and as a woman, to have a voice. I wanted a place where I could find meaning in my life,” Kevorkian told Now Toronto. “It was one of the happiest and bravest things I have ever done.”
Strength and independence may be the common threads throughout Kevorkian’s story which ultimately led her to become a successful documentarian, earning a number of prestigious awards—including a Peabody—for her work. But it wasn’t an easy path to get there, and her films reflect the kind of courage and determination she both embodies and admires in others. Particularly, in refugees.
As a visual storyteller, it’s no surprise that when Kevorkian reflects on her childhood in Lebanon she describes the beautiful orchards and gardens, the elders, and the kindness of her community. And even back then, she knew from a young age that she wanted to become a filmmaker.
But growing up in Lebanon was extremely challenging. Genocide, war, and violence, made for a sad and traumatic childhood. She wanted to run away in search of a safer and more independent life.
Upon her arrival to Toronto, Kevorkian finished high school, attended university for economics and finance, and landed a finance job. It paid the bills, but for someone who dreamt of creating art and telling stories, she wasn’t fulfilled. After four years on Bay Street, Kevorkian decided to pursue her dreams. She bought a camera, quit her job, and flew to Demascus, Syria, to start filming.
“Time flies by if you don’t follow your dreams,” Kevorkian said. “I took a leap of faith and a lot of hard work, and it paid off.”
For the next number of years, Kevorkian directed several films, including one titled 23 Kilometres, a story of an elderly man battling Parkison’s disease and the effects of the Lebanese Civil War on his life.
By 2009, she began filming what would become a 12-year project and her most awarded film, Batata, a documentary following the life of a woman named Maria, a Syrian refugee and potato farmer in Lebanon.
“I’m very attracted to very strong women, women like me, who are determined and want to help. So, when I met Maria, I was very attracted to her as a human being,” Kevorkian said. “I wanted to show the world this Muslim potato farmer. How many women potato farmers do we know?”
Two years into filming in Lebanon, the Syrian Revolution erupted and things took a turn.
“The film became about the biggest global humanitarian crisis that we were facing. I decided to continue to focus on Maria, the main hero of the film, to show the abilities of women, for humanity, for love, for helping others, and her journey,” she said.
Kevorkian spent the next ten years documenting Maria and the community as they faced tragedy, living and filming in refugee camps on-and-off throughout the decade. To this day, Kevorkian remains in contact with Maria and her family on a weekly basis.
After two years of editing, the film was released in 2022 and has since won a Peabody Award, received three nominations from the Canadian Screen Awards, and recently, has been submitted to be considered for Oscar nomination. Despite this, Kevorkian says it has been a challenge to get the film picked up by streaming platforms.
Following the release of the film, Kevorkian says she was completely exhausted— saying it was as though she’d just run a 12-year marathon. But she’s eager to tell more stories, and already has new projects in the works.
She’s currently working on a creative feature theatrical documentary titled Taste of Longing, which is based on a book written by author Suzanne Evans about Canadian trailblazer Ethel Mulvany. A war survivor, Mulvaney is precisely the type of person Kevorkian is drawn to featuring.
Following this production, Kevorkian will begin to work on Syrian Dancer, a drama of two teenagers falling in love in a refugee camp. The idea was sparked when Kevorkian observed teenagers’ interactions in the refugee camps back in 2010.
“Refugees are people like me, and you, and everyone else with dreams and hopes. And then in one second, their life is destroyed, they have to pack their bags and go somewhere. And then they are like living in limbo, they have no safety,” she said.
Through sharing the stories of refugees, survivors, and strong women, Kevorkian seeks to open the eyes of her audiences to life beyond their own realities.
“That’s what I get excited about, when the audiences feel that. That’s really what we want, is to have empathy and humanity for people that we don’t see or hear, but know exist.”
