June 22, 2023 | 06:30 pm at Barzakh
STAND UP FOR SOCIO-POLITICAL EXPRESSION

with Andrew Hraiz & Omar Layza

This panel will focus on the role of stand-up comedy as a tool for socio-political critique in Beirut. Speakers will explore the challenges and opportunities for using humor and satire to address sensitive topics in a highly censored society. They will also examine the ways in which digital surveillance and censorship have affected the stand-up comedy scene in Beirut.

Panelists:
Andrew Hraiz is a filmmaker and the co-founder of awk.word, a standup comedy platform in Lebanon. With over 10 years of experience in the field, he has worked as a filmmaker, assistant director, and producer. Andrew has been involved in the production of award-winning feature films and documentaries, including 'Caphernaum' by Nadine Labaki, 'Heaven Sent' by Wissam Charaf, and 'Panoptic' by Rana Eid. He has also gained experience in filming and directing live events and concerts. 
Andrew pursued a degree in political science at the University of Montreal and studied filmmaking at Saint Joseph University (IESAV) in Lebanon. His extensive on-set and live experience led him to co-found awk.word in 2018, where he serves as the head of video production, overseeing the creation of captivating content for the standup comedy platform. 

Omar Layza is a screenwriter, filmmaker, and stand-up comedian based in Beirut, Lebanon. 
His work as a writer and video editor ranges from political satire, and drama fiction, as well as content for children for web and television on shows such as "M’aakhar bel leil", "al Sakhira masa’an", “mnfz” and his 7-season collaboration on "Sesame Street - Ahlan Simsim".