Los Angeles honours Moira woman Joan Burney Keatings and her charity Cinemagic

Cinemagic Chief Executive Joan Burney Keatings, who lives in Moira, was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation on behalf of the City of Los Angeles at the screening of Abia, Cinemagic’s newest production that homes in on gender-based violence in the Middle East.
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Joan attended the event in the Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles, which was hosted by the Consulate General of Mexico and the Consulate of Ireland on International Women’s Day.

She was there to reinforce the message of the short film, which highlights the violence faced by women in Syria and Jordan.

After the screening and a discussion about gender-based violence with Joan and Gloria Cruz, Director for policy and advocacy of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), Joan was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation for Cinemagic’s efforts.

The certificate commended the film charity for its “talent and courage” shown while producing the film in Jordan alongside young Jordanians and Syrian refugees and in partnership with Generations For Peace and supported by the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs.

“It is both a surprise and an honour to receive a Certificate of Appreciation from the City of Los Angeles for the work we put into Abia, from the very home of movie making, LA,” said Joan.

“We would like to thank the Consulate General of Mexico and the Consulate of Ireland for hosting this event. Being able to show Abia here and provoke conversation around the issue of gender-based violence is a very useful event in tackling it. It is such an honour to have our Abia production screened in the Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles.

“We are so proud of our partnership with Generations For Peace, the Embassy of Ireland in Jordan and all the young people we had the pleasure of working with on this special project.

Aida Velasco, Consul for Political Affairs Mexico; Joan Burney Keatings MBE, chief executive, Cinemagic; Gloria Cruz, Director for political affairs and advocacy, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA); and Marcella Smyth, Consul General of Ireland.Aida Velasco, Consul for Political Affairs Mexico; Joan Burney Keatings MBE, chief executive, Cinemagic; Gloria Cruz, Director for political affairs and advocacy, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA); and Marcella Smyth, Consul General of Ireland.
Aida Velasco, Consul for Political Affairs Mexico; Joan Burney Keatings MBE, chief executive, Cinemagic; Gloria Cruz, Director for political affairs and advocacy, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA); and Marcella Smyth, Consul General of Ireland.
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"The goal was to work with the Jordanian and Syrian young people, aged 18-25, from concept to screen, to inspire them and develop new skills, which we hope will empower them both in practical filmmaking ability and in confidence.

“We look forward to showing Abia in many more locations across the world, provoking discussion and inspiring more and more young people, especially women to go on to achieve in all industries.”

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