who am i?
My name is Flora Woudstra Hablé.1 I am a Brussels-based aspiring writer & filmmaker. Before coming to Brussels, I studied film history, cultural analysis and journalism.
I was born in 1994 in Rijswijk ZH, The Netherlands. I grew up around The Hague until 2006, when we moved to rural Fryslân. I moved back to The Hague in 2013, then to Leiden in 2014 and to Amsterdam in 2017. I came to Brussels in 2021 to pursue my long-held wish to attend a film school.
Regrettably, I spend more time reading newspapers and Wikipedia articles than I do reading books, but I’ve slowly been improving. I’m also learning French. My other big hobby is plants, because I find it fascinating to see something grow.
I used to dream of going to America to make it big as a [insert creative occupation], but lately I’ve been preferring to keep myself rooted.
what do i write about?
That’s to become clear as this blog goes on. My range of interests is mostly in the areas of culture, history, ecology and politics. I’m also a big fan of cinema. In my daily life, I’m coordinator/programmer at a small art-house cinema nestled inside a film school.
Lebanon is on my mind a lot. I’ve traveled there a number of times and found it very welcoming. I descend from a Maronite family in the Chouf on my mother’s side. My proficiency in Arabic is very limited, although I did take a basic summer course in Beirut.
I worked as a reporter from 2017 to 2019. There are traces of this journalistic background everywhere in my writing, but I’d say the biggest legacy of journalism on my person has been to gain the audacity to talk to people.
why is there no moon in the city?
Because I can’t see it due to light pollution. Because I don’t notice it as my nights are too busy. Because it simply refuses to show itself in a place so artificial.
The city is a prison encapsulating humans looking for connectivity and high brow excitement. Cities envelop and consume the earth. They liberate us as much as they oppress us. I don’t mind being a city person. At this point, it’s in my blood. I just wish I could see the moon more often.
I use both my parents’ surnames in order to differentiate myself from an artist who uses my same name and surname. Hablé is my mother’s last name. It is spelled حبلي (7ebli) in Lebanese Arabic.
