Remembering Bianca Beyrouti

There will be a Celebration of Life for Bianca on January 26, 2025, at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco. RSVP information coming soon.

BGDM is currently collecting pictures or memories of Bianca from members on our online community, Mighty Networks for the celebration and a remembrance post.

From Dawn Valadez —

Bianca Beyrouti was a dear friend of mine. One of our Mafioas. I have been in shock for the past couple of weeks. I have had a difficult time forming words to describe my grief. Her death was a total shock to me and our community. She was too young!

In the nearly 10 years that I've known Bianca, I have known her to be a fiercely independent filmmaker, an advocate for her fellow filmmakers and for people struggling in the world. She was a hard-working, generous, and kind soul. She was always glad to see people, make new friends, and speak up for the more vulnerable among us.

We were founding members of the Bay Area Media Maker Summit (BAMMS), and she was recently hired to manage that program. She was a BGDM mmber, board member of the Arab Film and Media Institute, a member of Filmworkers for Palestine, an incredible producer and crew member, and a determined advocate for queer and trans people, women, SWANA artists, and animals. We recently served on the review panel for a new fund for narrative short films in the Bay Area at the Berkeley Film Foundation. Her notes were strong and still reverberate in my mind.

She was starting a new project on the cinematic history of Arab people and the intersection with her love of filmmaking and her family's journey. She had many short stories and films she hoped to make.

Devastated is an understatement.

I know many Mafiosxs and others in the media community knew her and loved her. She was quick to befriend like-minded people and always available to lend a hand. She was a confidant on my current documentary, and a person I trusted my fears and hopes with. Her spark is still fresh in my mind.

If you want to help her family, her family has a Remembering Bianca Beyrouti GoFundMe campaign to help her mother with funeral and end-of-life costs. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the campaign so far.