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Tell Me A Story
Movie-goers looking for interesting or new cinema experiences should be sure to check out the upcoming Arab Film Festival
Arabian culture is steeped in tradition and history, but as is the case with any culture, modern times have seen it grow in many different ways. Despite the hardships of present day events in and around the Middle East, Arab society flourishes, never more so than in its film culture. Whether you share a common identity, or simply want to indulge your curiosity for interesting films with a different point of view, then the 6th Arab Film Festival may be the ticket for you.
Festival Co-Director Mouna Zaylah paints us a picture of a festival packed with myriad Arab stories, from the fantastical to the beautifully simplistic. "From Morocco via Beruit, on the way through Kuwait, passing through Palestine and then across the Pacific to Australia, we've selected some of the best films to screen this year to Australian audiences," she enthuses.
And indeed, with almost twenty movies to choose from, festival goers are treated to a program that runs the gamut of variety, whilst exploring a common theme. "We look forward to sharing these stories with our audiences," says Zaylah. "They represent the complexity of Arab communities, their cultures, experiences and aspirations."
This year's Arab Film Festival premieres a world first in Arab animated shorts, as well as a series of features, short films, and documentaries. This four day event opens in Sydney on July 1 and then travels to Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and Brisbane.
Opening the Sydney festival is director Ali Mostafa's City of Life (pictured), a tale of three lives being mixed into the ever growing city of Dubai. Mostafa will be present for the screening of his film. The following day audiences can catch the documentary 12 Angry Lebanese, focusing on a group of inmates working together to present an adaptation of the play 12 Angry Men.
An exciting event at the Sydney festival is a line-up of not-to-be-missed Arab-Australian short films on June 3, which will be followed by the screening of Kick Off, a heartfelt exploration of Iraq's marginalised citizenry, and the power of competition and spectatorship to bring people together. The evening closes with Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story, a brave feature film about the relationship between men and women in Cairo, and the wider topic of women's issues in Arab communities.
The final day of festivities proves to be a whole event in itself and includes the world premiere of Arabian Nights Animation Collection, the first look at purely Arabian animation projects. This collection is complimented by Home Made Arab Films, a set of personal tales shot between 1950 and 1980, and screened alongside a live performance by acclaimed local musician Mohamed Youssef.
The festival is set to close with The Time That Remains, which depicts Palestine since 1948 and the accumulated experiences of acclaimed filmmaker Elia Suleiman, as well as his mother and father.
The Arab Film Festival opens in Parramatta's Riverside Theatre on July 1 and will then travel to Melbourne (July 9-11), Canberra (July 15-18), Adelaide (July 24-25) and Brisbane (July 30-31). For more information, visit the festival website.