Tuesday, April 1, 2008
New Directors/New Films screens A LOST MAN


In addition to the ND/NF screenings mentioned in 3/26 posting, the New York festival will also screen Lebanese-French director Danielle Arbid's latest film, "A Lost Man" (Un Homme Perdu).



Danielle Arbid doesn't exactly fall under the category of "New Director" as this film is her 2nd to direct ("In the Battlefields" was her first full-length), but we're happy to see her included nonetheless. "A Lost Man" premiered at the 2007 Cannes Festival in the Directors' Fortnight section.

Information about the NYC screening here.
A not-so-kind review of the film from Variety here.
And a video about the making of the film here.

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AMERICAN EAST Opens the Noor Film Festival in L.A.


The NOOR FILM FESTIVAL, a Los Angeles film festival featuring primarily new Iranian film, will screen AMERICAN EAST as its opening film on April 10th.

AMERICAN EAST is a story of Arab-Americans in post-9/11 Southern California and stars Tony Shalhoub, Sayed Badreya, Alfre Woodard, Anthony Azizi, Sarah Shahi, and Erick Avari. It is the first full-length feature from Egyptian director, Hisham Issawi.


More information on the film here.

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Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Tribeca Film Festival Features Arab Films

The Tribeca Film Festival proves once again its commitment to films from and about the Arab world, as seen in its recently announced 2008 line-up. Here are just a few of the noteworthy films:

1) The Aquarium (Genenet al Asmak), directed by Yousry Nasrallah, written by Nasser Abdel-Rahman and Nasrallah. (Egypt, France, Germany). An anesthesiologist anesthetist who listens to his patients mumbling under sedation and a late night talk show host (Hend Sabri) whose callers reveal secrets are the yearning principals of this intriguing new work, an ambitious examination of repression—both sexual and political—in Cairo today.

(AFF screened the Bay Area Premiere of Yousry Nasrallah's Bab El-Shams in 2005)

2) Baghdad High, directed by Ivan O'Mahoney and Laura Winter. (UK) Four classmates (Kurd, Christian, Shiite, and Sunni/Shiite) in Baghdad are given cameras to document their last year in high school, resulting in a rare firsthand view of what it’s like growing up where sectarian violence rages right outside the classroom window. An HBO Documentary Film.

3) War, Love, God & Madness, directed by Mohamed Al-Daradji. (UK, Irag, Netherlands, Palestine, Sweden) - International Premiere. It’s no surprise that making a feature film in Iraq in 2003 wasn’t a picnic. But this extraordinary account of the peril-filled ordeal that the director and crew of Ahlaam went through must be seen to be believed.

(AFF screened the US Premiere of Ahlaam in 2006)

4) Whatever Lola Wants, directed by Nabil Ayouch, written by Jane Hawksley, Nathalie Saugeon and Ayouch. (France, Morocco) Perky blonde Lola is an aspiring dancer in New York, and she’s so smitten by a hunky Egyptian that when he unexpectedly heads home, she follows him. In Cairo, she discovers an even bigger passion —for belly dancing—and vows to master the art.

(AFF screened Nabil Ayouch's last film Ali Zaoua in 2001)

There are many others, so if you're in New York during the end of April, be sure to check all the Arab and Middle Eastern films here.

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