Seattle Arab Film Festival: Love and Revolt

Ten compelling shorts from a remarkable group of emerging and established filmmakers

“Love & Revolt,” the 5th edition of the Seattle Arab Film Festival (SAFF), is a celebration of the rebellious spirit of Arab stories despite the pain of oppression.

To address the horrifying injustices that continue to be inflicted on Palestinians in Gaza, and the non-stop efforts to erase their narrative, SAFF will be featuring films labeled “Made in Palestine,” including An Orange from Jaffa, recipient of the Grand Prize at the 2024 Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival and The Key, which premiered at SXSW Film Festival.

The screenings will be divided in two sections – “Parallel Time” and “A Place Without A Door,” both titles inspired by the work of the late Palestinian author Walid Daqqa – separated by a brief intermission. Each film program is a similar balance of themes: From Egypt to New York, young people experiment with gender roles and their sexual desires despite gatekeepers, while in Algeria and Morocco, estranged families and angry couples are brought together by the sea. The lineup consists of a total of ten short films from the US and the Arab world, both live-action and animation, and featuring themes of love, family and exile.