Arab Movies at SIFF: Captains of Zaatari
2021-04-08 - 2021-04-18 | WA
Captains of Zaatari
Egypt | 2021 | 75 minutes | Ali El Arabi
Opens April 8, 2021
SIFF Channel
A rousing, heartfelt tale about two soccer-obsessed Syrian friends living in Jordan’s Zaatari Refugee Camp who, upon learning that a famed Qatari sports academy is visiting the camp, may have finally found their ticket to a bigger, brighter future.

Arab Movies at SIFF: The Unknown Saint
2021-04-08 - 2021-04-18
The Unknown Saint
Morocco | 2019 | 100 minutes | Alaa Eddine Aljem
Opens April 8, 2021
SIFF Channel
An absurdist, droll, entertaining fable about a criminal who returns to the hill where he stashed his stolen goods, only to find that a well-guarded shrine to a “missing saint” has been built over it.

Arab Movies at SIFF: Too Far Away
2021-04-08 - 2021-04-18
Too Far Away
Germany | 2019 | 89 minutes | Sarah Winkenstette
Opens April 8, 2021
SIFF Channel
A mutual love of soccer provides the basis for a blossoming friendship between a bullied German boy, struggling to fit into a new school after his family’s relocation, and a young Syrian refugee in desperate need of family. Ages 8+

Arab Films at SIFF: Al-Sit
2021-04-08 - 2021-04-18
Sudan | 2020 | 20 min. | Suzannah Mirghani

Opens April 8, 2021

In a cotton-farming village in Sudan, 15-year-old Nafisa has a crush on Babiker, but her parents have arranged her marriage to a young Sudanese businessman living abroad and her matriarchal grandmother Al-Sit has her own plans.

Director:Suzannah Mirghani
Principal Cast:Mihad Murtada, Rabiha Mohammed Mahmoud, Mohammed Magdi, Haram Bashir, Alsir Mahjoub
Country:Sudan, Qatar
Year:2020
Running Time:20 min.
Producer:Suzannah Mirghani, Eiman Mirghani
Screenplay:Suzannah Mirghani
Cinematographers:Khalid Awad
Editors:Kattab Abdelrahim, Suzannah Mirghani
Language:Arabic
Has Subtitles:Yes

Arab Films at SIFF: 200 Meters
2021-04-08 - 2021-04-18
Palestine | 2020 | 96 minutes | Ameen Nayfeh

Opens April 8, 2021

Upon learning his son has had an accident, a desperate Palestinian construction worker at wit’s end attempts to smuggle himself past the separation wall between Israel and the West Bank to see him.
*Restricted to audiences in WA state.

Arab Films at SIFF: The Big Hit
2021-04-08 - 2021-04-18
Perhaps best known for Welcome to the Sticks, the highest-grossing film of all time in France, Kad Merad [French-Algerian] stars as Etienne, a prickly out-of-work actor who makes ends meet by leading exercises at corporate retreats and running a theater workshop in a prison. In his work at the prison, he is struck by the rhythm of pause and postponement that defines the prisoners’ lives, prompting him to stage a production of Samuel Beckett’s play “Waiting for Godot.” It’s more than anyone has asked of these men before, and perhaps more than anyone has thought them capable of. But able to recognize themselves in the characters and their circumstances, the prisoners rise to the occasion and the production is a great success, for them and Etienne, too. When they are invited to take the play on the road—all the way to the Odéon Theater in Paris—their world expands, transforming the way they see themselves and their future. The story is inspired by remarkable true events in Sweden in 1985, when Swedish actor Jan Jönson staged a public performance of “Waiting for Godot” with a group of inmates from a high-security prison in the historic Gothenburg City Theatre. Upon hearing of the events that transpired, Samuel Beckett himself observed, “That’s the best thing that happened to this play since I wrote it!”
— Justine Barda
Director Biography
Emmanuel Courcol graduated the l’École Nationale des Arts et Techniques du Théâtre in 1984 as a trained actor. He acted in about 30 plays and as many movies but gradually moved to writing, working with Philippe Lioret on four screenplays. After Ceasefire (2017), The Big Hit (2020) is his second feature film.

Arab Films at SIFF: The Perfect Candidate
2021-04-08 - 2021-04-18
Saudi Arabia | 2019 | 105 minutes | Haifaa Al-Mansour

Opens April 8, 2021

Dr. Maryam is an overworked medic at an underserved Saudi clinic. In order to improve safety measures and working conditions, she decides to run for a seat on the municipal council despite the rampant misogyny within her community.

Arab Films at SIFF: The Translator
2021-04-08 - 2021-04-18
Syria | 2020 | 105 minutes | Rana Kazkaz, Anas Khalaf

Opens April 8, 2021

A riveting thriller about an Arabic-English translator for the 2000 Olympics in Australia, forced into exile after a fateful mistranslation, who must return to Syria after his activist brother goes missing during the Arab Spring.

Cadence: Video Poetry Festival 2021 Housed But Never Homed: Collection of Movie Shorts
2021-04-16
There are names for homes that are not on any maps. The complexity of calling a place home while struggling to find acceptance there permeates these video poems. As many of us are spending more time where we dwell than ever before, the gratitude we might feel for our home is colored by a feeling of entrapment. At the same time, the comfort, safety, and services of shelter are by no means guaranteed. This screening is for the displaced, the vulnerable, and the shut-ins crawling out of their skin; for those whose struggle to define and redefine a concept of home for themselves is continual.
A Barcode Scanner
Shot on location at the Chamishko IDP Camp in Northern Iraq, “A Barcode Scanner” reflects the harsh day-to-day realities of the Êzîdîs who survived the Islamic State’s genocidal campaign against them.

With Whom Shall We Live?
“With Whom Shall We Live?” illustrates the dangers of history continuing to repeat itself. Using the parallel struggles of Black Americans and Asian Americans, this visual poem anchors the two communities together on common ground.

Homeless
17 homeless, WAYout poets from the streets of Freetown, Sierra Leone came together to write and produce this film.

Barbed Wire Land
Archival video provides the visuals for this video meditation on the invention of barbed wire.

plus more . . .

Available for streaming on April 16.

Movie: Mayor via Mideast Focus Ministry
2021-05-07 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
MAYOR
MAYOR follows Musa Hadid, the Christian mayor of Ramallah, during his second term in office. His immediate goals: repave the sidewalks, attract more tourism, and plan the city’s Christmas celebrations. His ultimate mission: to end the occupation of Palestine. Rich with detailed observation and humor, MAYOR offers a portrait of dignity amidst the madness and absurdity of endless occupation while posing a question: how do you run a city when you don’t have a country?
Learn more here.
with guest speaker: TBA
Contact info@saintmarks.org to be added to the Mideast Focus Ministry mailing list, or use this form. (Check the box marked “Mideast Focus.”)

Brilliant Mind: A Live & Interactive Digital Experience
2021-05-16 19:00 - 21:00
Brilliant Mind: A Live & Interactive Digital Experience
10 p.m. EDT / 7 p.m. PDT Sunday, May 16
FREE with RSVP; Limited spots available, so act fast and claim your spot!
Join AANM for an exclusive showing of the premiere of Brilliant Mind. Written by AANM artist-in-residence Denmo Ibrahim, Brilliant Mind is an innovative and interactive virtual theatre experience.
When Dina and Yusef learn of their estranged father’s death, they step in and bury a man they never knew. Will brother and sister face their truths once family secrets come to light? Inspired by true stories of first-generation Americans, Brilliant Mind takes a hard look at generational trauma, the struggle between self and family, and the weight of carrying a legacy. It’s an excavation of the politics of gender in immigrant communities and the challenges ever present between tradition and culture. This is a story of hope, of what gets lost in translation, and of what happens when we dare to love unconditionally.
In this extraordinary live and interactive digital experience, explore the family ties that bind and break us, the healing that comes through death, and the acceptance that our parents do the best they can—the rest is up to us.
Co-produced by Marin Theatre Company & Storykrapht

Arab Film Series Online: Elia Suleiman Retrospective + Talkback
2021-05-21 - 2021-05-30
Arab Film Series Online: Elia Suleiman Retrospective + Talkback
Streaming Friday, May 21 – Sunday, May 30
Free with RSVP
We’re excited to celebrate and showcase work of famed Palestinian filmmaker Elia Suleiman. Throughout his career, Suleiman directed four feature films, all of which are available to audiences in this Video-On-Demand style retrospective. Guests can view the films at their leisure from Friday, May 21 to Sunday, May 30, 2021. MORE INFO

Toronto Arab Film Festival
2021-05-27 - 2021-05-30
TORONTO ARAB FILM FESTIVAL //
​** 2021 May 27-30 **
Please check out their website for more details: https://www.arabfilm.ca/festival160516071585158015751606.html

There Is A Field, a film, by Jen Marlowe
2021-05-27 19:00 - 21:00
There Is A Field

a film by Jen Marlowe
May 27 from 7–9pm PT (Zoom film screening + panel discussion)
May 28–30 (view the film online, on demand)
Sliding scale admission: $0–25. Suggested contribution: $15
Get your tickets here: https://nwfilmforum.org/films/there-is-a-field-online/
Please pay what you can; 25% of proceeds will go directly to support Washington state families impacted by police violence. Remaining proceeds support co-presenting organizations Donkeysaddle Projects, Dunya Productions, and Northwest Film Forum.
About the opening night event:
Dunya Productions, Seattle Rep, and NWFF are partnering on a virtual event which will include watching the film, followed by a meaningful discussion with Seattle-based Black Lives Matter and Palestinian justice activists, exploring the connections addressed in the film, ways to locally embark on joint organizing and solidarity, and the power of theatre and film in social justice movements.

About the film:
In October 2000, a police officer shot and killed unarmed 17-year-old Asel Asleh. His story is tragically familiar for Americans, but Asel was not killed in Ferguson, New York City, Atlanta, or Minneapolis. Asel was a Palestinian teenager who was murdered by Israeli police as he participated in a demonstration, calling for an end to the Israeli occupation and settler-colonization.
There Is a Field began as a play about Asel’s life and his death, told from the perspective of his older sister, Nardin. Through Nardin’s struggle to cope with the murder of her brother, the play offers a uniquely personal lens for learning about intersecting systems of oppression, including Zionism and white supremacy—root causes of state-sanctioned violence and structural racism.
Learn more at https://www.thereisafield.movie/

Film screening and discussion with director - "The Present"
2021-05-29 09:00 - 11:00
Please join us for the screening of the Oscar-nominated short film (24 Min) “The Present” followed by a virtual discussion with director Farah Nabulsi
Farah Nabulsi is a Palestinian British Oscar nominated and BAFTA award-winning filmmaker and human rights advocate.
Her latest short film The Present, which is Oscar award-nominated and BAFTA award-winning, sheds light on how Palestinians are deprived of the basic right to freedom of movement. Starring renowned actor Saleh Bakri, it won the Audience Award for Best Film at Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival 2020 (World premiere), the Jury Award for Best Live Action Short at the Cleveland International Film Festival (North American premiere), and has since gone on to win upwards of 25 Audience and Jury Awards at numerous International film festivals as well as being licensed to Canal+ (France), Pacific Voice (Japan), Telefonica (Spain) and Netflix Worldwide.

Short Films - San Diego Arab Film Festival
2021-06-05 - 2021-06-19
Short Films
This year the Festival offers 16 films from across the Arab world and the Diaspora headlined by the Academy Award nominated film from Palestine, The Present, representing a range of styles and genres, including narrative drama and comedy, documentary, animated and experimental films. These films can be streamed at SanDiegoaff.sparqfest.live.
The final line up includes films that have been screened at Cannes and Venice as well as other international festivals. They will be available for viewing at your leisure beginning on June 5 and continuing through June 19.
Click here for more information about the films and streaming.

Between Heaven and Earth Directed by Najwa Najjar
2021-06-05 18:15 - 21:00
Based on a true story, the film follows a thirty-something couple, Salma and Tamer, who have been married for the past five years. Now separated, Salma moved back to Nazareth. Tamer stayed in their house in the West Bank. The first time Tamer is ever given a three-day permit to cross the Israeli checkpoint, is to file for divorce in the courts in Nazareth. At the courthouse, they are confronted with a staggering discovery, a secret which sends Salma and Tamer spinning on a road trip exploring the loss and betrayal of the past, and of themselves.
Won Audience Award at Boston Palestine Film Festival and Best Screenplay at Cairo International Film Festival
For more information about the film and to see a trailer, click here.

The Unknown Saint Directed by Alaa Eddine Aljem
2021-06-11 19:30 - 21:00
Moments before his capture by police, a thief digs a grave to hide a bag of money. Released from prison years later, he returns to retrieve the bag, only to find a shrine to an unknown Saint built directly over his loot, and a brand new village constructed all around it.
Submitted by Morocco to 2021 Oscars
Fore information about the film and to see a trailer, click here.
Friday, June 11, 7:30 PM

200 Meters Directed by Ameen Nayfeh
2021-06-12 18:15 - 19:30, 2021-06-19 20:45 - 21:30
A Palestinian father trapped on the other side of the separation wall is trying to reach the hospital for his son.
Winner of awards in Europe, China, India, Egypt and US
For more information about the film and to see a trailer, click here.

Saturday, June 12, 6:15 PM & Saturday, June 19, 8:45 PM
200 Meters Directed by Ameen Nayfeh

Honey Cigar Directed by Kamir Ainouz
2021-06-12 20:30 - 22:00
Selma, 17, who lives in a bourgeois and secular Berber family. When she meets Julien in college, she realizes for the first time the impact of patriarchal rules on her intimacy. This film is in French and Berber languages with English subtitles.
Parental Advisory: In the US, this film would likely be rated R.
Nominated, New Wave Award Best Film, Seville European Film Festival
For more information about the film, click here.

Saturday, June 12, 8:35 PM

Broken Keys Directed by Jimmy Keyrouz
2021-06-18 19:30 - 21:00
Karim, a pianist dreaming of a career in Europe, lives in a war-torn Middle-Eastern town where modern ways of living have been banned by an extremist group. He is forced to sell his piano to gather money and leave. But things entangle when his piano is shot. Karim then embarks on a dangerous quest to repair his broken keys.
Submitted by Lebanon to the 2021 Oscars
For more information about the film and to see a trailer, click here.

You Will Die At 20 Directed by Amjad Abu Alala
2021-06-19 18:15 - 19:30
Shortly after Muzamil was born, the village’s holy man predicts that he will die at age 20. Muzamil’s father can’t stand the curse and leaves home. Sakina raises her son as a single mother, overly protective. One day, Muzamil turns 19.
Submitted by Sudan to the 2021 Oscars
For more information about the film and to see a trailer, click here.

"The Price of Oslo", directed by Rawan Damen
2021-07-03 09:00 - 10:00
Please join us for the screening of the film “The Price of Oslo”, directed by Rawan Damen. The film is about 100 minutes.
The film screening will be followed by a discussion with the film director Rawan Damen. Screening will begin at 12 Noon US EDT; 7:00 PM Palestine time
About the Film
For most people, the Oslo Accords will forever be symbolised by the grand public signing ceremony that took place on the lawn of the White House on September 13, 1993. Far fewer people, however, are aware of the fact that the Accords were actually signed several weeks earlier, on August 20, in a guest house in Oslo, or of the seven-hour long telephone conversation, on August 18, that was instrumental in bringing the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel to the point where they could be signed.
Rawan Damen: “After six months of research and numerous interviews, I was certain that light needed to be shed on the aspects of this story that had been intentionally left unlit.”

Disrupted Pasts, Displaced Futures: Arte Archive
2021-07-24 - 2021-07-27
Disrupted Pasts, Displaced Futures is a selection of moving image works by contemporary artists from the Middle East and North Africa, blending science fiction, arabfuturism, and magic realism to tackle themes of displacement, migration, and climate crisis. Responding to an unstable present through the lens of the future, these alternate realities open a space where new possibilities emerge.
Featured Artists: Meriem Bennani, Mariam Mekiwi, Larissa Sansour
RSVP HERE
The 4 Movies Featured Are:
Party on the CAPS synopsis: In a world where teleportation has replaced planes, a wacky crocodile named Fiona tells of life on the CAPS: an island-turned-refugee-camp for illegal immigrants caught mid-teleportation. Themes of displacement, biotechnology and privacy are evoked through the augmented reality of a raucous birthday party in the Moroccan quarter of the CAPS. Mixing the languages of reality TV, advertising, documentary and high-end commercial aesthetics, Bennani explores the potential of storytelling through magical realism and humour.

Before I Forget Synopsis: El Captain disappears, one of his disciples takes a journey in the ocean to cut off the internet cable, the water level is rising, an amphibian woman appears at the shore looking for her mother, and the memories of two women in a ward intertwine. Scientist Dr. Sharaf is trying to congregate all of them – the members of the secret society of amphibians – in an attempt to save the world.

Nation Estate synopsis: With its glossy mixture of computer-generated imagery, live actors, and an arabesque electronica soundtrack, the Nation Estate film explores a vertical solution to Palestinian statehood. Palestinians have their state in the form of a single skyscraper: the Nation Estate. One colossal high-rise houses the entire Palestinian population – now finally living the high life.

In the Future They Ate from the Finest Porcelain synopsis: Combining live-action and computer-generated imagery, In the Future They Ate from the Finest Porcelain explores the role of myth in history, fact, and national identity. A narrative resistance group makes underground deposits of elaborate porcelain, which they suggest belonged to an entirely fictional civilization. Their aim is to influence history and support future claims to their vanishing lands.

plus a recorded discussion with the directors!

Free virtual screening of the documentary film "Zahra" directed by Mohammad Bakri
2021-07-31 09:00 - 11:00
About the film
Zahra is a Palestinian woman, from the village of al-Bane in the Galilee. Beginning with her childhood before the 1948 war, this compelling documentary takes us through the country’s turbulent history, as seen through the eponymous heroine’s eyes, and the perspectives of those around her. As Zahra grows, we experience the violent establishment of Israel, subsequent life under martial law (1948-1966), and the radical transformation of Palestinian society from a majority to a disenfranchised minority in their own homeland.

Click here to register for this event.
The film screening will be followed by a discussion with the film director Mohammad Bakri. Screening will start at 12:00 Noon US EDT; 7:00 PM Palestine Time. Duration: 1:03;00. Arabic with English subtitles.

Arab Film Series Online: The Lebanese Rocket Society
2021-08-28 - 2021-08-29
Arab Film Series Online: The Lebanese Rocket Society
Film available 12 a.m. EDT Saturday, Aug. 28 to 11:59 p.m. EDT Sunday, Aug. 29
Free with RSVP
In partnership with ArteEast and AFMI, AANM’s Arab Film Series Online this month presents the feature-length documentary Lebanese Rocket Society directed by Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige, which unravels the strange tale of the Lebanese space adventure forgotten from personal and collective memory. The film will be accompanied by a discussion with the artists. MORE INFO

Arab Film Series Online: Eleven Reflections on September
2021-09-09 - 2021-09-16
Film available Thursday, Sept. 9 – Thursday, Sept. 16
Online Stream – Register for Free
Join the Arab Film Series Online for a special program Eleven Reflections on September by Andrea Assaf: A poetry, music, movement and digital media exploration of Arab American experience, Wars on/of Terror, and “the constant, quiet rain of death amidst beauty” that each autumn brings in a post-9/11 world. The program will be accompanied by a discussion with the artist Andrea Assaf as well as Lubana Al Qantar, moderated by Leila Buck, available Sept. 13-16.
Based on a series of poems Andrea Assaf has written since 2001, Eleven Reflections spans the fall of the Twin Towers, the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the global rise of anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia, and the revolutions and uprisings that have swept through the Arab world in the last decade. Aesthetically, the poems explore the disintegration of language in the face of violence, prejudice, and unspeakable horror, as they progress from lyrical to abstract and broken.
The annual witnessing of autumn leaves becomes a metaphor for the fallen…as we approach the 20th anniversary of 9/11, this ever-evolving tour de force finds new relevance and urgency. As an experimental work that lives at the intersection of live performance and digital media, Eleven Reflections on September is beautiful, haunting, and truly genre-shattering.
104 minutes / 2021 / United States / Experimental / English and Arabic with English subtitles
Presented in partnership with Arab Film and Media Institute and ArteEast
MORE INFO + RSVP

Virtual screening of the documentary film "The Bitter Peace," directed by Rawan Damen
2021-09-11 09:00 - 11:00
The film screening will be followed by a Q&A discussion with the film director.
About the Film
This is a two part film documenting the events that led to the signing of peace accords between Egypt and Israel, as well as, Jordan and Israel. The film delves into the role played by the US in reaching agreements between the parties.

Saturday, September 11, 2021
12:00 PM 2:00 PM

Click here to register for this event.

Arte East: Reconstructing Histories
2021-09-16 - 2021-09-19
ArteEast is pleased to announce our new Unpacking the ArteArchive program:
RECONSTRUCTING HISTORIES examines the role of the documentary in representing the Lebanese Civil War (1975–90) through the experimental works of three important Lebanese post-war artists/filmmakers: Walid Raad, Jayce Salloum, and Mohamad Soueid.
Online Screening: Sept 16-19
This program is available for audiences worldwide.
FREE WITH RSVP / suggested donation $5: artearchive.org

RECONSTRUCTING HISTORIES is curated by ArteEast’s film curator Ginou Choueiri and presented as part of the legacy program Unpacking the ArteArchive, preserving and presenting over 17 years of film and video programming by ArteEast.

RSVP FOR RECONSTRUCTING HISTORIES
