Film: In the Shadows of the City

New Asia Cinema: Arab Cinema Panorama

Wednesday, September 6, 2006

Room 137 Isenberg School of Management   7:30 pm
Free and open to the public

Director: Jean Chamoun 2000, 102 minutes Arabic with English subtitles. Official Selection for the 2002 Human Rights Watch Film Festival.
To escape civil war between religious factions, a Lebanese family moves from the countryside to Beirut, but find themselves caught in an equally dangerous situation. Using archival footage, director Jean Khalil Chamoun conveys the struggles the teen-age protagonist and his family must confront in war-torn Beirut. By creating a harrowing overview of the conflict that left his country in physical and moral disarray, the filmmaker takes a more in-depth look at the underlying factors of the Lebanese Civil War.
"'In the Shadows of the City' skillfully depicts the ravages of war on a vastly personal level." --IslamOnline

 

Film: In the Battlefields

New Asia Cinema: Arab Cinema Panorama

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Room 137, Isenberg School of Management   7:30 pm
Free and open to the public

Director: Danielle Arbid, 2004, 90 minutes.
Burdened with a gambler father and a pregnant mother, 12-year old Lina faces adulthood in 1983's war-torn Beirut. Befriended by Siham, the Syrian maid of her wealthy aunt Yvonne, the two girls are all but inseparable. Yet, when Lina learns her friend has decided to leave Beirut behind to start a new life, she responds in an unexpected manner. This accomplished film is the first feature from writer/director Danielle Arbid, who was born and raised in Lebanon before moving to France.

 

Film: The Nights of the Jackal

New Asia Cinema: Arab Cinema Panorama

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Room 137, Isenberg Shool of Management   7:30 pm
Free and open to public

Director: Abdulatif Abdulhamid, 1990, 104 minutes. Arabic with English Subtitles.
Set in a small Syrian village, this film chronicles the effects of Westernization and war on family life. Abu Kamel is the head of a peasant family and the absolute ruler of his little kingdom. His only fear is the jackals that haunt the village at night, keeping him awake with their howling. Whistling can easily keep them away. The problem is that Abu Kamel's wife is the only one in the family who can produce that high-pitched sound.

 

Film: One Evening in July & Rana's Wedding

New Asia Cinema: Arab Cinema Panorama

Wednesday, October 4, 2006

Room 137, Isenberg School of Management   7:30 pm
Free and open to the public.

Double Feature One Evening in July
Director: Raja Amari, 2001, 30 min. In Arabic with English Subtitles.
Taking place in Tunis, this film tells the story of Saida, an elderly woman whose occupation is to do the make-up, hair and dress of young brides and make them a queen for one night. Widowed herself at sixteen, Saida remembers her own trepidation about an unwanted marriage and husband. When she crosses the path of Miriam, a reluctant bride, things take an unexpected turn.
Rana's Wedding
Director: Hany Abu-Assad, 2002, 90 minutes. In Arabic with English subtitles.
“Winner of Nestor Almendros Prize" at the 2003 Human Rights Watch Film Festival. Shot on location, this film shows us the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through the eyes of a young woman. With only ten hours to marry, Rana must negotiate her way around roadblocks, soldiers, stone-throwers, and overworked officials ... into the heart of an elusive lover.

 

Film: Chronicle of a Disappearance

New Asia Cinema: Arab Cinema Panorama

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Room 137, Isenberg School of Management   7:30 pm
Free and open to the public.

Director: Elia Suleiman, 1996, 88 minutes.
What does it mean to be a Palestinian in the second half of the twentieth century? The film is a personal meditation upon the effects of political instability on the Palestinian people, their psyche and their identity.
"A certifiable masterpiece." - Gavin Smith, Film Comment

 

Film: Fatma

New Asia Cinema: Arab Cinema Panorama

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Room 137, Isenberg School of Management   7:30 pm
Free and open to the public

Director: Ahmed Badrakhan, 1947,126 minutes.
The legendary diva, Umm Kulthum, stars in this classic film about a poor nurse who falls in love with the son of one of her wealthy patients. A rare treat, this film features nine of Umm Kulthum's most famous songs by composers Mohamed Al Asabgui and Riad Al Sunbati.

 

Film: Rings for Sale

New Asia Cinema: Arab Cinema Panorama

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Room 137, Isenberg School of Management   7:30 pm
Free and open to the public

Director: Youssef Chahine, 1964, 95 minutes.
In this lively musical starring Lebanese singer Fairuz, the mayor of a small village and his accomplice carry out a number of crimes and blame a fictional character called "Rajeh".

 

Film: Cairo Station

New Asia Cinema: Arab Cinema Panorama

Wednesday, November 1, 2006

Room 137, Isenberg School of Management   7:30 pm
Free and open to the public

Director: Youssef Chahine, 1958, 74 minutes.
In this beautiful classic film, Cairo's main railroad station is used to represent all of Egyptian society. The director received international recognition for this masterpiece of sexuality, repression, madness and violence.
"A blend of sensuality and film noir, set against a backdrop of lower-depths neo-realism, Cairo Station is essentially an underclass psycho-thriller." - David Chute, LA Weekly

 

Film: Omar Gatlato

New Asia Cinema: Arab Cinema Panorama

Wednesday, November 8, 2006

Room 137, Isenberg School of Management   7:30 pm
Free and open to the public

Director: Merzak Allouache, 1976, 90 minutes.
Omar Gatlato is a reflection on Algerian male culture. The film examines with shrewd humor the gang values of urban youth; their passion for popular culture (soccer, "Hindoo" movies, räi concerts), their hidden fear of women and their social insecurity in a marginalizing environment.
"Omar Gatlato's deadpan narration belies the uncertainty and anger of his generation, which is beleaguered with problems of reconstruction and alienation." Lawrence Chua, Village Voice

 

Film: 100% Arabica

New Asia Cinema: Arab Cinema Panorama

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Room 137, Isenberg School of Management   7:30 pm
Free and open to the public

Director: Mahmoud Zemmouri, 1997, 83 minutes.
100% Arabica is a blend of Algerian räi music, culture clash issues and satirical commentary about aspects of the Muslim religion taking place in a poverty-stricken, rent-controlled neighborhood on the outskirts of Paris. The music and key roles are played by räi superstars Khaled and Cheb Mami.

 

Film: The Silences of the Palace

New Asia Cinema: Arab Cinema Panorama

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Room 137, Isenberg School of Management   7:30 pm
Free and open to the public

Director: Moufida Tlatli, 1996, 127 minutes.
Living in silence is a woman's most terrifying condition. Tunisia in the 1950s is the sumptuous setting for The Silences of the Palace, a drama of memory and motherhood, political and sexual power. Director Tlatli's quietly observant eye records the beauty and the horror of this stifling, now vanished world.

 

Film: Being Osama

New Asia Cinema: Arab Cinema Panorama

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Room 137, Isenberg School of Management   7:30 pm
Free and open to the public

(Double feature with "The English Sheik and the Yemini Gentleman")
Director: Mahmoud Kaabour and Tim Schwab, 2004, 45 minutes.
Being Osama provides an intimate look at six men with highly diverse backgrounds, interests and personalities, united by their first names and the experience of living as an Arab in the post 9/11 world. The film explores how sharing a first name with the world's most notorious terrorist can shape perception and prejudice.
"The film depicts the diversity of Arabs and Arab cultures as well as the contradictions with the stereotypes...a serio-comic documentary with an authentic voice." - The Montreal Mirror

 

Film: The English Sheik and the Yemeni Gentlemen

New Asia Cinema: Arab Cinema Panorama

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Room 137, Isenberg School of Management   7:30 pm
Free and open to the public

(Double Feature with Being Osama)
Director: Bader Ben Hirsi, 2000, 76 minute.
This lyrical film introduces us to Bader Ben Hirsi, a British-born Yemeni living in London after his parents" exile from the Yemen. Bader returns to the Yemen to re-discover his country, its people and traditions. Traveling with an eccentric Englishman Tim Makintosh-Smith, Ben Hirsi sees his ancestral homeland. The film chronicles the two men's interaction and emerging friendship as they explore the beautiful Yemen countryside.