Under the Bombs, (Lebanon, 2007 / Phillipe Aractangi)

Under the Bombs is a visceral expression of anger and pain from a Lebanese man [the director] who could no longer tolerate seeing his country ransacked by war. This war began on July 12th 2006. Ten days later, in the most precarious of circumstances, Philippe Aractangi began shooting Under the Bombs. He only hired two actors. The rest of the characters in the film: refugees, journalists, soldiers, religious people and militants, all played their own roles. All of them, caught in the turmoil and in the ruins of war-torn Lebanon. All of them were living this new tragedy as an intimate part of themselves. This road movie is a fictional story set in harsh reality, giving each scene a vivid poignancy.

Khalass (Lebanon, 2007 / Borhane Alaouie) best screenplay & editor at the Muhr Awards – Dubai International Film Festival

Present Day Beirut, in the midst of chaotic reconstruction. Ahmed and Robby became friends during the war, sharing similar dreams, Ahmed’s: poetry and theatre, Robby’s: cinema. Both dreamed of a better world. Like many others, they fought for that dream. But they came out of the war with a bitter feeling of betrayal and disappointment. Ahmed works as a columnist for a local newspaper. Robby tries to make ends meet by directing vague video documentaries about the environment, but nobody is interested in them.

Out of Coverage (Syria, 2007 / Abdullatif Abdulhamid)

Amer is a middle-aged man living a busy life. He takes care of his own family as well as helps his friend Zuhair’s wife and daughter to survive during his friend’s absence in prison. Added to this is a bag of odd jobs which combine working as Arabic tutor to a Japanese student, working as sweet maker in a sweet shop, and taking up taxi driving on the side. The tempo of his life becomes almost slapstick-like. Amer’s wife is not happy with her ever absent husband. Zuhair has been imprisoned for many years by now – one of the country’s political prisoners with an uncertain future. When it looks like he is about to be released, Amer and Zuhair’s wife realise that they have feelings for one another.
 
 

Eye of the Sun (Egypt, 2007 / Ibrahim El Batout )

From once being the capital of Egypt during the Pharaonic era and a sacred location marked by the visit of Jesus and the Virgin Mary, Ein Shams has become one of Cairo’s poorest and most neglected neighborhoods. Through the eyes of Shams, an eleven-year-old girl inhabitant of this neighborhood, the film captures the sadness and magic that envelops everyday life in Egypt. In a series of tragic events, the characters of the film showcase the intricacies of Egypt’s political system and social structure, and give a glimpse into the grievances of the Middle East region and the complex relationships of its nations.
 
 
 

Captain Abu Raed (Jordan, 2007 / Amin Matalqa )

Abu Raed is a lonely janitor at Amman’s International Airport. Never having realised his dreams of seeing the world, he experiences it vicariously through books and brief encounters with travelers. But after finding a discarded captain’s hat, he is befriended by a group of children believing him to be an airline pilot. And this the friendship begins… Captain Abu Raed is the story of everyday people intersecting across social boundaries. It is a story of dreams, friendship, forgiveness and sacrifice. Captain Abu Raed won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival; and Best Actor at the Dubai Film Festival.
 
 
 

Paloma Delight (Algeria, 2007 / Nadir Mokneshe )

Need a building permit? Feeling lonely tonight? Call the national benefactress, Madame Aldjeria – she has the answer. When it comes to surviving in today’s Algeria, no scam is too daunting for the woman who has adopted her country’s name. If they’re pretty and lacking in principles, her recruits can make a career for themselves. The latest of these, Paloma, is quite a hit, especially with Riyad, Madame Aldjeria’s son. But the purchase of Caracalla Springs, the dream that should allow Aldjeria’s clan to start a new life, proves to be one scam too many.
 
 
 

She and He (Tunisia, 2006 / Elyes Baccar )

He chooses to close the door of his soul, the window of his life, and tries to sleep for a long time. No television, no radio, no telephone and no contact with the external world… She came in a rainy night and knocked on his door. He refused her by ignoring then rejecting her presence. They engage in fetishistic, sado-masochistic acts that seem to bring him back to life in their own peculiar way. Does she succeed in changing his reality or was she a fantasy, a figment of the imagination of a man that seems mentally unwell?

Special film screenings: Short films + Q&As with directors Maysoon Pachachi, Katia Saleh and Walid Al Shehhi

A Stranger in his own Country (Iraq, 2007 / Hassanain Al Hani from Independent Film & Television College, Baghdad )

Thousands of Iraqis have been displaced by sectarian violence and have had to seek refuge in other parts of the country. This is a portrait of Abu Ali, a refugee from Kirkuk living in a displaced person’s camp on the outskirts of Kerbala. He is a peace-loving man with a keen sense of justice, trying to find a way to survive and provide for his family in the difficult circumstances in which they now find themselves.
 
 

A Candle for the Shabandar Cafe (Iraq, 2007 / Emad Ali from Independent Film & Television College, Baghdad )

Founded in 1917, The Shabandar Café in Al Mutanabi Street in the heart of the old centre of Baghdad, was a cultural landmark, where generations of Iraqis came to discuss and debate literature and politics – a living repository of Irqi intellectual history and one of the last places where people could gather to exchange ideas. Emad had shot most of his film by the end of 2006, but in March 2007, a massive car bomb destroyed the Shabandar Café, all the bookshops on Mutanabi Street, and killed and wounded scores of people. Days later, Baghdad’s poets and artists held a wake in the ruins of the street they loved so much and Emad took a small camera and went back to film. As he was leaving he was attacked, his camera stolen and he was shot in the legs and chest, and his own story is an epilogue to his film about the Shabandar Café and Mutanabi Street – Before and after they were destroyed.
 
 

The Singing Barber of Mosul (Lebanon / Katia Saleh )

A story bout a frustrated Irqi barber from Mosul whose dream is to sing Celine Dion and become a super star. He flies to Western-style Beirut to participate in the Middle East version of Pop Idol.
 
 

Ashura: Blood and Beauty (Lebanon / Katia Saleh )

After three years of filming the biggest Shia ceremony in South Lebanon, this short offers a contemporary look at the1300 year old Ashura Shia ritual. The mix of modernity and tradition in Lebanon has made Ashura a platform for young people to meet each other. This film reveals a side to Ashura that the world has not yet seen. A side that is not bloody and violent but ambiguous and compelling.
 
 

And to the Arabs of Haifa a Special Message (Palestine, 2006/ Razi Najjar)

A couple of hippy looking Arabs in Haifa watch a broadcast by the leader of Hizbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, during the 2006 Israeli war with Lebanon, addressed to them – ‘the Arabs of Haifa’.
 
 

A Plate of Sardines (Syria, 1997 / Omar Amiralay)

‘The first time I heard of Israel, I was in Beirut, the conversation was about a plate of sardines. I was six years old, Israel was two.’ In the company of filmmaker Mohammad Malas, Omar Amiralay revisits the ruins of the destroyed village of Quneytra and reflects on Syria’s Golan occupied by Israel.
 
 

The Water Guard (Emirates / Omar Amiralay)

A poetic short highlighting new talent emerging from the Emirates.
 
 

Events:

History of Arab Cinema – A lively discussion on Arab cinema hosted by Walter Armbrust, chairman and director of the Middle East Centre at Saint Anthony’s College, Oxford, Albert Hourani Fellow, and university lecturer in Modern Middle East Studies at Oxford University. This talk explored the history of Arab Cinema across its different countries since the days of silent movies to this day.

Filming in the Arab World - A focus on filming in the Arab region with contributions from major filmmakers from the UK, US and Europe and Q&As with key industry names. This event brought together industry professionals to highlight the benefits of filming in the Arab Region, in particular in Tunisia, Jordan, the Emirates and Morocco. Films that have famously shot in this region include Indiana Jones, Star Wars, The English Patient, Gladiator and Syriana.

Industry Network Event (Private Event) – A filmmakers and distributors networking lunch hosted by BAFTA. BAFTA wished to repeat its success from previous global events in bringing together filmmakers and distributors with a view to exploring possible production and distribution partnerships between the Arab World and the UK. The prospects are promising as the trend increases for a penetration of Arab films into mainstream cinemas. This includes Caramel, Days of Glory, Paradise Now, Divine Intervention and West Beirut.

Opening and Closing Night Receptions hosted by BAFTA, these events were a chance for a cultural crossover of filmmaking discussions and networking.

Days of Glory, (France-Morocco-Algeria-Belgium, 2006 / Rachid Bouchareb )

Rachid Bouchareb’s heartfelt Oscar-nominated Days of Glory/Indigenes is a tribute to the sacrifices made by hundreds of thousands of North Africans drafted into the French army to help liberate France from the clutches of the Nazis in World War 2. The film deploys a linear narrative and vividly drawn characters to chart the experiences of a handful of Algerians and Moroccans as they make their perilous way through Italy, Provence and the Vosges to Alsace. The cast collectively won the Best Actor prize at Cannes and the film’s premiere in France caused a sensation, breaking box office records and compelling French President Jacques Chirac to overturn the shameful ban on pensions being paid to these North African heroes. A must-see film made all the more powerful and timely in the current debate about multi-culturalism, clashes of civilisations and wars on terror.
 

8pm screening followed by Q&A with director

Opening Party (10pm-12am)

YallaLondon! is pleased to help Zenith launch the Arab Cinema Weekend @ BAFTA with a post-film party on 30 March 2007. The party will take place in the exclusive surrounds of the David Lean Room at BAFTA from 10pm – midnight and feature MazaJ Sound System! (£10)

Saturday, 31 March

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Ahlaam (Iraq, 2005 / Mohamed Al-Daradji)

Filmed in Baghdad in the aftermath of the U.S. invasion, its cast and crew subject to kidnappings from both sides, Ahlaam is one of the first feature films from post-Saddam Iraq. The war-ravaged city, with its street battles and wrecked buildings, provides an astonishing immediacy to this story about a young woman, Ahlaam, confined to an asylum after seeing her husband kidnapped by Saddam’s thugs on their wedding day. Her hospital destroyed in the U.S. bombardment, Ahlaam wanders the streets on what becomes an increasingly nightmarish, hallucinatory odyssey. Meanwhile, her relatives, aided by an idealistic young doctor, search frantically for her amid the chaos. Writer/director/cameraman Mohamed Al-Daradji fled to Holland in 1995, but found himself drawn irresistibly back to his homeland after the fall of Saddam. The debut film he made there is a mature, visually stunning triumph, which will move and haunt audiences long after its end.
 

12pm screening followed by Q&A with director

Zozo (Sweden, 2005 / Josef Fares )

Zozo lives in Beirut with his family. He’s a dreamer, living a normal life despite the civil war raging around him. However, when tragedy eventually strikes, Zozo is forced to go it alone, his only hope being to find his grandparents who have recently emigrated to the ‘distant paradise’ of Sweden. Of course, Zozo soon discovers that Sweden isn’t really the welcoming arcadia his grandfather has led him to believe. This highly personal (although not strictly autobiographical) film from Josef Fares (himself a first generation Lebanese immigrant to Sweden) paints an honest portrait of youthful hopes and fears, and imaginatively engages with broader themes of racism and alienation. Fares displays extraordinary visual intuition, carefully juxtaposing highly realist scenes with moments of magical realism, as, understandably traumatised by his experiences, Zozo’s anxieties find their expression in a parallel reality. Fares also has a great talent for depicting characters and inter-generational relationships, and evokes in Zozo’s grandfather, a wonderfully warm portrait of a loving, irascible fantasist.
 

3pm screening

Le Dernier Homme (Lebanon, 2006 / Ghassan Salhab)

Hugely resonant given current events, Ghassan Salhab’s Le Dernier Homme updates the vampire legend onto the shadowy streets of Beirut. Each morning, Beirut awakens to a new victim of what seems to be a serial killer. Victims are found emptied of their blood while across town a forty-year-old doctor begins exhibiting worrying signs of insomnia and malevolent moods. Filmed with Salhab’s customary slow-burning approach, Le Dernier Homme is set against a backdrop of escalating tension between Hizbollah and Israel made all the more timely given the month-long war last year waged between the two sides.
 

6pm screening

The Yacoubian Building (Egypt, 2006 / Marawan Hamed)

The long-awaited resurgence of Egyptian cinema finally arrives in the guise of The Yacoubian Building. Adapted from Alaa Al-Aswany’s blockbuster novel, director Marwan Hamed’s debut feature is a breathtakingly audacious examination of contemporary Cairo. All the action is centred around the residents of a downtown Cairo apartment block, as the lives of a seemingly disparate group of individuals hurtle towards each other with fateful consequences. Tackling everything from Islamic fundamentalism to homosexuality and corruption, the film was a cause célèbre on its release in Egypt where it proceeded to smash box office records and spark unprecedented debate. Featuring a cast that reads as a who’s who of the best in Arab film talent, Hamed’s film boasts a career-best performance from legendary comedian Adel Imam, as well as stellar appearances from Nour El-Sherif, Yousra and rising star Hend Sabry. A film that manages to be timely, thought provoking and entertaining.
 

8pm screening followed by Q&A with director

Sunday, 01 April
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Reel Bad Arabs, How Hollywood Vilifies a People (USA, 2006 / Sut Jhally)

This groundbreaking documentary dissects a slanderous aspect of cinematic history that has run virtually unchallenged form the earliest days of silent film to today’s biggest Hollywood blockbusters. Featuring acclaimed author Dr. Jack Shaheen, the film explores a long line of degrading images of Arabs – from Bedouin bandits and submissive maidens to sinister sheikhs and gun-wielding “terrorists” – along the way offering devastating insights into the origin of these stereotypic images, their development at key points in US history, and why they matter so much today. Shaheen shows how the persistence of these images over time has served to naturalise prejudicial attitudes toward Arabs and Arab culture, in the process reinforcing a narrow view of individual Arabs and the effects of specific US domestic and international policies on their lives. By inspiring critical thinking about the social, political, and basic human consequences of leaving these Hollywood caricatures unexamined, the film challenges viewers to recognize the urgent need for counter-narratives that do justice to the diversity and humanity of Arab people and the reality and richness of Arab history and culture.
 

12pm screening

BARAKAT! (France-Algeria, 2006 / Djamila Sahraoui)

Amel is an emergency doctor working at a hospital in an Algerian coastal town during the civil war in 1990. She returns home one evening to discover her husband, a journalist, has disappeared. She suspects the involvement of an underground Islamist group, and, in desperation sets out to find him herself. Khadidja, an older nurse who was involved in the fight for her country’s independence from the French when much younger, accompanies her when she sets off into the surrounding foothills. A tense, engrossing and brilliantly acted drama, Barakat! is, in the words of first time feature director Djamila Sahraoui ‘a women’s story that plays in a country wracked by violence’, a stirring tale of female heroism that confronts the uncomfortable history of a troubled region.
 

3pm screening

What a Wonderful World (Morocco-France, 2006 / Fawzi Ben Saidi)

A million miles from the contemplative tone of his award-winning debut Mille Mois, Faouzi Bensaidi’s What a Wonderful World is a dizzyingly inventive and witty take on life in modern day Casablanca. At its centre is the lovelorn assassin Kamel, played with near-silent insouciance by the director himself. After each hit, Kamel calls his favourite prostitute Souad, only for her best friend, Kenza, to answer the phone. Gradually Kamel finds himself falling in love with her voice and sets out to meet his mysterious femme d’amour. From this deceptively straightforward premise, Bensaidi weaves together a hypnotic tapestry of life in the big city that incorporates elements of silent filmmaking, slapstick farce, animation and ballet-conducting traffic wardens all set against a genre-defying waltz of Arabic and Western sounds. With What a Wonderful World, Bensaidi has fashioned an irresistibly wry, whisky-sour study of falling in love, its fleeting glory and eternal futility. Put simply, what a wonderful film.
 

6pm screening

Chased by the Dogs – Naguib Mahfouz Tribute (Egypt, 1962 / B&W / Kamal Al-Sheikh)

This film based on the novel by Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz, Nobel prize winner for literature. It tells the story of a thief who acquires notoriety after a journalist in a newspaper makes him front page daily news. The journalist and him are old acquaintances, with the thief attributing his wayward ways to the teachings of his friend who was then a student at a college where the thief was a cleaner. The thief gets put in prison after being betrayed by his wife and best friend. On his release he seeks vengeance and turns to his journalist friend. Their relationship becomes bitter after the journalist, now very wealthy, abandons his old liberal views relating to the conduct of the thief. The journalist hounds him in newspaper articles turning him into a hero to the poor and a source of terror to others, making him one of the most wanted men in the country. One of the most noble characters in the film is the prostitute who helps the thief, having been in love with him for years. Their relationship provides a tender setting for a bitter end. The story is beautifully shot and acted with Cairo providing a breathtaking backdrop to the action.
 

8:30pm screening