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Press release: Arabian Sights Film Festival
The 21ST Annual Arabian Sights Film Festival kicks off Friday, October 21 to present 17 new and exciting films from today’s Arab world. Running through Sunday, October 30th, the Festival features captivating films from numerous Arab countries including Egypt, Iraq, Tunisia, Qatar, Bahrain, Palestine, UAE, and Lebanon plus European and American co-productions. This year also includes a panel that will discuss the future of Arab Cinema, and a shorts program that features the world premiere of the film MAYHODA and the North American premiere of the film ASFOORA.
The Arabian Sights Film Festival showcases films that demonstrate the range and commitment of directors who invariably manage to tell moving stories while exploring issues facing their region. All features in this series are Washington, DC premieres, four of which are American premieres. All films have English subtitles. The complete schedule of films and events is available at www.filmfestdc.org/arabiansights.
Highlights include our Opening Night event, featuring the Tunisian drama—which was selected as the country’s entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards—AS I OPEN MY EYES. The film follows Farah, a spirited young woman in a band who must balance her music with familial, cultural, and social ideals at the dawn of the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia. A party will follow the film sponsored by the Embassy of the Republic of Tunisia. Tickets are $20. (As I Open My Eyes will be screened on Friday, October 21 at 6:30 pm).
The festival wraps with a Closing Night event that features the film HALAL LOVE (AND SEX) about three Lebanese Muslim couples who try to navigate their love lives and desires without breaking the religious rules of marriage. Following the film Director Assad Fouladkar will be present for a Q&A with the audience. There will be a Closing Night party to finish the evening sponsored by the Embassy of Lebanon. Tickets are $20. (Halal Love (and Sex) will be screened on Sunday, October 30 at 7:00 pm).
A gripping narrative, THEO WHO LIVED, features journalist Theo Padnos who returns to the Middle East and retraces the steps that led to his kidnapping by Al Qaeda’s branch in Syria for 22 months. Padnos’s fluency in Arabic and remarkable personal expansiveness led to an extraordinary engagement with, and understanding of his captors. Theo Padnos will be present for a post-screening discussion with the audience. (Theo Who Lived will be screened on Saturday, October 29 at 6:15 pm).
A panel on What’s Next For Arab Cinema? will explore the dynamics shaping today’s Arab cinema, and what can be expected in the future. Film critics and guest filmmakers, whose films are featured at Arabian Sights, will participate on the panel. This event is free and open to the public on a first-come first-serve basis. The panel will take place on Sunday, October 30 at 5:00 pm. Participants on the panel include:
- Lubna Bagsair, director of the short film ASTRAY (United Arab Emirates)
- Amr El-Bayoumi, star of the short film THE VISIT (USA)
- Assad Fouladkar, director of HALAL LOVE (AND SEX) (Lebanon/Germany)
- Mayar Hamdan, director of the short film ASFOORA (Qatar)
- Raymond Karam, Director of Program Outreach and Communication, Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington
- Anna Kipervaser, director of CAIRO IN ONE BREATH (Ukraine/USA/Egypt)
- Theo Padnos, subject of film THEO WHO LIVED (USA)
- Vishwas, writer, producer and star of the short film THE VISIT (USA)
American premiere, GOOD LUCK ALGERIA, is a must see, feel good film based on the true story of Director Farid Bentoumi’s brother, a French national who competed as the first cross-country skier for their father’s native country, Algeria, in the Winter Olympics. This film is selected to compete for the Cultural Ambassador Prize. (Good Luck Algeria will be screened on Friday, October 21 at 8:50 pm and Saturday, October 22 at 7:00 pm).
Also featured is the American premiere of OUR MOTHER, a French comedy about Zayane, a traditional, illiterate, seventy-five-year-old Algerian mother of 11 who has never ventured outside the limits of her neighborhood. A mysterious message concerning an old friend sends her on a journey that will reconnect her to her homeland and her family. This film is selected to compete for the Cultural Ambassador Prize. (Our Mother will be screened on Saturday, October 22 at 9:00 pm and Sunday, October 23 at 5:15 pm).
CAIRO IN ONE BREATH, from Director Anna Kipervaser, examines the modernization of a 1,400 year-old tradition—the Adhan, or the Muslim call to prayer. After 60 generations, thousands of individual muezzins who have traditionally made the call to prayer at a mosque five times a day are being replaced by a single voice broadcast as part of a plan put in place by the Mubarak regime. (Cairo in One Breath will be screened on Sunday, October 30 at 2:30 pm).
El CLÁSICO is a heartwarming comedy that has gained much buzz around the festival circuit about two little people, brothers named Alan and Shirwan, who refuse to think small. They live in the Kurdish region of Iraq, and go on an epic quest in the name of love in order to deliver a pair of handmade soccer shoes to famed Real Madrid footballer Cristiano Ronaldo. This film is selected to compete for the Cultural Ambassador Prize. (El Clásico will be screened on Friday, October 28 at 8:45 pm and Saturday, October 29 at 8:30 pm).
HEPTA, THE LAST LECTURE broke box office records in Egypt as the highest grossing film of all time. Based on the best-selling novel by Mohamed Sadek of the same name, the film depicts the seven stages of love through four paralleled stories. (Hepta, The Last Lecture will be screened on Sunday, October 23 at 7:15 pm and Saturday, October 29 at 1:30 pm).
Three generations of Egyptian film royalty have been brought together to create the raucous comedy LIKE A MATCHSTICK. Set in 1950’s Cairo, the film follows a drug dealer, played by Director Hussein Al-Imam, who learns about a hidden treasure while serving a prison sentence. Upon his release he finds the treasure and uses his newfound wealth to start a successful nightclub, a cover for his illicit activities. This film is selected to compete for the Cultural Ambassador Prize. (Like a Matchstick will be screened on Sunday, October 23 at 3:15 pm).
From award-winning Director Hala Khalil (Cut and Paste and Best of Times) and featuring breakout star, and winner of the Best Actress Award at the Dubai International Film Festival, Menna Shalabi comes NAWARA, a film with biting social commentary that chronicles the aftermath of the Tahrir Square revolution through the eyes of a young maid who works for Egypt’s elite. (Nawara will be screened on Saturday, October 22 at 4:45 pm and Friday, October 28 at 6:30 pm).
This year, Arabian Sights also features a SHORT CUTS program of seven diverse and fascinating films from across the Arab world. Kicking off the program is the world premiere of the imaginative short film MAYHODA about a little girl, her grandfather, and her best friend—a tree. ASTRAY looks at the decision a young woman faces after being caught in a compromising position with her boyfriend: get married or be jailed for indecency. Also faced with some tough reactions is the young man, Bakr, in VEGANIZE IT! who creates an uproar amongst his family, friends, and fiancée when he decides to become a vegan. In CENTRAL MARKET, an enterprising boy looks to make some “serious cash” when he tries to collect milk from a small goat to sell. The North American premiere of ASFOORA follows a young girl who is caught cheating on an exam by a bird who taunts her, and refuses to be silenced. THE VISIT explores racial realities when a ‘brown’ man with a beard finds himself caught in a dilemma between two men who show up at his house looking for answers. The program closes with the Oscar-nominated short film AVE MARIA about a group of nuns in the West Bank who have taken a vow of silence, but find their daily routine disrupted by a family of Israeli settlers who have crashed their car into the convent on the Sabbath. (Short Cuts will be screened on Saturday, October 29 at 4:00 pm).
Please visit filmfestdc.org/arabiansights for additional descriptions on films and special events.
Confirmed Guests:
- Saturday, October 29th: American journalist Theo Padnos, who was held captive in Syria for 22 months, discusses recreating his harrowing experience for the documentary THEO WHO LIVED.
- Saturday, October 29th: The SHORT CUTS program will be followed by a Q&A with several guests who worked on the short films in the program:
- Director Lubna Bagsair, ASTRAY (UAE)
- Star, writer, and producer Vishwas, THE VISIT (USA)
- Star Amr El-Bayoumi, THE VISIT (USA)
- Director Mayar Hamdan, ASFOORA (Qatar)
- Sunday, October 30th: Director Anna Kipervaser will be on hand to answer questions about her documentary that examines the breaking of a 1,400 year-old tradition in CAIRO IN ONE BREATH
- Sunday, October 30th: Director Assad Fouladkar talks comedy, love, sex, and religion with his film HALAL LOVE (AND SEX)
The Arabian Sights Audience Award will be awarded to the film voted the most popular by the audience. The Cultural Ambassador Prize, a juried award sponsored by The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, will go to one of four participating films.
Tickets are $13 per person for each screening, unless otherwise noted. A Festival Pass is available, 10 tickets for a discounted rate of $100. This pass does not include the Opening Night or Closing Night films. Tickets may be purchased online through the Festival web site (filmfestdc.org/arabiansights) or Missiontix.com until midnight the day before the show; tickets are also available at the theater starting one hour before the first show of the day.
Theater Locations
AMC Mazza Gallerie
5300 Wisconsin Ave., NW; Take Metro Red line to Friendship Heights.
Street parking and the garage at Mazza Gallerie are available.
Film trailers and a complete schedule are available online at filmfestdc.org/arabiansights. Click the catalog cover image on our homepage for a downloadable PDF of the catalog.
About Filmfest DC:
Since its inception in 1987, Filmfest DC has become one of Washington’s major cultural events, enhancing the profile of the nation’s capital both nationally and internationally. Filmfest DC is a District-wide event, bringing together the city’s major cultural institutions in a spirit of cooperation and celebration. Films that have premiered at past Festivals encompass a broad range of international cinema. Arabian Sights is one unique annual festival created and administered under the FFDC umbrella. For more information, visit www.filmfestdc.org.
Highlight Summaries of Arabian Sights 2016 Films
· As I Open My Eyes │ Tunisia/France/Belgium/UAE
o Opening night film followed by a party
o Tunisian entry, Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards
o Best Fiction Feature, Dubai International Film Festival
o Venice Days Award and the Label Europa Cinema, Venice Film Festival
o Best Film, East End Film Festival (UK)
o FIPRESCI Prize and the TV5 Award, Carthage Film Festival
· Cairo in One Breath │ Ukraine/USA/Egypt
· El Clásico │ Norway/Iraq
o Iraqi entry, Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards
o Jury Award and Best Cinematography, Tribeca Film Festival
o Best International Narrative Feature, Tribeca Film Festival
o Special Mention for International Narrative Feature, Tribeca Film Festival
· Good Luck Algeria │ Belgium/France
o American Premiere
o Audience Award, Festival de Monpellier
· Halal Love (and Sex) │ Lebanon/Germany
o Closing night film followed by a party
o Official Selection, Sundance Film Festival
· Hepta, The Last Lecture │ Egypt
§ North American Premiere
· Like a Matchstick │ Egypt
§ North American Premiere
· Nawara │ Egypt
o Best Actress, Dubai International Film Festival
· Our Mother │ France
o American Premiere
o Audience Award, Premiers Plans Angers Film Festival
· Theo Who Lived │ USA
· Panel – What’s Next for Arab Cinema?
· Short Cuts
o Mayhoda │ UAE
§ World Premiere
o Astray │ UAE
o Veganize It! │ Qatar
o Central Market │ UAE/Bahrain
o Asfoora │ Qatar
§ North American Premiere
o The Visit │ USA
o Ave Maria │ Palestine/France/Germany
§ Best Short Film Live Action, Academy Awards
§ Muhr Award for Best Short Film, Dubai International Film Festival
§ Special Jury Award, Palm Springs International ShortFest