8th Annual San Diego Arab Film Festival Kicks Off Friday

posted on: Apr 2, 2019

SOURCE: KPBS

BY: BROOKE RUTH, MARC SAUER

The San Diego Arab Film Festival kicks off this week and will include films from and about Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

Organizers say the festival aims to build understanding and appreciation of the local Arab community.

The festival will take place on Friday and Saturday at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park and continue the following weekend at AMC in Mission Valley. The full festival line up and film descriptions are available on the San Diego Arab Film Festival’s website. Tickets can also be purchased on the website.

The festival’s opening night film, “10 Days Before the Wedding,” is from war-torn Yemen. It’s the first commercial film from contemporary Yemeni culture and Yemen’s first submission to the Oscars. The film’s director, Amr Gamal, and the co-chair of the San Diego Arab Film Festival, Larry Christian, will join Midday Edition on Monday to discuss the festival.