Loading ...Arabian Nights Meets Hollywood’s Golden Age: The Topanga Film Festival Presents The World Premiere Of The Fez Documentary Saturday, August 1, 8:00pm
Los Angeles, CA (July XX, 2105)-Roxxanne Shelaby, an internationally acclaimed belly dancer, makes her directorial debut with the stunning documentary The Fez, screening for the first time at The Topanga Film Festival on August 1, 2015 at 8:00pm.
The Fez was a celebrated Los Angeles nightspot that opened in Hollywood in 1959; long before the term “multiculturalism” was in popular use. The Fez immediately became a hub for Southern California’s Arabic community. But with its exotic atmosphere, great food, free-flowing Ouzo and a house band made up of some of the most famous musicians from the Middle East, The Fez also became a favorite haunt for the international jet-set.
Many of the club’s regulars were Hollywood’s most well known glitterati, including Marlon Brando, Lee Marvin and Jayne Mansfield. Television star Danny Thomas frequently sang and threw down on the dance floor, leading the Debke, a raucous Lebanese line dance; basketball great Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Peter Lawford were known to stop in frequently to admire the constant parade of talented and drop dead gorgeous-belly dancers.
Fez owner Lou Shelaby (the director’s late father) originally desired to create a paean to Arabic arts and culture, but the small, jewel-box club went on to inspire future generations of musicians and dancers well beyond Los Angeles. In those pre-Internet days, much of the hubbub around the Fez came from word of mouth, but a good portion was largely due to the popular in-house recording Live At The Fez, featuring the house band. It was a hugely popular album when it was released-and is now considered a coveted collector’s item.
Roxxanne Shelaby’s film pays loving tribute to her father’s artistic vision, and through extensive interviews with the Fez’s musicians, dancers and regular customers, the place comes alive, showcasing a unique intersection of Arabic culture amidst the heyday of Hollywood’s Golden Age.
The film premiere will also feature live performances by local Arabic musicians and belly dancers, plus a post-screening Q&A with filmmaker Roxxanne Shelaby, along with the film’s stars, legendary belly dance artists Antionette Awayshak Khoury Smit, Anisa, Jawaher, Sahra C. Kent and Feiruz Aram.
THE FEZ DOCUMENTARY WORLD PREMIERE
Saturday, August 1, 2015
Live music and dance pre-show at 7:00 p.m.
Screening begins 8:00 p.m.
The Community House at the Topanga Canyon Community Club
More information available at topangafilmfestival.com