Loading ...Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet Makes Michigan Premiere At Arab Film Festival @ Cinetopia
Arab Museum’s fest joins larger SE Michigan fest June 5-14 with several state and U.S. premieres
Cherien Dabis’ May in the Summer; Saudi Arabia’s Wadjda; and Arab women directors shorts program among offerings
Dearborn, Mich. (May 20, 2015) – Producer Salma Hayek-Pinault’s animated Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, set for East and West coast commercial release Aug. 7, is the Opening Night Film for the Arab American National Museum’s 2015 Arab Film Festival (AFF), now part of the Cinetopia International Film Festival June 5-14, 2015.
Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet will screen three times: the 9:45 p.m. June 5 Cinetopia Opening Night screening takes place on the lawn of the Detroit Institute of Arts and is a free-admission event; the film is also being presented as a ticketed event at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 11, at Arab American National Museum (AANM) and at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 13, at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor.
The AFF lineup also includes acclaimed director Cherien Dabis’ May in the Summer and Wadjda, a feature shot in secret by Saudi Arabia’s first female director, Haifaa Al-Mansour. Six short films by women based in the Arab World and in the U.S.A. comprise another program. The complete lineup appears below.
The Museum has joined forces with Cinetopia to give metro Detroit audiences greater exposure to Arab World and Arab American films. AFF is now a festival inside a festival; all its titles will screen at The Annex @ AANM (equipped with high-definition digital screening capability, including 5.1 audio and a 1920×1200 10,000-lumens rear-projection video system and a 226” screen) and several will also be offered at venues in Detroit and Ann Arbor.
All-inclusive Cinetopia passes are available for purchase online now; single tickets go on sale May 15. Visit http://www.cinetopiafestival.org/ and click on the Arab Film Festival box to view the AFF schedule and purchases passes and tickets online.
Members of the Arab American National Museum get a special discount when they enter the code AANM2015 online OR present their Museum Membership card at the box office. Tickets are available only through the Cinetopia site or at venue box offices on the day of the screening.
The Arab American National Museum’s Arab Film Festival offers fascinating new titles from one of the most currently prolific and creative group of filmmakers on the planet. It’s designed for fans of Arabic-language movies and adventurous art-film lovers seeking new perspectives. All acclaimed on the international festival circuit, these films by both Arab World and Arab American artists are, with few exceptions, unlikely to reach American commercial theaters. Genres include drama, comedy and documentary, in both short-form and feature lengths. Every festival film is subtitled in English, making them accessible to all.
The 2015 Arab Film Festival is made possible in part by MASCO, Kresge Foundation and Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. Media sponsorship provided by ArabAmerica.com.
2015 Arab Film Festival @ Cinetopia International Film Festival
Festival passes and single tickets are on sale now at http://www.cinetopiafestival.org; also available at the door.
Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet MICHIGAN PREMIERE
Director: Roger Allers
2014/USA/Canada/Lebanon/Qatar
84 min.
Produced by Salma Hayek-Pinault and based on one of the most popular books of poetry in the world, this animated epic weaves stunningly beautiful narratives of freedom, love, and the meaning of work, the centerpiece of which is the friendship between a young girl (voiced by Quvenzhané Wallis) and an imprisoned poet (Liam Neeson). Watercolors and meticulously created hand-drawn sketches live alongside melodies from Yo-Yo Ma and Damien Rice in a film for all ages that is both a testament to and a showcase of human creativity and collaboration. In English.
Official Selection, 2014 Festival de Cannes; Gala Special Presentation, 2014 Toronto Int’l Film Festival
“Think of Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet as a gift: a work of essential spiritual enlightenment, elegantly interpreted by nine of the world’s leading independent animators, all tied up and wrapped in a family-friendly bow by The Lion King director Roger Allers.” – Variety
“In my very long career I haven’t been able to find an Arabic role to play…This is a love letter to this part of my heritage.” – Salma Hayek-Pinault in Los Angeles Times
9:45 p.m. Friday, June 5 @ Detroit Institute of Arts, north lawn FREE EVENT
7 p.m. Thursday, June 11 @ Arab American National Museum
10 a.m. Saturday, June 13 @ Michigan Theater Auditorium, 603 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor
Wadjda
Director: Haifaa Al-Mansour
2012/Saudi Arabia
98 min.
A young girl in Saudi Arabia longs for all the things she should not have: American music, friendship with a neighborhood boy, and most importantly, a bicycle. She enters a Quran recitation competition at school to try to win the money for her bike, not realizing how large the boundaries she is pushing against really are. Al-Mansour is the first female filmmaker in Saudi Arabia and a leading cinematic figure there. In Arabic with English subtitles.
Earned awards at festivals in Dubai, Los Angeles, Munich and Vancouver; nominee, 2014 BAFTA Awards.
“…you’re cheering on its nervy young heroine, played in an astonishingly assured debut by Waad Mohammed.” – The Washington Post
3 p.m. Saturday, June 6 @ AANM
May in the Summer
Director: Cherien Dabis
2013/Jordan
99 min.
Sophisticated New Yorker May Brennan (played by director Dabis) is off to her childhood home of Amman, Jordan, for her wedding. Shortly after reuniting with her sisters and their long-divorced parents, myriad familial and cultural conflicts lead May to question the big step she is about to take. Cast includes Hiam Abbass, Alia Shawkat, Nadine Malouf and Bill Pullman. In Arabic and English with English subtitles. Skype session with director/actor Cherien Dabis immediately follows screening.
Official Selection, 2013 Sundance Film Festival
“A stand out! Fresh, breezy, and enjoyable” – Indiewire
7 p.m. Saturday, June 6 @ AANM
Ghadi MICHIGAN PREMIERE
Director: Amin Dora
2014/Lebanon/Qatar
100 min.
After Ghadi, a special-needs child in a Lebanese coastal town, begins making unintelligible sounds that disturb the neighbors, they try to evict Ghadi and his parents from the town. His parents then turn to their friends to help convince the town to let them stay, in this heartwarming and redemptive story. In Arabic with English subtitles.
Best Film and Best Actor at La Nuit des Mabrouk, a joint initiative of Fondation Liban Cinema-FLC and the Lebanese Film Festival
“…a universal comedy about bigotry and redemption that was chosen as Lebanon’s official Oscar entry…”– The Hollywood Reporter
2 p.m. Sunday, June 7 @ AANM
Celebrating Arab Women in Film (shorts program)
These six short films by female directors in the Arab World run the gamut, from tales of family to art to imagination to rebellion. In Arabic with English subtitles (Pioneer High is in English).
Eye & Mermaid MICHIGAN PREMIERE
Director: Shahad Ameen
2013/Saudi Arabia/Qatar
14 min.
Hanan yearns to accompany her father on his nighttime fishing trips. When returns to shore, he always gives her a mysterious black pearl. But there’s a heavy price to pay for these alluring jewels.
Best Short Narrative, Best Cinematography awards, 2014 Abu Dhabi Film Festival
“An impressive scope is covered within the 14-minute timeframe, and beautifully shot.”
In Her Eyes MICHIGAN PREMIERE
Director: Sara Saber
2013/United Arab Emirates
10 min.
A widow and her daughter who have filled their lives with poetry and art struggle with sacrifice, separation and death.
Best Short Film, Best Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, 2013 Arab Film Studio Awards
In Overtime MICHIGAN PREMIERE
Director: Rami Yasin
2014/Jordan/Palestine
13 min.
When 40-year-old Amir visits his ailing father in the hospital intending to reveal a long-held secret, the nature of their dysfunctional relationship gets in the way.
Special Mention, Muhr Shorts Program, 2014 Dubai Int’l Film Festival
The Other Dimension U.S. PREMIERE
Director: Aisha Alzaabi
2014/United Arab Emirates
11 min.
A careless, troublesome 20-year-old man is stuck between reality and imagination as he confronts his past mistakes.
Muhr Emirati Prize for Best Short Film, 2014 Dubai Int’l Film Festival
Transit Game
Director: Anna Fahr
2014/Canada/USA/Lebanon
18 min.
In the northern mountains of Lebanon, a Syrian man hoping to reunite with family torn apart by war encounters two Palestinian children whose own stories of exile provide a glimpse into the uncertainties he faces.
Award Winner, Interfilm 30th Int’l Short Film Festival Berlin, 2014
“…narrates very sensitively and without any misleading pathos the power of friendship, empathy and understanding.” – Interfilm Berlin Festival Jury
Pioneer High MICHIGAN PREMIERE
Director: Suha Araj
2015/USA
10 min.
In 1969, Hala emigrates from Palestine to Michigan and attends a high school that prohibits girls from wearing pants. With her limited English, Hala repeatedly disobeys the rule. A revolution brews as the teacher loses control of his classroom to the new girl’s influence.
7:30 p.m. Sunday, June 7 @ AANM; panel discussion with Suha Araj, Rola Nashef and others TBA follows screening
11:15 a.m. Sunday, June 14 @ Auditorium 2, Modern Languages Bldg., University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, 812 E Washington St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109
From A to B U.S. PREMIERE
Director: Ali Mostafa
2014/U.A.E./Jordan
108 min.
Three estranged childhood friends – Omar, Ramy, and Jay – take a road trip from Abu Dhabi to Beirut in memory of their lost friend. If what happens en route doesn’t make them crazy, it might just bring them closer. In Arabic with English subtitles.
Official Selection, Cairo Int’l Film Festival and Dubai Int’l Film Festival
7 p.m. Friday, June 12 @ AANM
10:15 p.m. Saturday, June 13 @ Michigan Theater Auditorium, 603 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor
Eyes of a Thief MICHIGAN PREMIERE
Director: Najwa Najjar
2014/Palestine
100 min.
Everyone has secrets …some are more dangerous than others. At the height of the second Palestinian Uprising in 2002, Tareq is an enigmatic man bearing fresh wounds. Tended to by local nuns and a priest, who help him escape, he’s soon arrested by Israeli soldiers. In Arabic with English subtitles.
Palestine’s submission for Best Foreign Language Film, 87th Academy Awards. Best Director, 2014 Kolkata Int’l Film Festival; Best Actor, 2014 Cairo Int’l Film Festival.
“…when most Palestinian films attempt to show Palestinians in a one-dimensional positive manner, that is beyond criticism, Najjar presents a much more complex –and realistic — picture of the internal Palestinian fabric.” —Huffington Post
2 p.m. Saturday, June 13 @ AANM
Skype session with director Najwa Najjar immediately follows screening.
Factory Girl MICHIGAN PREMIERE
Director: Mohamed Khan
2013/Egypt
96 min.
Hiyam, a young factory worker, falls head over heels for her new supervisor. A seemingly deep connection between the two turns against Hiyam when she is accused of acting immoral and attacked by those closest to her. She is caught between the struggles of love, societal pressure, maturity and heartache. Starring Yasmin Raeis, Hany Adel, Salwa Kahttab, Salwa Mohamed Ali, and a number of new talents. In Arabic with English subtitles.
Egypt’s submission for Best Foreign Language Film at 87th Academy Awards; earned 15 awards from major international festivals
“…’legendary’ [is] not often a word I associate with contemporary, entertaining and wonderfully human. Yet Khan’s latest film…is all that, and much, much more.” – Huffington Post
7 p.m. Saturday, June 13 @ AANM
TICKETS & PASSES
Advance tickets and festival passes are available online only at www.cinetopiafestival.org. Tickets are also available at Cinetopia venues on the days of each screening.
AANM Members get special discounts by entering this promotion code at checkout: AANM2015
VENUES
All AFF titles will be screened at the Arab American National Museum, 13624 Michigan Ave., Dearborn, Mich. 48126 (free, lighted parking in municipal lot north of AANM; enter from Michigan Avenue using Neckel Street).
AFF films will also be screened at these venues:
Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit, Mich. 48202
Michigan Theater, 603 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor, Mich. 48104
Modern Languages Bldg., University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, 812 E. Washington St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Visit www.cinetopiafestival.org for AFF screening times and dates.
The Arab American National Museum (AANM) documents, preserves and presents Arab American history, culture and contributions.
The AANM is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums; an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution; and a founding member of the Immigration and Civil Rights Network of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience.
The Museum is located at 13624 Michigan Ave., Dearborn, MI, 48126. Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Closed Monday, Tuesday; Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Admission is $8 for adults; $4 for students, seniors and children 6-12; ages 5 and under and Museum Members, free