SOURCE: BBC

(non-fiction) Stories from Across the Arab World: 5 short documentaries and reportage about the different corners of the Arab world, from Egypt to Western Sahara and Nubia.Saturday, April 21, 11:30am

This screening will be followed by a Q&A with the directors, hosted by Fatima Manji, Channel 4 Reporter and BBC Arabic Festival Judge.

The Youngest Survivor from Al-Salam Boccaccio – reportage by Sahar Arabi3′, Egypt, Arabic with English subtitles (2017) World Premiere

On February 3, 2006, the MS al-Salam Boccaccio 98 ferry sank in the Red Sea on its way from Saudi Arabia to Safaga in southern Egypt. Of the 1,310 travelers, 388 survived. This report is about the youngest of those survivors. Five-years-old at the time, he lost his entire family in the accident. He went on to have nightmares, developed a fear of the sea, and was left unable to speak. Now, 12 years after the accident Mohamed has regained his voice but has to see a therapist, he is plagued by the details of what happened to his family and seeks justice.

Necessity Has No Law – short documentary by Ahmed Hamad6′, Egypt, Arabic with English subtitles (2016) UK Premiere

Gamal is 14 years old but unlike most children his age he doesn’t have dreams and ambitions for the future. He comes from a small city in Egypt and works from dusk until dawn in a brick factory alongside older men who are ready to retire. Gamal shares the sharp wit and big heart of his Egyptian compatriots, offering us a glimpse into a day in his life via this reportage.

3 Stolen Cameras – short documentary by RåFILM and Equipe Media17′, Western Sahara, Arabic with English subtitles (2017) UK Premiere

This is a story about breaking censorship in an area where the Moroccan authorities have been accused by NGOs of implementing a near total media blockade. Journalists are not allowed to enter Western Sahara, yet here members of Equipe Media fight to keep their cameras to shoot the unique footage that we are watching. 3 Stolen Cameras is a proud nod to the Oscar-nominated 2011 documentary, 5 Broken Cameras, extending a cinematic tradition of reflection on the importance of the camera in empowered social and political witness. Censored in Lebanon days before its world premiere, we present the film’s UK premiere.

Musical Lesson – reportage by Aly ElSotohy4′, Egypt, Arabic with English subtitles (2017) UK Premiere

Lotfy Shenouda has spent almost 40 years of his life in ElArish, North Sinai, teaching displaced children and adults how to play various musical instruments. In spite of the violent killing of seven Copts by Islamic militants earlier in the year, Shenouda did not stop playing his music. The piece, shot secretly on a mobile phone, tells a forgotten tale from an underexposed and remote area of Sinai. This is a story about love and hope in wartime.

The Town the Men Left – short documentary by Hanan Youssef Abdulla22′, Nubia, Arabic with English subtitles (2017) World Premiere

This short documentary visits Omay, Eyo and Sokar, each from a different Nubian village in Aswan, Egypt. These women share a similar struggle; abandoned by their husbands, they live the paradox of being neither married nor divorced and are stigmatized by their communities for working to support themselves and their children. The director’s fly-on-the-wall approach is led by the women’s own narration, conveying their daily challenges living in a patriarchal society. Shot in vivid colour and wide-view photography, the audience is invited into these proud women’s warm homes, exposing a rich Nubian culture that is fading day by day.