MENA Films & Documentaries

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Little-known gem

Nominated for the "Palme d'Or" award at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, Divine Intervention is a 2002 surreal black comedy by acclaimed director Elia Suleiman. Divine Intervention stars Suleiman as the silent, expressionless protaganist who is a Palestinian living in Nazareth and whose girlfriend lives several checkpoints away in Ramallah. Standing as one of the most important contemporary Palestinian films, Divine Intervention consists of a series of playful interconnected sketches that investigate the bizarre reality of what it means to live under occupation.

[100% Al Ahly Fan 53]

Anyone see the film 678?

It's an Egyptian film about three women and their search for justice from the daily plight of sexual harassment in Egypt

I haven't seen the film yet but know that women get harrassed there regularly. From subtle advances -- a hoot or a whistle -- to straight out molestation - grabbing, proding or worse.

There is even a website dedicated to women to report instances of harrassment @ http://harassmap.org/?l=en_US

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Anyone see the film 678?

It's an Egyptian film about three women and their search for justice from the daily plight of sexual harassment in Egypt

I haven't seen the film yet but know that women get harrassed there regularly. From subtle advances -- a hoot or a whistle -- to straight out molestation - grabbing, proding or worse.

There is even a website dedicated to women to report instances of harrassment @ http://harassmap.org/?l=en_US

I just saw the trailer - looks excellent:

[Mithra 1,185]

The film sounds very interesting. I was shocked at how blatant the sexual harrassment is in Egypt. Just right out in the open. Horrible.

Anyone see the film 678?

It's an Egyptian film about three women and their search for justice from the daily plight of sexual harassment in Egypt

I haven't seen the film yet but know that women get harrassed there regularly. From subtle advances -- a hoot or a whistle -- to straight out molestation - grabbing, proding or worse.

There is even a website dedicated to women to report instances of harrassment @ http://harassmap.org/?l=en_US

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

The film sounds very interesting. I was shocked at how blatant the sexual harrassment is in Egypt. Just right out in the open. Horrible.

Very disturbing

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

The Frontiers Of Dreams & Fears
A movie by Mai Masri




The clip shows the scene in bold:

Offering a rare glimpse into one side of the Middle East conflict, FRONTIERS OF DREAMS AND FEARS explores the lives of a group of Palestinian children growing up in refugee camps.

The film focuses on two teenage girls, Mona and Manar. Although living in refugee camps miles apart, the girls manage to communicate and become friends with each other despite the overwhelming barriers separating them. The film reveals their lives and dreams and their growing relationship, at first through email, then culminating in their dramatic meeting at the fence that separates them at the Lebanese/Israeli border.

Mona Zaaroura, aged 13, lives in Shatila Refugee Camp in Beirut. Located in the heart of Beirut's "Belt of Misery," the camp is the site of the Sabra-Shatila massacre that shocked the world in 1982. "Home" to more than 20,000 Palestine and Lebanese children, Shatila provides a common experience of displacement, unemployment and poverty to those who live there. The camp consists of a maze of tight alleyways packed into a single square mile with families as large as 10 sharing a single room. Mona lives with her mother and seven brothers and sisters. Her father was killed during the 1987 siege of the camp.

Manar Majed Faraj, 14, lives in Dheisha Refugee Camp outside of Bethlehem. Born when her father was in prison, Manar lives with her mother, two sisters and two brothers. Her father, out of prison for now, lives at home with the family.

Both Mona and Manar participate in activities at community centers in their camps. One of these activities is using the Internet so that Palestinians from all over can communicate directly with each other. Mona and Manar are also traditional pen pals with other refugees, exchanging letters, photos and drawings, trying to stay in touch as much as possible.

Manar convinces her grandfather to take her to their former village outside Jerusalem, Ras Abou Ammar. There Manar's grandfather finds the ruins of their home, destroyed by the Israeli Army in 1948. Manar dreams of being able to return some day. Manar is also able to visit Mona's former village, Saffouria. She takes a video for Mona and fills an envelope with rocks and dirt for her friend to treasure.

In Shatila, the children celebrate their country by remembering the names of their former villages in Palestine. Each child tells the name of their village, locates it on old maps, then makes a key with the name of the village. The keys offer hope that someday these children might have a home of their own.

With only voiceover translation and no narration, the Palestinian children share their hopes and fears in their own words. Although the film shows the harsh physical landscape of the camps, many times Mona and Manar appear as giggly and lighthearted as teenagers the world over, laughing and talking with their girlfriends about boys.

During the six months of filming starting in May 2000, two important events happened in the Middle East. One was the sudden evacuation of Israeli forces from South Lebanon in May, reducing the once miles-thick border to a few strands of razor wire. Families who hadn't seen each others for decades journeyed to the now-flimsy border to hug, pass vegetables and kiss babies through the barbed wire, exchange greetings and inquire about lost family members. Mona and Manar manage to meet at the border fence, making the plight of the Palestinian people palpably clear.

The last major event, which ends the film, was the beginning of the second Palestinian Intifada ("insurrection" or "uprising" in Arabic), in November 2000.

[kristen_maroc 126]

I really, really, REALLY recommend Crossing Borders. It's a documentary about crossing borders between cultures, and traces 4 American and 4 Moroccan students traveling around Morocco together with some amazing discussions, a visit to Sidi Moumen, etc. I cry every time I see it. I can't bear to watch it now because I miss Morocco so terribly. http://crossingbordersfilm.org/ The trailer is there as well.

I also recommend getting a screening together for a local university/group/school/etc. It's an awesome "introduction" to Morocco if people want to know more about the people and culture.

I can't recommend this enough!

Other Moroccan-ish movies I like a lot and recommend are Amours Voilees, Casanegra, and I LOVED Ali Zaoua. You can stream Ali Zaoua on Netflix right now.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

I really, really, REALLY recommend Crossing Borders. It's a documentary about crossing borders between cultures, and traces 4 American and 4 Moroccan students traveling around Morocco together with some amazing discussions, a visit to Sidi Moumen, etc. I cry every time I see it. I can't bear to watch it now because I miss Morocco so terribly. http://crossingbordersfilm.org/ The trailer is there as well.

I also recommend getting a screening together for a local university/group/school/etc. It's an awesome "introduction" to Morocco if people want to know more about the people and culture.

I can't recommend this enough!

Other Moroccan-ish movies I like a lot and recommend are Amours Voilees, Casanegra, and I LOVED Ali Zaoua. You can stream Ali Zaoua on Netflix right now.

Thanks for the heads up on Netflix & Ali Zaoua !

I found the trailer for Crossing Borders -

I could not find a trailer for Amours Voilees, but here is the film (part 1):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAFXr5UUvkI

And here is the trailer for Casanegra:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ILH8s-Zy4Y

[100% Al Ahly Fan 53]

So I was chatting with my sister in law this weekend and she recommended a movie. She told me about, ASMAA, which is a movie about a women who has HIV and struggles with the social stigma of that disease in Egypt (which I'm assuming is the same view through out the MENA region).

Another couple movies I'm interested in is 18 Days and a documentary (I believe it is anyways), is Tahrir 2011: The Good, The Bad & The Politician, which I don't know if either are out yet. Both are about the Egyptian Revolution.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

So I was chatting with my sister in law this weekend and she recommended a movie. She told me about, ASMAA, which is a movie about a women who has HIV and struggles with the social stigma of that disease in Egypt (which I'm assuming is the same view through out the MENA region).

Another couple movies I'm interested in is 18 Days and a documentary (I believe it is anyways), is Tahrir 2011: The Good, The Bad & The Politician, which I don't know if either are out yet. Both are about the Egyptian Revolution.

Found all the trailers - these look great !

Keep 'em coming...

[Beauty for Ashes 257]

Found all the trailers - these look great !

Keep 'em coming...

RASHIDA..the movie part one...dark years in Algeria

RASHIDA..the movie part one...dark years in Algeria

RASHIDA part 2, dark years in ALGERIA

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Amreeka

Amreeka chronicles the adventures of Muna, a single mother who leaves the West Bank with Fadi, her teenage son, with dreams of an exciting future in the promised land of small town Illinois. In America, as her son navigates high school hallways the way he used to move through military checkpoints, the indomitable Muna scrambles together a new life cooking up falafel burgers as well as hamburgers at the local White Castle.

Told with heartfelt humor by writer-director Cherien Dabis in her feature film debut, Amreeka is a universal journey into the lives of a family of immigrants and first-generation teenagers caught between their heritage and the new world in which they now live and the bittersweet search for a place to call home.

Amreeka recalls Dabis’s family’s memories of their lives in rural America during the first Iraq War. The film stars Haifa-trained actress Nisreen Faour as Muna, and Melkar Muallen plays her 16-year-old son, Fadi. Also in the cast are Hiam Abbass, Alia Shawkat, Yussef Abu-Warda and Joseph Ziegler. Written and directed by Cherien Dabis, Amreeka was produced by Christina Piovesan and Paul Barkin. Alicia Sams, Dabis and Gregory Keever were executive producers; Liz Jarvis and Al-Zain Al-Sabah were co-producers.

National Geographic Entertainment will release Amreeka in September 2009. Amreeka is a First Generation Films-Alcina Pictures-Buffalo Gal Pictures/Eagle Vision Media Group Production, presented by E1 Entertainment in association with Levantine Entertainment, Rotana Studios and Showtime Arabia.

Amreeka made its world premiere in dramatic competition at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, and played as Opening Night of New Directors/New Films, a co-presentation of The Museum of Modern Art and The Film Society of Lincoln Center. Amreeka made its debut internationally in Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

These two films are excellent documentaries on some of the non-violent protests against The Wall that have been ongoing in the West Bank -

Budrus

Budrus is an award-winning feature documentary film about a Palestinian community organizer, Ayed Morrar, who unites local Fatah and Hamas members along with Israeli supporters in an unarmed movement to save his village of Budrus from destruction by Israel’s Separation Barrier. Success eludes them until his 15-year-old daughter, Iltezam, launches a women’s contingent that quickly moves to the front lines. Struggling side by side, father and daughter unleash an inspiring, yet little-known, movement in the Occupied Palestinian Territories that is still gaining ground today. In an action-filled documentary chronicling this movement from its infancy, Budrus shines a light on people who choose nonviolence to confront a threat. The movie is directed by award-winning filmmaker Julia Bacha (co-writer and editor of Control Room and co-director Encounter Point), and produced by Bacha, Palestinian journalist Rula Salameh, and filmmaker and human rights advocate Ronit Avni (formerly of WITNESS, Director of Encounter Point). Read more information about the crew and cast.

While this film is about one Palestinian village, it tells a much bigger story about what is possible in the Middle East. Ayed succeeded in doing what many people believe to be impossible: he united feuding Palestinian political groups, including Fatah and Hamas; he brought women to the heart of the struggle by encouraging his daughter Iltezam's leadership; and welcoming hundreds of Israelis to cross into Palestinian territory for the first time and join this nonviolent effort. Many of the activists who joined the villagers of Budrus are now continuing to support nonviolence efforts in villages from Bil’in to Nabi Saleh to Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem.

Budrus includes diverse voices-- from the Palestinian leaders of the movement and their Israeli allies to an Israeli military spokesman, Doron Spielman, and Yasmine Levy, the Israeli border police captain stationed in the village at that time. While many documentaries about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict either romanticize the notion of peace, or dwell entirely on the suffering of victims to the conflict, this film focuses on the success of a Palestinian-led nonviolent movement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQampNYtcYk

5 Broken Cameras

When his fourth son, Gibreel, is born, Emad, a Palestinian villager, gets his first camera. In his village, Bil'in, a separation barrier is being built and the villagers start to resist this decision. For more than five years, Emad films the struggle, which is lead by two of his best friends, alongside filming how Gibreel grows. Very soon it affects his family and his own life. Daily arrests and night raids scare his family; his friends, brothers and him as well are either shot or arrested. One Camera after another is shot at or smashed, each camera tells a part of his story.

Award Winner

World Cinema Documentary Directing Award - D.C.

[Sarah B 26]

A classsic film about Tunisia is 3asfour fil fouk esstah (the bird on the roof)

Indigenes is a French movie about the North African fighters during WWII.

I need to go scan my movie collection again for Algerian/Tunisian films.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mrXCQTG5pI

Checkpoint
Directed by Yoav Shamir

Review by Maureen Clair Murphy

“When the Palestinians come we put on our show,” says a youthful Israeli soldier manning a checkpoint at Nablus’ Jericho road. This “show,” as it is richly documented in the new Israeli film Checkpoint, serves a seemingly dual purpose. First and foremost, it is intended to remind Palestinians just who is in power; and secondly, it serves as a form of entertainment to the young Israelis whose compulsory military service finds them wasting their time and talents at these roadblocks in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Filmed during 2001-2003, this cinema verité exposé on the subjugation of ordinary Palestinians at Israeli checkpoints doesn’t spend time discussing the historical context of the conflict. Instead, the intent is to show viewers, without much meddling by the voice of the filmmaker Yoav Shamir, the power dynamics enforced at the checkpoints that choke the infrastructure of Palestinian society.

The simplest of activities are made impossible by Israeli soldiers, who are documented in the film as sometimes denying Palestinians movement just because they can. Palestinian men, women, and children - healthy, frail, old, and young - are forced to wait in bitter thunderstorms, snow, and the heat to get to hospitals, schools, funerals, jobs, and their homes.

Because the film focuses on just this one aspect of the conflict - the checkpoints - the full horrors of the Israeli military occupation, like the violence that usually makes the news, aren’t readily apparent. But it vividly demonstrates the banality of the occupation - the waiting, the frustration, the struggle of wills between the Palestinian population and the barely out of high-school Israeli boys who operate the checkpoints - the only Israelis most Palestinians will ever meet.

An annoyed but patient Palestinian man attempts to drive his truck through a checkpoint at Jenin’s southern entrance. He tries negotiating with the Israelis, who tell him that a curfew has been placed on Jenin because “you guys are making trouble.” The Israelis tell the man that he can sleep in his truck that night.

An Arab-Israeli man near Hebron tries returning through the checkpoint he was at a half an hour ago, as he was told earlier he was allowed to do, but finds that the Israelis have changed their mind, for no apparent reason. Responding to the Israeli who says, “I’m just a soldier at a checkpoint,” the young man says, “Okay, but that’s not fair. … If you were in my place, what would you do?”

After the man has finally has driven off, the soldier says to the camera, “Try to make me look good, not like the bad guy.” The filmmaker replies, “How can I?” The soldier answers, “Blame it on the higher-ups.”

Israeli border police working in Palestinian Bethlehem brag that they “break” the Palestinians by humiliating them at the checkpoints. To clarify any confusion, one of the officers says, “What do I mean by ‘break them?” [i mean] make them suffer. … Let the world know. This is the Bethlehem Border police.” The officer is soon distracted by an attractive 15-year-old Palestinian girl across the road, whom he harasses despite her polite efforts to show she isn’t interested.

Perhaps feeling safe because there is a filmmaker to provide witness to the Israeli soldiers’ actions, a young man at a checkpoint near Nablus gets in a shouting match with a soldier, who promptly detains him (one wonders what the soldiers do when there isn’t a camera around). In the same scene, a trembling older man in a keffiyeh holds out his bags to the soldiers and explains in broken English, “Food for my wife for Christmas tomorrow. Meat for my family,” and begins to tear up when the soldiers deny him entrance despite his declaration of friendship to the young Israelis.

The audience experiences with the Palestinians at the checkpoints the rage that bubbles under when a jaded Israeli, armed to the teeth, doesn’t let a Palestinian mother accompany her crying grade-school aged sons through a checkpoint at Khan Younis. Viewers nearly get goosebumps as a Palestinian man shivers and rubs his hands together for warmth during a winter thunderstorm at a checkpoint near Nablus.

We celebrate the small victory the Palestinians achieve when they storm through a checkpoint at Ramallah, led by a middle-aged Palestinian woman who yells to the Israelis that they can shoot her if they want, undeterred by the warning shots they fire into the air. As one soldier shouts that he’ll “break her bones,” a Palestinian shouts, “Is this the freedom you promised us?”

It is clear in the film that the Israelis have the upper hand in this conflict. Watching nineteen-year-old Israeli soldiers decide when and where and how Palestinians must go about their daily activities causes American and Israeli criticisms that Palestinian leadership must “do more” to improve the situation of the Palestinians to ring hollow. Seeing Palestinian kids having to empty out of a schoolbus at the behest of gun-toting Israeli soldiers causes little wonder that some of them might grow up to become militant. The children are fresh-faced and goofing off for the camera now, but how long can they go, passing tanks on their way to school and watching their parents be humiliated at checkpoints, before they attempt to wrest back their dignity and self-determination from the hands of their occupiers?

In a not particularly optimistic but entirely poignant conclusion, a group of young Palestinian men sit in the dark at a checkpoint, in the pouring rain and thunder. One of the men protests that he has been sitting there for ten hours, and when he asks when he’ll be able to pass through, the Israeli soldiers keep on telling him “soon.” As he is explaining this to his peers also waiting at the checkpoint, the video goes black, and the credits begin to roll as the men continue to speak in Arabic. It’s an apt ending - the Palestinians have been waiting for justice for decades now, and all they are hearing from the rest of the world is, “soon.”