This will be the first of an annual film series featuring films from the Middle East and North Africa since those areas have become so much a part of the American consciousness and will doubtlessly remain so. Rather than focusing on the films of an individual country each year, we will show 4-6 important films from various countries in the region: Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
-- Chale Nafus, Director of Programming, Austin Film Society
A group of Sunni Arab Bandaris from Shia-majority Iran live on an abandoned oil tanker anchored in the Persian Gulf. Their commander, surrogate father, stern but loving patriarch, » read more
Worried about her teenage daughter's possible involvement with a young drummer, Lilia follows him to a cabaret where he plays in a band. Once she steps inside the large smoke-filled club where men drink and watch the sensual movements of belly-dancers, both young and not so, Lilia begins a journey toward freedom, joy, and unbridled self-expression.
Relegated to a refugee camp near the Iraqi-Turkish border, a community of Kurdish children and adults eke out a living by defusing land mines (sometimes unsuccessfully) and selling them to U.N. representatives. » read more
James is a young South African Christian intent on making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Once he arrives in Tel Aviv, he is swept up into the arms of immigration officers who throw him into jail.
During a sweltering summer vacation on the Aegean coast, the relationship between middle-aged professor Isa (played by director Ceylan himself) and his younger, television producer girlfriend Bahar (the luminous Ebru Ceylan, Ceylan’s real-life wife) brutally implodes. » read more
