Contemporary Arab Cinema 2019
Sep. 18–25, 2019
Bombarded as we are by news and opinions of varying levels of urgency and truth, I wonder if there has ever been a more important time to pause and take a look behind the noise and headlines. This series offers us all a rare and timely opportunity to journey to worlds we think we understand but really can’t claim to know. I’m excited to see you all in September for the eighth edition of Contemporary Arab Cinema—another week of award-winning movies, drinks, friendship, and more.
—Lina Matta, curator
Lina Matta will host every screening.
A Lebanese-American based in Dubai, Lina Matta is the director of MBC Group’s channels 2, 4, Max, and Variety. She has programmed this series for the JBFC since 2012.
Yomeddine
Sep. 18, 2019
Opening Night followed by RECEPTION
Yomeddine’s main character, Beshay, has lived in an Egyptian leper colony since childhood and now—cured of the disease and recently…
Rashid & Rajab
Sep. 19, 2019
Q&A filmmaker Mohammed Saeed Harib
After a freak accident causes a wealthy Emirati executive and an Egyptian fast-food deliveryman (who inhabits a very different place…
Fatwa
Sep. 19, 2019
This intense drama focuses on Brahim Nadhour, a Tunisian who has been living in France for several years and returns…
For Sama
Sep. 20, 2019
w/ Abeer Pamuk
For Sama is the story of filmmaker Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years in Aleppo, Syria, as she falls in…
When Arabs Danced
Sep. 20, 2019
Writer/director/journalist Jawad Rhalib has created a stirring testament to the power of art especially as it exists in the Muslim…
EXT. Night
Sep. 21, 2019
Q&A filmmaker Ahmad Abdallah
Moe, an aspiring director, is in the midst of an existential crisis. His film is underfinanced, his friends are being…
aKasha
Sep. 22, 2019
The first Sudanese film in this series! In this quirky comedy, Adnan, a Sudanese rebel and war hero is in…
Of Fathers and Sons
Sep. 22, 2019
Q&A journalist Sam Dagher
Syrian-born filmmaker Talal Derki (Return to Homs) travels to his homeland where he gains the trust of a radical Islamist…
The Swing
Sep. 23, 2019
Q&A filmmaker Cyril Aris via Skype
In this “low-budget but high-impact documentary” (Holllywood Reporter), Lebanese documentary filmmaker Cyril Aris chronicles an upsetting story from his own…
Capernaum
Sep. 23, 2019
Capernaum tells the story of clever, gutsy 12-year-old Zain, who is forced to fend for himself on the streets of…
Tel Aviv on Fire
Sep. 25, 2019
Q&A filmmaker Sameh Zoabi
In this comedic take on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Salam, an inexperienced and charming young Palestinian man, works on a popular…
10 Days Before the Wedding
Mar. 3–10, 2021
Available March 3 at 10:00 am—March 10 at 11:59 pm ONLY Rasha and Ma’moon, a young couple from Yemen’s port…
Presented with generous support from:
