Cinema - Middle East

SUMMARY OF INFORMATION ABOUT FILMS

1. General information about distributors, lenders, resources, etc.

Arab Film Distribution

www.arabfilm.com.

Address: 2417 10th Ave. E, Seattle, WA 98102.

Phone: 206 322-0882. Fax: 206 322-4586.

Iran

The Source For Iranian Videos and Music

ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

THE FILMS OF ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

NYU Near East Center

Will lend videos for free in the tri-state area of NY- NJ-CT by NYU, or for $5.00 for those on the Eastern seaboard outside the three states. They have a catalogue with critical summaries for each title.

Their website: http://www.nyu.edu/gsas/program/neareast/center.html

University of Virginia

Waddah al-Khatib has compiled a University of Virginia video catalog with a thematic/by topic list of Middle East related videos. Waddah al-Khatib, University of Virginia, English Department and Division of Asian and Middle-Eastern languages and Cultures, Charlottesville, VA 22903. E-mail: wa5y@server2.mail.virginia.edu

Annual Arab Film Festival in San Francisco

has a web site: http://www.aff.org/information.

E-mail address: info@aff.org. From Nabeel Ibrahim, Festival Board Member

First Run/Icarus Films

153 Waverly Place NY, NY 10014

Films for the Humanities and Sciences

P.O. Box 2053 Princeton, NJ 08543-2053

Morocco

Moroccan cinema

Palestinian Cinema

Motion Pictures

• 100% Arabica If the Details Are Exotic, the Conflict Is Familiar (The New York Times, June 23, 2000)
• "Battle of Algiers". French, subtitled in English; about Algerian war of liberation from the French, 1954-1962. "Good gender discussion in addition to the FLN issue" [Joel Beinin]; Needs a lot of contextualizing for beginning students. [Ellen Fleischmann]
• "Suspended Dreams". Directed and produced by Jean Chamoun and Mai Masri, a husband and wife team who have produced several films about Lebanon and Palestine. Distributor: Bullfrog Films, Box 149, Oley, PA 19547. 610-779-8226. "Contains three main stories, one of which is about a woman whose husband was kidnapped during the [civil] war, and she has gone on to found an association for the families of kidnapped people", M. Damaj. "About reconstruction of Lebanon, along with loss of culture and self", Charles Winslow.
• Al-Naser Salah El Deen". Egypt, 1960s; "about one of the most wonderful periods of Muslims in Middle East". Marwan Baker
• "Al Qadsiyah". 80s production by more than one countries; "very good Islamic film". Marwan Baker.
• "Muhammad al Fatih". American, Astrolab in VA; animated; "one of the best movie I've seen in USA about Islm".
• "Lion of the Desert". Distributor: AWAIR, Berkeley, CA and Arab Films Distribution. Directed by Mustafa al-Aqqad, starring Anthony Quinn, Irene Pappas, John Gielgud, Rod Steiger. Libyan resistance to Italian fascism from about 1911-early 1920s; about `Umar al-Mukhtar.
• Days of Democracy" by Ateyyat al-Abnudi; 60 minutes; distributed by Arab Film Distribution; from them: "records the successes and failures of the female candidate in the 1995 elections of the people's assembly in Egypt". Ahdaf Soueif recommends others by her also; "she makes documentaries of contemporary Egyptian life focusing to a large extent on women's issues". Fax and phone (not sure whose: maybe the filmmaker's or a distributor? 202 263 4642; studio 202 290 9942). Ahdaf Soueif.
• "On Boys, Girls and the Veil" by Yusri Nasrallah. "Very 'non-intrusive' film maker." His address in Cairo: home phone 342 2079; office phone 578 8124; fax 578 8033; e-mail: yona@starnet.com.eg. Ahdaf Soueif.
• "Umm Kulthum, A Voice Like Egypt", based on the work of Dr. Virginia Danielson, narrated by Omar Sharif; in English. "The film ties the story of her life and career to the story of Egypt during a period of great dynamism, between the 1919 Revolution, and the end of her career in 1972. The film makes connections between Egyptian musical, linguistic, and political culture, dealing with issues of nation-building and confrontation with Western modernity relevant to other countries in the region during the same period. The film is epic in scope, full of music, and geared toward those who don't yet know much about the region." Distributed by Filmmakers Collaborative: phone 781 647-1102, fax 781 647-1140; e-mail: ummkulthum@aol.com. Will send preview cassette. Info provided by distributor.
• "The Message". [There are two versions: one in Arabic and one in English starring Anthony Quinn and directed by Mustafa al-Aqqad]; about the birth of Islam in the 7th century. Recommended by Mohammed Mohsin Ali Chishty, Hatoon al-Fassi, myself (I have only seen the Arabic version, which is stirring, but long and not suitable for American students because it's not subtitled); available from Arab Films Dist.
• "Living Islam". Series of 6 episodes by the BBC showing modern day Islam from Arabia to the US; covers topics such as history, women, the future, etc.
• "Fatih". Cartoon about the change of Constantinople into Istanbul and the growth of the Ottoman Empire in the 16th-17th century.
• "Lawrence of Arabia". Starring Peter O'Toole. Me: probably most of us have seen it. It is a grand epic, beautifully filmed, cliched Western version of the 1916 Arab Revolt led by the Sharif Hussein's family. A Hollywood version but nonetheless more sympathetic than what they're pumping out these days. From my perspective, it's problematic because of its length. It's been criticized for its fictionalization of this historical incident but it "gets students in the mood".
• Series on 50 Years of the Arab-Israeli conflict by the BBC; available on video, but probably only from the BBC itself. Gerd Nonneman. [If this is what they showed recently on PBS, co-produced with WGBH, I don't recommend it at all. A lot of its information comes from some pretty unreliable interlocutors, like Ariel Sharon on Sabra and Shatila, for example. It also uses "terrorist" unproblematically, constantly and frequently without any reflection or context. Very selective history of the kind we get every day in the mainstream media.
• "End of Empire". BBC doc; maybe contact British Council in London or BBC headquarters. About the British evacuation from South Yemen in 1968. Haynes Mahoney.
• "Traditional World of Islam" series. Available (as of three years ago) from Institutional Cinema Inc., 10 First Street, Saguerties, NY 12477, phone 914 246-2848. Cost (then) $500 each, but "well worth it" (Michael Sells). Also can be borrowed free or for $5.00 from NYU. [see above] "The Traditional World of Islam Films are particularly fine for their extraordinary visual impressions of villages and cities, art and architecture, and classical terminology in the Islamic world. The narration includes spices of quotes from Islamic authors, the Qur'an, and the producers' views of Islam (influenced by a well-present [sic] version of thoughts resembling those of Seyyid Hussein Nasr, one of the consultants)...students...come away amazed and delighted at the manner in which they've been brought into the sensual patterns of life in the classic Islamic countries of the Middle East and South Asia. The response has been overwhelmingly positive...The two I find most useful are 'Patterns of Beauty' [on Islamic art, calligraphy and architecture], and 'Man and Nature'..." They do not cover contemporary issues much.
• "Power of the Word" video from The Arabs series. "Very effective in showing verbal expression in the Arabic-speaking world, from within the civil war in Beirut back to citations from the Qur'an and Jahili Qasidas, with a most effective presentation of Hakawatis and a wonderful scene of an `Antar romance presentation in a coffee shop with audience reaction and engagement."
• "Living Islam". Series of 4-6 films, produced in London by the BBC, narrated by Aziz (or Akbar?) Ahmed. Recommended "highly"
• "From Beirut to Bosnia" by Robert Fisk (Middle East correspondent for the Independent), 1994; "originally aired on the Discovery Channel in 3 or 4 segments. It explores the roots behind anti-Western sentiment in the Muslim world." Available from Fisk c/o THE INDEPENDENT Foreign Desk, 1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, UK E14 51L. Costs about $25.00 and needs to be converted."
• "Nasser 56", nationalization of the Suez Canal. Available from Arab Film Distribution.
• "Jerusalem: An Occupation Set in Stone"
• "Wedding in Galilee". Arab Film Distribution.
• "Anou Banou: The Daughters of Utopia".
• "Forbidden Marriages in the Holy Land". Arab Film Distribution.
• "Price of Change" by BJ Fernea; 28 minutes; good for discussion but outdated. uses in women's history course.
• "Saints and Spirits". 28 minutes.
• "Dreams of Hind and Kamilya" for contemporary Egypt. Arab Film Distribution.
• "Terrorism and Kabab" for contemporary Egypt; "state-secularist propaganda...needs good context." Arab Film Distribution.
• "Door to the Sky"; "great on women's spirituality and a positive view of Islam in Morocco". Arab Film Distribution.
• "Tales From Arab Detroit" by Joan Mandell, about the Arab-American community in Dearborn, Michigan.
• The Crusadesfrom the History Channel, with host Terry Jones (of Monty Python fame). "A witty and funny expose of the history of the crusades. Inexpensive."
• "Flowers of the South" by Jean Chamoun and Mai Masri, husband and wife team who've produced films about Lebanon and Palestine. (See entry on "Suspended Dreams".) "Tells the story of several women from South Lebanon."
• Then and Nowby Maha Khatib. 40 min. documentary about older Palestinian women living in Ein al-Hilweh Camp in Lebanon. Presents the womenís memories of pre-1948 Palestine and contrasts these with contemporary reality in the camp. Arabic with English sub-titles. Good for information about effects of 1948, pre-1948 Palestinian peasant life.
• Suleyman the Magnificent. Around 50 minutes. Unfortunately, I do not have the details on distribution. All of us who have taught at Georgetown University. have used it. Visually stunning and well-done documentary on the Ottoman emperor Suleyman and 16th century Ottoman history, court life, Istanbul, art and architecture. Georgetown people could provide details.
• Still Ready: Three Women From the Moroccan Resistance, directed by Hakim Belabbes, produced by Alison Baker. 51 minute. ìShows a group of women for whom religion was not a hindrance to a very active participation in the liberation of their country. What these women tell of themselves and their experience is profound.. Distributed by Alison Baker. Website: members.aol.com/alisonbak.