Festival guide - Arabian Film Days 2014
Three days packed with quality films from the Arabic world are right around the corner. The programme might seem overwhelming, but there is no need to freak out. In this festival guide you will find all the information you need to enjoy a spectacular film weekend.
What are the films you have to see? The debates you can’t miss? Where should you eat? How do you get your tickets? And not at least: Where will the festival be held? We give you all the answers you’ve been waiting for.
New location
Arabian Film Days has moved out from Filmens Hus, and will this year be held at the renovated Kino Victoria next to Vikatorget. We are screening 15 films with different content and focuses. Also, you are welcome to enjoy interesting director’s talks and debates after the screenings. In other words, there is a lot to look forward to!
What should you see?
This year’s programme is large and the genre width extends far. You will laugh as much as you will cry. The films touch themes such as revolution, love, family relations and women’s rights, and will be conveyed through serious documentaries, thriller dramas and stand-up-comedy.
Gjermund Granlund, one of the project leaders for Arabian Film Days, has three things from the program that he thinks you shouldn’t miss out on. All of them are documentaries with conversations after the screening.
- The first film is The Square from Egypt. This year’s best documentary from the Middle East and rightly Oscar-nominated. The film gives an exciting and critical insight to the development of the revolution in Egypt. We meet one of the activists for a conversation after the screening.
Further, he points out Thank God It’s Friday, directed by Jan Beddegenoodts who has spent a long time in the Palestinian village Nabi Saleh. Here, the villagers experience that Israeli settlers are confiscating their land. The film depicts both the villagers’ and the settlers’ point of view.
- This is a real pearl that conveys how different lives neighbours can actually have. The result is an incredible insight into how absurd the Israeli occupation is.
The last documentary that Granlund mentions is The Mulberry House from Yemen – a country that rarely is shown on cinema screens.
- Even though the documentary is filmed in a period with political unrest, the film is first of all an intimate portrayal of a family and their conversations about politics, love, family and Yemeni culture. A rare insight into an inaccessible world.
The rest of the program is available here.
How to get your tickets
If you are just planning to watch a few films, you can buy single tickets, which cost 100 kroner. These can be purchased through Oslo Kino’s website or at Oslo Kino’s outlets. If you are planning to see many films, you should consider buying the festival pass. The ordinary pass costs 400 kroner and student pass costs 300 kroner.
Passes can be purchased at Saga Kino or Kino Victoria.
The festival pass is not valid as a ticket. Single tickets have to be collected before screenings – either at Saga Kino or Kino Victoria (Keep in mind that screenings might get sold out).
The festival pass is personal and entitles one ticket per screening (if tickets are available). The festival pass has to be displayed when collecting tickets. Reserving tickets online is unfortunately not possible for pass holders. The festival pass has to be displayed together with your tickets at the entrance of each screening.
Remember: All films start on time. And: There is an 18 year age limit at Kino Victoria. Children between 11-18 years old are only allowed in if accompanied by an adult.
Remember to eat
It is not fun to watch films on an empty stomach. At this year’s festival you will not have to wander far to find a good meal – you don’t even have to step outside of Kino Victoria! Kino Victoria is not only a cinema, but also an eatery. In addition to their regular menu, Victoria will also serve a special Arabic menu for Arabian Film Days.
Is there any better way to digest new film impressions together with matching food?
During the festival, Kino Victoria’s eatery will make one Arabian special meal every day, this will involve everything from kibbeh and roasted lamb to tajine and eggplant casserole. In addition, it will be possible to order a Middle East tapas plate, mezze, consisting of home made pita bread and courses such as tabbouleh and baba ganoush.
High temperature on the dance floor
There is a lot of sitting when you watch films and follow debates and guest conversations. Therefore, it is good to know that you are invited to our party on the 5th of April! Atlas band with friends is coming to give you danceable Arabic rhythms that we can guarantee will revive your bloodstream!
The band will give you music from the rich middle eastern music tradition from Iraq in the east to Morocco in the west: classical Arabic music, rai, folk music, pop chaabi and gnawa. The atmosphere will be electric!
You are more than welcome to our party at Kino Victoria, Saturday 5th of April from 10 p.m.!
Questions during the festival
If you have any questions during the festival, please do not hesitate to ask one of the volunteers in yellow t-shirts from Babel Film Club. They are there for you to have a wonderful festival experience!