Program Release Arab Film Days 2015
The anniversary program for the Arab Film Days 2015 has now been released online, and tickets are available too! We look forward to four happy film days together with you, when the festival celebrates five years 16th -19th of April. With over twenty of the best film productions and documentaries from the Middle East, a rare silent film concert, engaging panel debates and an authentic Arabic party, there is something for absolutely everyone on the program.
Project leaders Gjermund Granlund and Kristian Takvam Kindt, spill the beans and reveal some of the highlights from this year's program:
The opening film Theeb, is an Arab jewel of a Bedouin western in the same category as Lawrence of Arabia. It won best director in Venice and has reaped recognition widely in the film world. With magnificent desert scenes and an engaging story, it is a gift to all who are interested in Arabic film, says Gjermund. After the opening there will be a conversation between director Naji Abu Nowar and film critic in Variety, Jay Weissberg.
A witty little documentary from Palestine, is The Wanted 18, which have adapted animation and images to tell a very special story from the first intifada, when 18 "Palestinian" cows were suddenly wanted by the Israeli military. This is a film you absolutely should not miss because it tells an inspiring story of inventive, non-violent resistance against the occupation that never seems to end, Kristian tells.
I am Nojoom, Age 10 and Divorced is the first feature film from a Yemeni female director. A well executed film about a very important topic - child marriage. Director Khadija al-Salami herself was married at age eleven and knows first-hand what she is talking about. A close portrait of a girl who is experiencing fundamental infringements of rights in stark contrast to the beautiful landscape images from the Yemeni countryside. Al-Salami is visiting the festival and you can meet her on stage in conversation.
Hope is a non-typical film for the Arab Film Days, in the sense that the main characters are respectively Nigerian and Cameroonian, though the action takes place mostly in Morocco. It is a crazy good film that won the prize for best film at the Critics Week at last year's Cannes festival, with a very moving story about being displaced and how to safeguard self-esteem and self-respect in the middle of a challenging situation.
- We expect a magical atmosphere at the silent film concert Views of the Ottoman Empire, Gjermund concludes. The festival will screen an unique collection of shorts from the end of the Ottoman Empire, accompanied by Arabic lute, clarinet, poems and travelogues. The films are very special and over one hundred years old. Film critic Jay Weissberg of Variety has curated the collection and will guest the festival. The concert will screen only once, so you need not linger to get your ticket! We much look forward to celebrating 5 years with all of you, the full program and tickets can be found here.
