A week of Arab cinematic sensations is about to arrive in the nation’s capital. Canberra’s Arc Cinema at the National Film and Sound Archive will host the Arab Film Festival Australia from Thursday 14 July to Thursday 21 July.

The thought-provoking program features the 12 films that have already inspired audiences in Parramatta and Melbourne. The program of films will take you inside the Arab imagination, taking on the issues that have sparked the Arab Spring.

See the full program online now.

 

A week of Arab storytelling

We open on Thursday 14 July with The Cry of an Ant, filmed live during the Egyptian revolution in January, screening with a light-hearted look at marriage tradition in The Rodba, from France.

On Saturday 16 July we travel to Morocco on an adventure with a cheeky, street-smart 10 year old – Majid. It screens with Mary, a tale of neighbourly espionage in Western Sydney.

Our Saturday-night flick takes us to Iraq for Son of Babylon. Set just two weeks after the fall of Saddam Hussein, it follows a boy and his grandmother on their hunt for his father, missing since the Gulf War. Catch it with Habibti, peeping into cultural secrets in London. You have a second chance to see these acclaimed films on Thursday 21 July.

 

On Sunday 17 July see the boundary-pushing documentary This is My Picture When I Was Dead. This experimental, highly original and occasionally surreal film combines archival footage and photos with dramatic re-creations to delve into the history of the PLO. It screens with Gaza Shield, about a group of Lebanese activists who express their politics in an online game.

Sunday 18 July finds us in Lebanon, 1976, with Stray Bullet, following a 30-something woman on the verge of a loveless marriage. The film expertly weaves this struggle of the heart into the close, tense atmosphere of wartime Beirut. It’s Nadine Labaki’s first feature since Caramel. Catch it with Grandma a Thousand Times, a playful and poetic doco about a feisty Beiruti grandmother.

 

Tickets & Details

National Film and Sound Archive of Australia

McCoy Circuit, Acton, ACT

Purchase tickets in person or book by phone: 02 6248 2000. Costs are $11/9 for full/concession, or $80 for a 10-Ticket Max Pass.

 

The National Tour

Next stop is the Palace Nova Eastend Cinema in Adelaide on Saturday 23 July and Sunday 24 July.

We round out our tour at the Dendy Cinemas Portside in Brisbane on Saturday 30 July and Sunday 31 July.

Check the full program and tour dates online.

Hit us up

What’s the buzz on AFFA?

David Hamilton says on FB: “I’ve heard so many great things about this festival all the way out here in Texas. Good work to all those involved.”

Dena Abdel-Fatah says on FB: “I highly recommend it. It is a really great Film Festival my husband and I loved it we sent our daughters the following day they loved it to. I wish I had the chance to watch each and every film.”

@mayouss says on Twitter: “thank you @arabfilmfestau for the laughs (no matter how small they were) and the cries (no matter how many). come back soon. #love #arabfilm”

Have your say – join us on Twitter @arabfilmfestau and Facebook now.

Visit our website for the full festival program and national tour dates.