Opening on Friday 30 July is City of Life, the nail-biting action flick bursting out of Dubai with one of the most powerful car smash scenes ever caught on film. It’s the first feature film to come out of Dubai and features a fantastic international cast from India, Romania, Britain and the UAE in a sexy, action-packed story that captures the international pulse of this city of fast cars and fast fortunes.

On Saturday 31 July night catch Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story, a sharp and provocative drama about politics, feminism and power. Hebba Younis, a fiercely independent media personality, is forced into a difficult situation when her husband asks her to gag her opinions for the sake of his career. But it’s not long before she finds another way to the truth through women’s stories.

This best of the fest selection is showing at Dendy Cinemas Portside (Portside Wharf, Remora Rd, Hamilton).

Saturday’s action-packed thriller City of Life takes us into the underbelly of one the world’s most fascinating and fast-changing cities. The very first feature film to be made in the UAE, City of Life uncovers the way cultures from across the globe are mixing it up in Dubai. Throw in fast cars, sex, ruthless ambition, cultural pressures and tons of money and you have a nail-biting thriller that’s not to be missed.

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On Sunday we travel to Egypt for a provocative drama about feminism, power and politics told through the stories of four women. Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story follows Hebba Younis, a fiercely independent media personality who agrees to scale down her outspoken opinions for the sake of her husband’s career. But she finds another way to the truth through women’s stories.

The Arab film festival will round out its national tour with the grand finale in Brisbane on 30 and 31 July with City of Life and Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story.

The festival opens with Iraqi soccer flick Kick Off (7pm Thursday), one of the first films in a fascinating wave of cinema now emerging from Iraq. Get the other side of the Iraq story!

At 4.30pm on Saturday we go to Algeria with Harragas, telling the nail-biting story of illegal immigrants on a dangerous boat voyage to Spain.

We then travel to Egypt for our Saturday night feature at 7pm – Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story, a sharp and provocative drama about politics, feminism and power that comes at a critical moment for women in the nation’s capital. Hebba Younis is a fiercely independent media personality but when her husband asks her to gag her opinions for the sake of his career, she finds another way to the truth through women’s stories.

Our final session Canberra takes us behind the high walls of Lebanon’s brutal Roumieh Prison with 12 Angry Lebanese at 2pm Sunday. This documentary follows a remarkable drama project run by filmmaker Zeina Daccache where prisoners, some of whom are on death row, explore personal issues through a production of the seminal play about jurors deliberating at a murder trial.

Also screening on Thursday’s opening night is a showcase of Home Made Arab Films. These nuggets of Arab-Australian history from the 40s to the 70s share intimate moments from family life. They are being gathered for a special collection from across Australia to be house at the National Film and Sound Archive. The project is collecting Arab home movies on 8mm, 16mm and any other format, so get that box out from under the bed and contact the Arab Film Festival Australia through the website. When your footage is returned you’ll also receive a copy of it in digital format so you can watch it on DVD.

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Next week the festival head to Adelaide (24-25 July), then Brisbane (30-31 July) for two of the festival favourites – the high-voltage Dubai film City of Life and Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story.

This Friday 9 July the Arab Film Festival Australia kicks off its Melbourne season with City of Life, Ali Mostafa’s turbo-charged homage to the city of Dubai and its international inhabitants. On Saturday night Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story exposes the tough choices of Egyptian women in life, love and career. Then on Sunday 12 Angry Lebanese takes us behind the high walls of Roumieh Prison for a theatre production that changes the lives of the men involved – it screens with The Traveller which tells the story of a Sudanese refugee as he tries to assimilate into Australian society.

The festival’s Melbourne home is at Cinema Nova, 380 Lygon St, Carlton and tickets are now on sale.

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Meanwhile Canberra (15-17 July), Adelaide (24-25 July) and Brisbane (30-31 July) are getting ready to take their own tour through the cutting edge of Arab cinema, including City of Life and Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story.

If you missed out on tickets to the opening night sold-out session, don’t fret! There’s still three days of fantastic films to catch in Sydney, including 12 Angry Lebanese, peeking into the harsh stories of Roumieh Prison; Kick Off, blending Iraqi football fever with the harsh realities of war, and the landmark Arabian Nights Animation Collection. There’s a dangerous journey by boat from Algeria to Spain with Harragas and a black-comedy take on the Arab-Israeli conflict with The Time that Remains. Or zip around the Arab world from Bahrain to Morocco to Australia with our famous Makhlouta Shorts session on Saturday afternoon. Check out the full program at arabfilmfestival.com.au.

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Meanwhile Melbourne (9-11 July), Canberra (15-17 July), Adelaide (24-25 July) and Brisbane (30-31 July) are gearing for their chance to sample the highlights of the festival, including City of Life and Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story.

Spotlight on…

Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story

The film uses the classic Arabian Nights technique of a story within a story to introduce us to three women who feature on Hebba’s show. In a devastating commentary on marriage, they attempt to develop authentic relationships with men despite the confines of their society.

A hit at the Venice, Toronto and Three Continents film festivals, the film takes us unflinchingly into the most private and painful details of these women’s experiences. SBS called it ‘wrenching’, with ‘plotting [that] provides constant surprises’. The twists and turns of this dramatic film lay bare the brutal truths about women’s choices and constraints.

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After our stopover in Dubai we continue our journey across the Arab world – so strap on your seatbelt and stow your hand luggage. We are jam-packed with diverse Arab stories, from Morocco via Beirut, on the way through Kuwait, passing through Palestine and then across the Pacific to Australia. We bring you a collection of films – shorts, features and contemporary animations to share the stories and experiences of Arab people.

Spotlight on our Friday night feature…. 12 Angry Lebanese

If you know anything about Lebanon’s high-security Roumieh Prison, you know it is a brutal place. Surrounded in barbed wire and security checkpoints, the prison houses 4000 inmates and is infamous for its violent riots. But in 2009 an extraordinary project took place behind the high walls of Roumieh Prison, run by an extraordinary woman.

Everyone thought Zeina Daccache was crazy when she began a year-long theatre project with a group of prisoners to adapt Reginald Rose’s seminal play 12 Angry Men. In a thought-provoking role reversal, the actors portray a jury which must decide the fate of a boy accused of murder.

Daccache worked through a mountain of red tape to undertake the project, which was part therapy and part call for reform of the appalling prison conditions. Through the course of the production the actors draw on their own personal stories and conditions inside the prison – and their message is heard. They triumphantly perform their work for an audience of family, friends and representatives from Lebanon’s government and judicial system.

This moving film charts the course of the project and captures the heartfelt performances of the inmates-turned-actors. Some of them are on death row, one taught himself to read so he could participate, and all were deeply affected. Don’t miss this chance to meet the men inside Roumieh Prison.

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If that’s not enough to entice you, we’re warming up opening night with tasty Arab sweets and live oud music from talented local performer Mohamed Youssef.

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And there are plenty more tasty treats on the menu this year with animation, biting drama, black comedy and heart-wrenching tragedy – check out our program.

‘This year we present a vibrant collection of films made by Arab filmmakers from across the globe,’ says Festival Director Fadia Abboud. ‘From the Middle East, Asia, Europe and within Australia we have selected over 20 films that represent the diversity of Arab communities, their cultures, experiences and aspirations and we look forward to sharing them with our audiences.’

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Spotlight on…Home Made Arab Film Project

The project will digitise the films and you will receive a DVD copy of your footage when the original is returned to you. If you would like to share your films with the nation, contact info@arabfilmfestival.com.au

Get inspired at the launch of the Home Made Arab Films project. Over three sessions on Sunday 4 July at 2pm, 5pm and 8pm, a 10-minutes segment of archival home movies will be screened with live oud performances from Mohamed Youssef. Sixties beehives, seventies flares? Yes, we’re going there! Join us for this fascinating slice of community history.

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Joining us from Dubai is the film’s director Ali Mostafa. Don’t miss your chance to meet the maker of this edgy drama capturing the global buzz that has catapulted Dubai into the international spotlight.

Of mixed British-Emirati parentage, Mostafa grew up in Dubai and graduated from London Film School. His graduation film Under the Sun has been screened in international festivals across the world and won ‘Best Emirates Film 2006′ In the Annual Emirates Film Competition in Abu Dhabi.

Opening night tickets $30 per person (film+sweets+party). All other session ticket prices start from $10. They are selling fast – book yours now.

Don’t miss your chance to see another side to the Arab story. The Arab Film Festival gives us a fresh angle on the hackneyed stories we usually see in Australia. ‘Arab filmmakers are making it without Hollywood – they are making films under occupation, in cities of chaos, with limited funds and sometimes no budget at all,’ says festival co-director Mouna Zaylah.

‘We select the best to screen this year to Australian audiences – stories by Arabs about Arabs – authentic stories from an authentic perspective,’ she says.

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Spotlight on… Our closing feature: The Time that Remains

Here Suleiman deepens and develops his absurdist style, which draws on precise comic timing, elements of fantasy and his own presence on the screen, often compared to Buster Keaton. Drawing on his father’s personal stories, his mothers letters and his own experiences living under occupation in Palestine, during and after the ‘Nakba’ (the ‘Catastrophe’), when the State of Israel was created in 1948.

Capturing tales of migration, adventure, pain and promise, the Home Made Arab Films project will be launched at Riverside Theatres Parramatta on Sunday 4 July at the 2010 Arab Film Festival Australia.

A 10-minute segment of fascinating archival home movies will be screened prior to each session accompanied by a live oud performed by acclaimed local musician Mohamed Youssef.

DO YOU HAVE OLD FAMILY FILM FOOTAGE?

The Arab Film Festival Australia is looking for home movies from Arab Australians from the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s that were shot on film (16mm, Super 8). It might be sitting in the back of your cupboard, in your garage, or maybe at your cousin’s house – hunt it down and contact us!

WHAT WE WILL DO WITH IT?

These films will be gathered for a compilation of home movies from Arab Australians at the National Film and Sound Archive in Canberra, accessible to the public. YOU will receive a copy of your films transferred onto DVD and your original films returned to you.

GET IN TOUCH!

If you would like to share your films with us, and are interested in having them archived for national historical purposes, contact: info@arabfilmfestival.com.au.

This project has been made possible with the kind support of the National Film and Sound Archive, Canberra.

Action-packed drama, documentary, thrillers, animation and shorts – once again the Festival program is packed with fresh stories from across the Arab world.

We busted out of Sydney last year and took the festival to audiences in Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane and Adelaide. In 2010 we will again tour across the country with a selection of Arab films to share with Australian audiences.

This year our highlights include:

• Australia’s first screening of a multilingual Emirati film – the sexy and provocative City of Life. Director Ali Mostafa joins us for opening night.

• Beloved Palestinian director Elia Suleiman’s latest quirky, witty and visually luscious film examining his family story since 1948: The Time that Remains

• 12 Angry Lebanese – the story of Roumieh Prison inmates transformed into powerful theatre makers, directed by Zeina Daccache

• The world-first Arabian Nights Animation Collection: short animations influenced by everything from Sinbad to manga, that take us places Disney’s Aladdin could never touch

• Harragas: the harrowing tale of young Algerian lovers who make the mad, brave decision to attempt an escape to Spain by boat.

• Egyptian Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story, fresh from the Venice and Toronto film fests, following a woman juggling work, husband and politics in a tale of our time

• Kick Off: what starts as an uplifting soccer match has sinister consequences when it’s played in an Iraqi refugee shanty

• Our famous Makhlouta session of provocative international shorts, including local Arab-Australian filmmakers

• The renowned local oud player Mohamed Youssef playing live at the launch

Opening night tickets are on sale now. $30 per person (film+sweets+party)

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If you’re tired of the depictions of the Arab world delivered to you on the small screen, come and see another perspective on the big screen – Arab stories told by Arab filmmakers.

Nothing else has the power to immerse you in another place quite the way cinema can and this festival will give you the inside story on the contemporary Arab world. Walk the streets with these filmmakers, follow the stories of people from Egypt, UAE, Lebanon, Dubai, Kuwait, Palestine, Bahrain, Morocco, Algeria, Iraq and Australia. Unravel the huge themes and poignant human struggles, join us!