Arab Film Festival - Australia

Hikayat in Queensland: Telling Stories, Memories and Belongings

AFF — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:11:19 +0000

The epic oral traditions of storytelling in the Arab world continue to survive and evolve through transmission and performance, informing Arabic literature and influencing storytelling throughout the world - including in Australia. The stories - hikayat - are threads that connect the past with the present. A continual weaving of hikayat through generations of storytellers forms a rich tapestry of embodied experience in the literature it creates. Beginning with Lebanese hawker migrations in the early years of the 20th century, and continuing with recent arrivals from various Arab countries, Arabs have woven their experiences and stories into Queensland’s multicultural history. Communities and people are connected by shared markers of language, ethnicity and custom. And also stories - hikayat.

Join us, hear from and contribute to discussion alongside a panel of academics, artists and community activists seeking to trace the hidden journeys of Australia’s own hikayat by sharing, reminiscing, speaking about their own personal and familial experiences. The panel seeks to situate and create a space for critical reflection of diasporic Arab stories and histories within local and transnational contexts.

Speakers:

Dr. Paula Abood - Academic/Community Development Artist & Activist
Dr. Anne Monsour - Australian Lebanese Historical Society
Phil Monsour - Artist & Activist
Ghenwa Kassrawi - Journalist, Radio 4EB Arabic Program
Farid Farid - Academic, Performer and Writer

Event Details:

Date: Saturday 21 November, 2009
Venue: InTransit Gallery (Ground Floor, Portside Wharf, Remora Road, Hamilton QLD)
Time: 5-6.30pm
Cost: Free event

click on image to download the flier.

More information contact Mouna on 02 9897 5744 ext 2 or email mouna.zaylah@ice.org.au

Presented in conjunction with the Arab Film Festival and in partnership with Dendy Portside. Sponsored by Byblos Bar and Bistro. Special thanks to Portside Wharf.

Bankstown Area Multicultural Network

AFF — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 08:01:14 +0000

Produced by Bankstown Area Multicultural Network Inc and created by young Muslim women from Western Sydney.

Huriyya and her Sisters is a short animation created by young Muslim women and girls exploring their experiences of the world. Creative workshops were held over 18 months at community centres in south-west and western Sydney where participants developed the visuals, sound and storylines to produce this short animation.

This film is a community cultural development (CCD) project managed by Bankstown Area Multicultural Network (BAMN) and has been proudly supported by the Australian Government through an initiative between the Australian Human Rights Commission and the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body and Bankstown City Council, TAFE NSW South Western Sydney Institute, the participants’ parents, families and communities, and our project partners, Information & Cultural Exchange (ICE), Auburn Community Development Network (ACDN) and Bankstown Multicultural Youth Service (BMYS).

Director Huriyya and her Sisters

Arab Films Touring Australia 1-29 November

AFF — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 07:47:41 +0000

This November, the Arab Film Festival is travelling across Australia for the first time. The national tour kicks off in Sydney before heading to Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane and Adelaide.

Experience the diversity, complexity and beauty of the Arab world through its film.

This special touring program features the most entertaining, moving and exciting films as voted by audiences from our annual four-day festival held in Parramatta.

Come along and see for yourself why Sydney cinema-goers have fallen in love with the Arab Film Festival.

This has been made possible with the support of our funding bodies and sponsors especially the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australian Human Rights Commission.

More info on the touring program please go to Calendar and also check out the Ticket and Venue details.

Yallah! Four days of Arab films in Parramatta - this week only.

AFF — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 08:34:41 +0000

We open this week with a fantastic program of films from across the Arab world. Sexy thrillers, light-hearted comedy, hard-hitting political drama and funky shorts will throw you head first into contemporary Arab experience.

Screening this Thursday to Sunday, over 24 films are selling fast to an audience from across Sydney and Australia. We’ll be joined by directors Samir Habchi from Lebanon (Beirut Open City) and Nicholas Rowe from New Zealand (The Secret World) for special Q&A sessions, along with local filmmakers from the Arab-Australian community.

First up on Thursday is our opening night Australian premiere Captain Abu Raed - the first Jordanian feature film to be screened in Australia and a favourite from the Sundance Film Festival.

From there the festival will lead you through Beirut’s underbelly, into the world of an Algerian scamstress, through the romantic drama of the Ashura festival and onto a Bagdad commuter bus for some laughs.

Take advantage of our marathon package, for $99/69 per adult/concession which gets you in to every film at the festival, excluding opening night - a saving of 20%.

Book online through Riverside Theatres or phone Box Office on 8839 3399.

Yallah! Tickets On Sale Now

AFF — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 05:25:16 +0000

Get your tickets now and make sure you don’t miss the official opening night - film and party.

Come see a film and be entertained at the 5th Arab Film Festival which opens on Thursday 2 July, 2009 at the Riverside Theatres, Parramatta with the first Jordanian feature film to be screened in Australia, Captain Abu Raeed. Winner of the Audience Award at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, this drama delves into the lives of everyday people when a lonely janitor working at Amman Airport is mistaken for a pilot.

This years program offers cinema audiences a remarkable contrast of perspectives. Big picture conflicts, touching stories from the heart of people under occupation, of children lost, of lovers smitten, of lives made and destroyed. This unique film festival will screen a collection of the latest features, short films and documentaries that sparkle with the rich and beautiful complexity of Arab cultural, social and political life.

Yallah! Let’s go to the movies.

Dreaming of 1001 Rights

AFF — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 03:53:06 +0000

Sunday 5 July, 2pm

Films and forum that explore social justice, artistic expression and cultural activism

Screenings include Huriyya and Her Sisters + My Journey + The Secret World.

Huriyya and Her Sisters

Australia / 2009 / 8 mins

Huriyya and Her Sisters is a short animation produced by Bankstown Area Multicultural Network Inc (BAMN) and created by young women from Western Sydney including Alaa Sukkarieh, Asmah Gebara, Aya Sukkarieh,Fatima Gebara, Hend Kandeel, Layal Naji, Leila Darbas, Maysa Succarie, Nahla El Ghazawi, Sara Shehata, Sara Zawit, Sarah Khodr, Sawsan Khodr, Shafigheh Rafat, Soheir El Sayah, Yasmine Khodr with artistic team Paula Abood, Fatima Mawas, Nadyat El Gawley, Meiying Saw, Shaia Kaia, Fadle El-Haris, Mohamed Youssef, Tarek Sawires, Jaime Bohm and Barry Gamba. Khadija finds solace in the spiritual beauty of the moving word.

My Journey

Australia / 2008 / 10 min Dir: Nawal Abdi

Based on the recollections of the director’s grandfather, Mahmoud Abdi, this film traces his journey from 1948 when he was forced to leave his homeland Palestine to present day Australia where he now lives.

The Secret World

Palestine / 2008 / 60 min Dir: Nicholas Rowe

An adaptation of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies set in Ramallah, this feature follows a group of Palestinian school children who wake up one day to find all the adults have disappeared.

Forum: Dreaming of 1001 Rights

Guest speakers include:

Romaine Moreton - Australian Indigenous artist and writer of poetry, prose and film

Randa Abdel-Fattah, Acclaimed Author, Lawyer and Human Rights Activist

Nawal Abdi - Director My Journey

Nicholas Rowe - Director The Secret World

Aya Sukkarieh and Sarah Khodr - Huriyya and Her Sisters

EYE OF THE SUN - Ein Shams

AFF — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 05:25:39 +0000

Australian Premiere

Shams is a playful, inquisitive 11-year-old, who dreams of travelling to downtown Cairo. Her teacher, Fatma, pours scorn on the idea, and her father, the beleaguered taxi driver and part-time chauffeur Ramadan to shady businessman Selim Bey (Boutros Boutros-Ghali), has no time to indulge his daughter. El-Batout’s poignant tale journeys through modern day Egypt, weaving a mosaic of images and sounds.

FESTIVALS

Ayam Beirut Al Cinema’iya (Cinema Days of Beirut), 2008
Dubai International Film Festival, 2008

AWARDS

The Golden Bull, Top Prize at the 54th Taormina Film Festival, 2008
The Golden Hawk, Rotterdam Festival, 2008
International Carthage Festival Award, 2008

Watch the trailer:

HURIYYA AND HER SISTERS

AFF — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 04:48:58 +0000

World Premiere

Khadija finds solace in the spiritual beauty of the moving word. Mariam discovers wisdom in the most fantastical of places. Assia wants to stop bombs falling on children. And Fatima? She wants to know what will become of Huriyya.

Huriyya and her Sisters will be screened alongside The Secret World (Palestine, 2008) and My Journey (Australia, 2008) followed by Dreaming of 1001 Rights, a forum exploring social justice, artistic expression and cultural activism.

PERSONAL CALENDAR - Taqouim Shakhsi

AFF — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 03:05:24 +0000

Australian Premiere

On a bus trip in downtown Iraq, no one can agree what day it is.

FESTIVALS

Beirut International Film Festival, 2008

AWARDS

Second prize in Short Film Competition, The First Gulf Film Festival, 2008

A BOY, A WALL, A DONKEY

AFF — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:41:21 +0000

How do three young boys make a movie living under occupation?

BEIRUT OPEN CITY / DOUKHAN BILA NAR

AFF — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:42:30 +0000

Australian Premiere

An American flag flies at the head of five identical jeeps heading straight for the city of Beirut. A man sits on the rear brandishing a heavy machine gun. Khaled’s camera captures this moment, and many moments after that, and thus the stories of fear, violence, repression and corruption begin. A feature action-drama set at the height of the Syrian presence in Lebanon and an insight into Beirut’s underbelly.

SCREENINGS

The Carthage 22nd Film Festival (Competition - Feature Films), 2008
The Times BFI 52nd London Film Festival (World Cinema), 2008
The Middle East International Film Festival Abu Dhabi (Competition - Feature Films), 2008

Watch the trailer:

CAPTAIN ABU RAED

AFF — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:26:56 +0000

The first Jordanian feature film to be screened in Australia.

Winner of the Audience Award at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, this crowd-pleasing Jordanian feature film is a gentle yet hard-hitting drama set in Amman, Jordan. Abu Raed is a lonely and generous man who works as a janitor at Amman airport. He is mistaken by the kids in his neighbourhood as a captain and he plays along. As he gets further involved in the lives of the children, he recognises that each and every one of them is desperately curious about the outside world and the captain begins to weave elaborate stories for the wide-eyed children. His adventures serve not only as entertainment but as the key to transforming the lives of the children and their parents.

FESTIVALS

Palm Springs International Film Festival, 2009
Portland International Film Festival, 2009
Durban International Film Festival, 2008
Heartland Film Festival, 2008
Newport Beach Film Festival, 2008
Seattle International Film Festival, 2008
Dubai International Film Festival, 2007

AWARDS

World Cinema Audience Award, Sundance Film Festival, 2008
Audience Award, Helsinki International Film Festival, 2008
Best Director, Seattle International Film Festival, 2008
Best First Feature, Durban International Film Festival, 2008
Best Screenplay, Beirut International Film Festival, 2008
Best Actor, Dubai International Film Festival, 2007

Watch the trailer:

IBRAHIM EL-BATOUT

AFF — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:27:46 +0000

Ibrahim El-Batout was born in Port Said, Egypt. He graduated from the American University in Cairo in 1985, majoring in physics. El-Batout’s infatuation with the camera started in the Video Cairo Production House. Later, he worked for a year at the British television station TV-Am, located in Cyprus. Since then, he has worked as a director, producer and cameraman, capturing stories mainly about human loss, suffering, and displacement since 1987, and has also directed numerous documentaries for international TV channels, such as ZDF (Germany), TBS (Japan) and ARTE (France). His documentary work has received many international awards, including the Axel Springer Award in Germany (1994 and 2000) and the Direct Marketing Association’s coveted ECHO award (1996). El-Batout stepped into the world of fiction to make the feature film Ithaki (2005).

Director EYE OF THE SUN

BASHEER ALMAJID

AFF — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:21:39 +0000

Basheer Al Majed was an actor in the long feature Ahlaam, which he received a Best Actor award at the Festival of Carthage in Tunisia in 2006. Personal Calendar is his first short film as director and has been screened in many international festivals. Basheer is a member of the Iraqi Journalists Union and a founding member of the Iraqi Cinema Group.

Director PERSONAL CALENDAR - TAQOUIM SHAKHSI

HANY ABU-ASSAD

AFF — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:13:16 +0000

In 1998 Hany Abu-Assad directed his first film, The Fourteenth Chick from a script by writer Arnon Grunberg. Later films include the short Nazareth 2000 (2000) and the feature film Rana’s Wedding (2002). Abu-Assad’s documentary film Ford Transit (set in Israel/Palestine) was banned by Dutch television when claims were made that it was a scripted film, including a Palestinian actor playing a brutal Israeli soldier. In 2006, his film Paradise Now won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, and received an Oscar nomination in the same category.

Director A BOY, A WALL, A DONKEY

SAMIR HABCHI

AFF — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 11:08:39 +0000

Samir Habchi, born in Lebanon in 1961. He completed a Master of Fine Art at the Institute of Theatre and Cinematography in Directing in the Ukraine, USSR. He returned to Lebanon to write, direct and produce feature films and television. He has directed many films including Gebran Khalil Gebran (2008), Sayadat el Kasr (Lady of the Palace, 2003) and Meshwar (2005 - a feature drama showcased at the 2005 Sydney Arab Film Festival). His television credits from 1996 to 2007 include Hakaya, Al Hall Bi Idak, Al Sanina for NTV; Ras Beirut, Bent el Hay, Leamhet Hobb and Bawahir for LBCI and Darb Alfounoun for ART.

Samir Habchi flown by Etihad Airways from Beirut to Sydney as a guest of the festival to present his film and take part in a Q & A with audiences. Be sure to meet Samir on Friday 2 July at 8pm.

Director BEIRUT OPEN CITY- Doukhan bila Nar

AMIN MATALQA

AFF — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 10:48:05 +0000

Amin Matalqa is a writer and director who grew up in Jordan dreaming of becoming a filmmaker although he has spent more than half of his life in Ohio where he attended school and college. “I think my love for writing came from my sense of isolation after immigrating to the US. While other kids were at football games or going out on dates, I was in my room writing stories, drawing storyboards and shooting movies with my camera, using my little brother or his action figures. Whatever subject I could get in front of my camera, I made a movie with it,” he said. Amin has made 25 short films. By the time he was completing his MFA in Directing at the American Film Institute in 2007, he was already in Jordan directing his first feature film, Captain Abu Raed, which he also wrote and co-produced.

Director CAPTAIN ABU RAED