Al-Jazeera, Qatar
Sept 15 2004

Beirut to host Arab film festival
By Nurah Tape

The festival addresses several issues affecting Middle-East

More than 100 films and documentaries showcasing the work of young
and independent filmmakers from across the Middle-East are to be
screened at the third bi-annual Ayyam Beirut al-Cinemaiya Arab film
festival.

Providing an overview of Arab film production in the past two years,
the festival, which begins on Wednesday, will run from 15 to 26
September in the Lebanese capital.

“We tried to select quality films that were representative of what’s
happening in the region’s cinema,” Elaine Rahib, co-director of the
festival, which is organised by Beirut Development and Cinema (BDC),
is quoted as saying.

BDC is a cultural cooperative association, established in 1999, which
promotes and defends independent Arab cinema.

Rahib said more than 300 films were viewed before the final 130 were
selected for screening.

Thirteen features, 40 documentaries, 45 short films, video art as
well as experimental and student films will be showcased.

Rahib said the documentary is “the genre that’s shaping the identity
of Arabic cinema right now”.

‘Crisis’

“Filmmakers in this region are in a crisis now …They see the
Western media representing the people of the Middle East as heroes,
victims or terrorists and it is impossible to ignore”

Elaine Rahib,
Co-director of the festival

Egyptian director Yusri Nasr Allah’s film, Bab al-Shams (Door of the
Sun), which focuses upon the experiences of a group of refugees
fleeing from Palestine to Lebanon, will be screened on the opening
night of the festival. The film, an adaptation of the novel by Ilyas
Khury, was screened at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.

“Filmmakers in this region are in a crisis now”, Rahib is quoted as
saying.

“They see the Western media representing the people of the Middle
East as heroes, victims or terrorists and it is impossible to ignore.
If they take up these topics themselves it’s because they’re trying
to position themselves relative to these issues. They’re in a crisis,
but trying to find a solution.”

Palestine

As in the past, Palestine is a recurring feature of the festival.

More than 20 films on the subject, directed by Palestinian, Arab and
foreign filmmakers will be screened. These include Suraida – A Woman
>>From Palestine, by Tahani Rashid, Writers on the Borders by Samir Abd
Allah, Ijtia by Nizar Hasan, Like Twenty Impossibilities by
Anne-Marie Jacir, In the Ninth Month by Ali Nasar and Private
Investigation by Ula Tabari.

The Sabra and Shatila massacres
are highlighted in one of the films

Bab al-Shams, in memory of the Sabra and Shatila massacres, will also
be showcased in the Shatila refugee camp in an open-air screening on
the opening night.

Another director of the festival, Hania Mroue said the independent
films that have been chosen are “films that have been made relatively
free of the constraints of distributors and producers”.

One of the highlights of this year’s festival is a special section of
foreign films, which take a look at the Arab world.

An example is a film called 2000 Terrorists, about four of the
plaintiffs living in Sabra and Shatila, who filed a lawsuit against
Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon in a Belgium.

Alternating images of their daily lives in the refugee camps and the
tribunal in Brussels on the other, the film is a story about the
never ending struggle for justice.

Vodka Lemon, a film set in Armenia by Iraqi Kurd Hinner Selim, is
another.

Discussions

Apart from discussions taking place after each film, several
roundtables and debates are scheduled for the festival. One
discussion will focus on identity as shown in the Arab cinema today.

Some films focus on women as well, such as Women beyond borders, by
Lebanese documentary veteran Jean Chamun and When Women Sing by
Mustafa Hasnawi and Hala Galal’s Women Chat.

While not being competitive, the festival will award a prize to the
best Lebanese film (short or documentary) based on audience votes, to
enourage the winning director to produce a second film.

For further information, email: beirutdc@inco.com.lb