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May in the Summer
Cherien Dabis / Narrative / Jordan, Qatar, USA / 2013 / 98 mins
To all appearances, May has it all, intelligent, gorgeous, the recipient of raves for her recently published book and set to marry her loving fiancé Ziad, a distinguished New York scholar. But immediately upon returning to her familial hometown of Amman, Jordan for the wedding, the cracks in her seemingly perfect life begin to show. Confronted with the wounds of her parent’s long-broken relationship, coupled with the unavoidable clash of old-world and modern values, May is lead to question the direction her life is taking. Soon, her once carefully structured world appears to unravel as she grapples with her own truths.
Opening Night: May in the Summer
Castro Theatre
October 10, 2014 7:30 pm -
Rock the Casbah
Laila Marrakchi / Narrative / Morocco / 2013 / 100 mins
With a powerhouse Arab cast, Rock the Casbah is a family drama set one summer in Tangiers. A family comes together for three days, following the death of the family patriarch. Swapping their swimsuits for djellabas, emotions run particularly high, when the youngest daughter Sofia, arrives from New York. As the order once maintained by the deceased father breaks down and unravels, the women of the family are forced to face certain harsh truths.
Closing Night: Rock the Casbah
Grand Lake Theatre
October 23, 2014 7:30 pmRock the Casbah
Harmony Gold
November 7, 2014 8:00 pm
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The Shebabs of Yarmouk
Axel Salvatori-Sinz / Documentary / France, Syria / 2013 / 77 mins
Boredom, idleness, discouragement, the possibility of exile. But also hope, dreams, ideals, and passion for art. That is what Salvatori-Sinz filmed in this first documentary essay, which captures the daily lives of Ala’a, Hassan, Samer, Tasneem and Waed, all of whom are in their early 20s. They are Shebabs, as third-generation Palestinian refugees born and raised in the Mukhayyam Yarmouk camp, on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, are known.
I Exist / Shebabs of Yarmouk
New Parkway Theatre
October 21, 2014 9:00 pmI Exist / Shebabs of Yarmouk
Harmony Gold
November 9, 2014 12:00 pm -
Giraffada
Rani Massalha / Narrative / France, Germany, Italy, Palestine / 2014 / 85 mins
Yacine is a veterinarian in Palestine's only remaining zoo. His ten-year-old son Ziad spends a lot of time with the animals and has a strong bond with the zoo's two giraffes. One night, after an air raid on the city, the male giraffe dies. The female giraffe can't survive alone and starts to slowly let itself die. Yacine must absolutely find a new companion for the animal, but the only zoo that can help him is in Tel Aviv.
Giraffada
Shattuck Cinemas
October 18, 2014 6:00 pm
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Salvation Army
Abdellah Taïa / Narrative / France, Morocco, Switzerland / 2014 / 82 mins
Adapting his autobiographical novel, director Abdellah Taïa tells the story of a gay Moroccan boy finding self-realization and personal strength within a society that shuns him. Homosexuality, however, is not the only difficulty confronting Abdellah.
Salvation Army
Shattuck Cinemas
October 19, 2014 7:30 pm -
Excuse my French
Amr Salama / Narrative / Egypt / 2014 / 99 mins
The film tells the story of Hany Abdallah Peter, a child whose life turns upside down after the death of his father and his mother's discovery of the huge debts they have to pay. He is forced to experience the huge gap between classes after moving from his old elite private school to a public one. Things get complicated for Hany after having to hide being a Christian surrendering to the assumptions of his classmates and teachers who didn't read his full name and mistook him for a Muslim.
Excuse my French
Shattuck Cinemas
October 19, 2014 5:30 pmThe Dark Outside / Excuse my French
Harmony Gold
November 9, 2014 6:00 pm
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Heritages
Philippe Aractingi / Documentary / France, Lebanon / 2013 / 110 mins
Director Philippe Aractingi sees himself having to leave his motherland to settle elsewhere for the third time in his life. Gripped by the burning desire to tell his own children the past that is “not to be told,” Aractingi sets on a journey through Lebanon’s history to understand and pass on its lessons.
Heritages
Aquarius Theatre
October 22, 2014 7:00 pmHeritages
Harmony Gold
November 8, 2014 6:00 pm -
Cinema Palestine
Tim Schwab / Documentary / Palestine, Spain / 2013 / 79 mins
Cinema Palestine explores the life and work of multiple generations of Palestinian filmmakers. Based on in-depth interviews with artist living in the Middle East as well as North America and Europe, the film explores the emergence of a Palestinian narrative through film, the relevance of film to the national struggle and the relationship between art, personal experience and politics in one of the most contested landscapes in the world.
Cinema Palestine
Shattuck Cinemas
October 18, 2014 4:00 pmCinema Palestine
Harmony Gold
November 8, 2014 1:45 pm
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