Our Listeners Request by Abdullatif Abdul-Hamid (Syria, 2003, 89 min, 35 mm)
New York Premiere

Synopsis:

Tuesday in small-town Syria in 1969 means only one thing: gathering at the local bigwig’s house to hear the popular radio show “Our Listeners Request.” To a nostalgic soundtrack of classic Arabic ballads, the film’s cast of oddball characters pursue their dreams and romances, but the radio soon brings more than they bargained for: news of the Apollo moon landing, reports of bombings on the border with Israel. And when the town’s young hero is drafted, the radio’s songs are more poignant still. In Arabic with English subtitles.

Proceded by Once Upon a Time in the Middle East

Post-screening panel discussion with Jonathan Shannon (Hunter College) and Suhail Shadoud (Columbia University)

Filmmaker's Bio:

Abdullatif Abdul-Hamid graduated from the Moscow Film Institute in 1981. He has directed two documentaries for the National Film Organization in Syria: Wishes (Umniyat, 1983) and Our Hands (Aydeena, 1983). He was assistant director to Mohammad Malas on Dreams of the City (Ahlam al-Madina, 1983). He is also an actor and played the leading character in Ossama Mohammad's Stars in Broad Day (Nujum an-Nahar, 1988). Among Syrian filmmakers his work has garnered the widest popular appeal in Syria and the Arab world, in addition to the films listed in the program, they include, The Rise of Rain (Su'ud al-Matar, 1995), Soul Breeze (Nassim al-Rooh, 1998) and Two Moons and an Olive (Qamaran wa Zaytounah, 2001).

Festivals and Awards:

• Arabian Sights, Washington, DC, 2004
• Damascus Film Festival, Special Jury Prize, 2004
• Rabat Film Festival, Golden Prize, 2004
• Cairo Film Festival, 2004
• Asiatica Film Mediale, Rome, 2004

Print Source Information:

National Film Organization
Rawda 26 Takriti
Damscus
Syria
Phone: 963 11 33 34 378
Fax: 963 11 33 23 556
Email: cinema@mail.sy