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All tickets are $10 for this screeening
Yousry Nasrallah's powerful adaptation of Lebanese writer Elias Khoury's epic novel of fifty years of Palestinian dispossession, exile, and resistance. The film follows the flight of Younes, his wife Nahila, and those around them, from their village in northern Palestine to a refugee camp in Lebanon. Some vow to continue the struggle, most simply struggle to survive. Unsparingly detailing the impact of the nakba (disaster) on Palestinian life and society and the refugees' often-contentious relationship with their reluctant Lebanese hosts, Gate of the Sun spans generations, mixing personal stories with historical events. (NYFF). In Arabic and French with English subtitles.
Beautiful
Days by Meriem Riveil, Tunisia 2005 U.S Premiere
Hager, a 60 year old widow of a Tunisian migrant wakes up in her apartment
on a Parisian morning enwrapped in memories of her sister and youth in
Tunisia. Those were the beautiful days, when life was full of promise
and Mahmoud, a young Tunisian immigrant to Paris promised her love and
bliss. In Arabic with English subtitles
Ephèbes
et Courtisanes by Oleg Tcherny, France 2004 U.S Premiere
Intelligent, alluring, and as complexly interwoven as the passing glances,
familiar greetings, and critical stares in a crowded Parisian café,
Ephèbes et Courtisanes is a highly literary exchange of
passages and thoughts on the merits and vices of loving girls or loving
boys culled from Arabic poetry, scripture, and science, both ancient and
modern, including such sources as Rumi and Abu Nuwas. In Arabic and
French with English subtitles
Dust
(Toz) by H. Fatih Kizilgök, Turkey 2005
A visually stunning short, Dust sets viewers adrift like the
dislodged feathers of a ruptured pillow hanging in the heavy air. Traversing
the sun-drenched, soft-focus spaces; abandoned plates of food; broken
pipes and billowing curtains of a flat become a metaphorical journey,
exploring sites of exposed and secluded anxiety, abuse and control in
one couple’s relationship. In Turkish with English subtitles.
Pics
by Nejib Belkadhi, Tunisia, 2005 U.S Premiere
On the brink of her wedding day, Farah is faced with the challenge of
getting rid of old photos of her ex. She takes us along on her hilariously
flustered adventures as she repeatedly destroys and resurrects these same
pictures, discovering that past loves are hard to escape. In Arabic
with English subtitles.
Romance: One Pill in
the Morning, One at Night by Mohammed Ben Attia (Tunisia, 2005, 20
min, Beta SP) U.S Premiere
A humorous twist on the contrast between romantic expectations and real
life. A couple meets in a movie theater and is quickly swept away in respective
fantasies about a possible relationship. He dreams of a beautiful superwoman
with exquisite cooking skills; she desires a wealthy factory manager who
will propose marriage. The film ends, the lights go on, and a month later
Walid and Meryem are still together. In Arabic with English subtitles.
Post screening discussion with Daniel Heller-Roazen (writer & producer, Ephèbes et Courtisanes)
The
Journey of Maryam by Sepideh Farsi, Iran 2002 U.S Premiere
The Journey of Maryam is a poignant and poetic piece exploring
the nature of memory, longing, loss, and the people and places that make
us who we are. Shot entirely from the vantage point of Maryam, the invisible
heroine in search of her father, the film recalls the visual sophistication
of Vertov or Farsi’s compatriot Kiarostami. However, in the end,
a unique voice rises to the top befitting this intimate and personal journey
through the neighborhoods, alleyways, and people of Tehran. In Farsi
with English subtitles
Post screening discussion with Mitra Abbaspour (CUNY Graduate Center)
