Filmmaker Claire Belhassime unbelievably randomly finds out that her grandfather is none other than legendary Tunisian singer Hedi Jouini. As she decides to retrace his life, she uncovers both Hedi’s role in political and social movements and Tunisia’s art scene and secrets and drama at the very heart of her family, shedding light on why his real identity was kept hidden. Even if you’ve never (…) Continue Reading »

We’ve been watching recently - and not quite yet - released documentaries by Arab filmmakers. We’ll be posting our picks and where to find them in the next few days and weeks, starting with the below. Counting Tiles, dir. Cynthia Choucair (…) Continue Reading »

A cook serves exotic dishes to his hungry, impatient guests. Suddenly the arrival of a mysterious Asian woman re-ignites their insatiable appetite. Mila Zuo’s atmospheric short is incredibly rich in symbolism and references, conscious or not - from Lynch to Fruit Chan’s dumplings. This short is brought to us by the fab horror film platform @WatchALTER. There’s a whole treasure trove on (…) Continue Reading »

COMING OUT TOMORROW Excellent statement on the dynamic of precarious work and the women taking it on - SUPPORT THE GIRLS by Andrew Bujalski SUPPORT THE GIRLS follows Lisa (Regina Hall), the general manager at Double Whammies, a highway-side (…) Continue Reading »

This entrancing, hypnotising and moving animation is now available to watch online! Once upon a time there was a boy who had joy in drawing the sea. One day, into the bottom of the sea he dove, in hope of escaping war and misery. The story did not begin with the worldwide TV snatched image of the Syrian child Elan, thrown on the Turkish shores by the waves, and it definitely did not end (…) Continue Reading »

You And The Night, celebrated at Cannes’s Critics’ Week in 2014, cemented Yann Gonzalez’s reputation as a truly original director, with his own brand of stylish, colourful and erotic filmmaking. With Knife+Heart, Gonzalez offers up a stylised (…) Continue Reading »

Searching Eva does not use titular character, Eva Collé, as a metaphor for Generation Z taken for granted intersectionality and ‘always on’ social media. Eva’s identity laundry list and reluctance to ‘be’ a gender, culture or nationality is (…) Continue Reading »

Normal is an experimental, non-fiction work, a series of observational vignettes displaying mundane actions carried out by men and women in Italy. Mum and baby fitness classes, hen dos, multiplayer video game sessions, performances of the rites (…) Continue Reading »

Edward Watts’s powerful, claustrophobic short Oksijan is available to watch for a week as part of BBC Arabic’s Cinema Badila’s Cannes 2019 episode, at 29 min in. The short is followed by an interview with Edward Watts. This independent short film, based on an incredible true story, follows a seven-year old Afghan refugee’s battle to survive as he is smuggled to the UK in the back of a (…) Continue Reading »

The 72nd Cannes Film Festival kicked off on Tuesday with its own brand of pomp and circumstance. Following a strong 2018 edition of the festival for Arab filmmakers, the 2019 line-up proved equally impressive. In the Un Certain Regard competition - headed by Lebanese filmmaker Nadine Labaki, whose Capernaum won the Jury Prize last year - is Adam by Moroccan filmmaker Maryam Touzani. The (…) Continue Reading »