last modified:2008-12-29 10:18:12
Film Series
The Middle East Through Its Films-2009
Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Wednesdays -- 6:00-9:00 p.m.
These selected films will be shown and their social context discussed by Professor Laurence Loeb, U of U Department of Anthropology. Don’t miss this great opportunity to see the Middle East through the eyes of its filmmakers!
Please note! These films are not rated and may contain mature subject matter.
January 28- Wednesday- The Kite
Arabic, with English Subtitles. Lebanon 2008, 80 Minutes.
This film is part of the Global Lens 2008 film series from Global Films Initiative—
In director Randa Chahal Sabbag's ‘fairytale for troubled times,’ sixteen-year old Lamia must cross a border checkpoint between Lebanon and Israel to marry a man she has never met. Neither she nor her betrothed are eager to consummate a marriage to a stranger—a matter further complicated by Lamia's surprising admission that she is in love with the Israeli soldier guarding the border. Sabbag's enchanting drama about marriage and tradition is underscored by delicate symbolism and artful references to politics of Lebanon's territories that have been annexed.
February 11- Wednesday- Times and Winds
Turkish, with English Subtitles. Turkey 2006, 111 Minutes
Young teen Omer contemplates the unthinkable as he bitterly struggles under the loveless emotional yoke of his scornful Muslim cleric father. Yakup, Omer’s best friend, obsesses over a beautiful schoolteacher. Yildiz recoils from burgeoning womanhood, and from the sordid carnal realities she has grown too old to ignore. Times and Winds contrasts a parochial society’s unending chain of cruelty with the pagan natural world’s eternal and sensual beauty in this film by Reha Erdem.
February 24- Tuesday- Unwanted Woman
Persian, with English Subtitles. Iran 2005, 103 Minutes
From acclaimed director Tahmineh Milani, comes this searing tale about the struggles of women in modern-day Iran. Poor Sima puts up with her philandering and abusive husband, Ahmed, even when he asks her to cover for him on a trip with his girlfriend Saba. In an Iran where unmarried couples can be arrested for fraternizing in public, Sima must accompany the couple on their trip to protect her husband. But a surprising turn awaits the trio when they stop in a town where a man has just murdered his wife for her alleged affair.
March 11- Wednesday- Caramel
Arabic, with English Subtitles. Lebanon 2007, 93 Minutes
Six women in Beirut seek love, marriage, and companionship and find duty, friendship, and possibility. Four work at a salon: Nisrine, engaged to Bassam, with a secret she shares with her co-workers; Jamale, a divorced mother of teens, a part-time model, fearing the encroachment of time; Rima, always in pants, attracted to Siham, a client who smiles back; Layale, in love with a married man, willing to drop everything at a honk of his horn. There's also Rose, a middle-aged seamstress, who cares for Lili, old and facing dementia. Rose has a suitor; Layale has an admirer on the police force. Is delight a possibility? Is caramel a sweet or an instrument of pain?
March 25- Wednesday- The Band's Visit
Hebrew and Arabic, with English Subtitles. Israel 2007, 87 Minutes
On an ordinary day, the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra arrives in Israel from Egypt for a cultural event, only to find there is no delegation to meet them, nor any arrangements to get to their destination of Petah Tiqva. When they find their own ride, they arrive instead at the remote town of Beit Hatikva. Stuck there until the next morning's bus, the band settles in as best it can, each of the members attempting to get along with the natives in their own way. What follows is a special night of quiet happenings and confessions as the band makes its own impact on the town and the town on them.