october 30th - november 2nd festival...

OCTOBER 30TH - NOVEMBER 2ND

Festival Guidebbcarabic.com/festival

After a stellar first year, we are happy to be back with an even stronger second edition of the BBC Arabic Festival. Our unique programme, made up entirely from public submissions, brings to London stories directly from the streets of a region in flux. The 2015 selection presents a diverse range of filmmaking styles – from fantastical comedy to experimental documentary and serious journalism – by first time and experienced filmmakers alike. This year’s theme, ‘Rulers and the Ruled: Power in a Changing Arab World’ has brought us stories about forced migration, identity politics, children in conflict and more. These films don’t just touch on the sweeping changes in nation states and continuous shifts, drops and assumptions of political power, but also how social views and community prospects are affecting the region. We are pleased to see the open and wide-ranging interpretation of these questions touch on the personal and the public.

The benefit of being in our second year means we also bear fruit from our first year. The winner of the BBC Arabic Young Journalist Award, Abdel Fattah Farag, has received his equipment and training at our Cairo bureau. This year, we welcome him back with a work borne out of that experience.

We are proud to be creating a platform for 20 directors to present their films throughout the Festival. Each session will be followed by a panel discussion and we invite everyone to come and take part in these debates. The four-day programme also includes musicians and entertainers whose work on exile, freedom and equality echo the themes projected through the films.We look forward to welcoming you to our 2015 BBC Arabic Festival.

S A M F A R A H , B B C A R A B I C P R O G R A M M E S E D I T O R

WELCOME TO THE BBC ARABIC FESTIVAL

The BBC Arabic Festival is a free event that presents a diverse range of short films and documentaries from across the Middle East by Arab and non-Arab filmmakers. The Festival takes place over four days at the BBC Headquarters.

Housed in a historic Grade II listed building in the heart of central London, the BBC’s Radio Theatre is an intimate performance venue with a grand decor. It first opened its doors in 1934, originally as a sound studio. Today, this iconic art deco setting hosts daily concerts, variety shows and comedy acts for TV and radio in front of a live audience. The theatre is also equipped with a bar and cafe, which overlooks the notable panoramic BBC newsroom.

The BBC Arabic Festival is the first, and only, film festival that takes place here.

WELCOME

Opening Festivities at the World PiazzaOpening Ceremony

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DAY ONEF R I D A Y O C T O B E R 3 0

After the Revolt: Cities and ChaosLost ChildhoodsPeople in a Changing Arab World

pages 5 - 8pages 9 - 12pages 13 - 15

DAY TWOS A T U R D A Y O C T O B E R 3 1

PerseveranceAmbiguous BordersSex, Sect and Stigma

pages 16 - 19pages 20 - 24pages 25 - 30

DAY THREES U N D A Y N O V E M B E R 1

Closing Awards GalaAcknowledgements

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DAY FOURM O N D A Y N O V E M B E R 2

OPENING FESTIVITIES ONTHE WORLD PIAZZA

ENSEMBLE ZAR Directed by the composer Bushra El-Turk, Ensemble Zar are masters of improvisation, relishing in the spontaneous nature of Oriental music. A fresh and fearless ensemble, they boast extraordinary versatility performing fusion styles that mix contemporary and traditional arrangements.

YAZZ AHMEDQUARTETBritish-Bahraini trumpet and flugelhorn player, Yazz Ahmed, will perform original compositions of hypnotic Middle Eastern riffs and haunting melodies fused with jazz and free improvisation. The Quartet features Lewis Wright, vibraphone; Dave Manington, bass guitar; and Corrina Silvester on drums.

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Join us at the BBC Broadcasting House World Piazza for a day of food and music. Lebanese shawarma, Gazan falafel, Egyptian koshari and Syrian bouzza (traditional gummy ice-cream) will be on offer throughout the day. The Yazz Ahmed Quartet will be crooning through the lunch hours. The day will end with a dramatic performance by Ensemble Zar.

OPENING CEREMONYF R I D A Y O C T O B E R 3 0

7 P M - 9 P MF R E E A D M I S S I O N

SCREENING BY

YOUNG JOURNALIST AWARD

WINNER 2014

AND A BBC ARABIC PRODUCTION

PREGNANT AND IN CHAINS

BBC RADIO THEATRE, BROADCASTING HOUSE,PORTLAND PLACE, LONDON W1A 1AA

LIMITED PUBLIC AVAILABILITY: TICKETS AVAILABLE BY

REGISTERING THROUGH

[email protected]

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BBC ARABIC YOUNGJOURNALIST AWARD

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SHAYMAShayma is a hard working woman in her 30’s defying the odds of gender-based expectations. Her colleagues are her closest friends and her boss shows her a lot of respect. She considers her workplace her home away from home. But her body is filled with visible scars acquired from work-related injuries from over the years. For 12 hours a day, Shayma sorts, collects and transports junk iron. She is the only female labourer in a male-dominated iron junk shop. In this short documentary, director Abdelfattah Farag explores her life, dreams and aspirations as the only woman in western Egypt working in this industry.

DIRECTED BY ABDELFATTAH FARAG:

Abdelfattah Farag is an Egyptian journalist. He made his first film, Saber, in 2013 documenting the life of one of Cairo’s growing number of unofficial garbage collectors. For this film, Farag was awarded the 2014 BBC Arabic Young Journalist Award, receiving mentorship and training with at the BBC Arabic bureau in Cairo. Shayma is his second film.

The 2015 BBC Arabic Young Journalist Award will be announced at the BBC Arabic Festival Closing Awards Gala on Monday 2 November

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The BBC Arabic Young Journalist Award offers training, mentoring and equipment to the most promising filmmaker or journalist under the age of 30.The Opening Ceremony of the BBC Arabic Festival presents Shayma by 2014 BBC Arabic Young Journalist Award winner, Abdelfattah Farag. Shayma is a short documentary produced as a result of his award training.

BBC ARABIC PRESENTS: PREGNANT AND IN CHAINS

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Following an investigation lasting more than a year, BBC Arabic exposes the hidden fate of women who have broken the United Arab Emirates’ strict laws on sex outside marriage. Sentenced under these laws, women are routinely sent to the country’s prisons. For many, pregnancy is used as proof of their crime. This film reveals how these laws force women to take desperate measures.Pregnant unmarried women evade the law by having illegal abortions or leaving the country. The vast majority of women who find themselves on the wrong side of the law are domestic workers from poor countries. They are frequently victims of rape. Countless migrant women have faced judges in courtrooms across the UAE. Thousands have served prison sentences, many with their children. For the first time, through exclusive interviews and undercover footage, this BBC Arabic film investigates the UAE’s laws on sex outside marriage and reveals their dramatic consequences on the lives of women.

DIRECTED BY CHRISTINE GARABEDIAN

Christine is a Beirut-born Dutch-Armenian freelance film-maker with roots in many places. She has made documentaries, current affairs, and factual programmes for broadcasters including the BBC, Channel 4 and Al Jazeera. She has developed, filmed, written, edit-produced, and directed documentary films for BBC Arabic’s Award-winning Close-Up series since February 2012.

EACH FILM WILL BE INTRODUCED BY ITS DIRECTOR. THE SESSION WILL BE FOLLOWED BY A PANEL DISCUSSION.

BBC RADIO THEATRE, BROADCASTING HOUSE,PORTLAND PLACE, LONDON, W1A 1AA

ADMISSION FREE

Visit BBCARABIC.COM/FESTIVAL to register for free tickets

AFTER THE REVOLT:CITIES AND CHAOS

LAND OF MEN, DIRECTED BY KELLY ALI

A DAY AND A BUTTON, DIRECTED BY AZZA HAMWI

CAIRO DRIVE, DIRECTED BY SHERIEF ELKATSHA

SATURDAY OCTOBER 3112 - 2 PM

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A DOCUMENTARY TRIPLE-BILL TELLING STORIES FROM THE STREETS OF A REGION IN FLUX

LAND OF MENREPORTAGE

4 minutes, Libya (Arabic with English subtitles)

Land of Men explores the opinions of both men and women on the subject of women’s rights after the revolution in Libya. The collapse of Gadhafi’s regime brought a new hope to women but many felt the reality fell short of their optimistic vision.

DIRECTED BY KELLY ALI

Kelly Ali is a Libyan filmmaker, director and editor. He is passionate about examining different cultures and discovering different people to share their stories. His work has been officially selected to screen at the Locarno Film Festival and the Middle EastNow Festival.

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A DAY AND A BUTTONSHORT DOCUMENTARY

7 minutes, Syria (Arabic with English subtitles)

A Day and A Button is a window into a regular day in today’s Damascus. Artist Azza Hamwi takes us on a visually poetic tour around the city as she tries to transcend the lines that have been drawn. Her attempts to walk freely in her home city are interrupted by gender segregation, sectarian divide and political inclinations. With her we experience the place, the people and the boundaries as she shares her internal thoughts on identities and ideologies that now rule the place.

DIRECTED BY AZZA HAMWI

Born in Hamma, Syria in 1980, Azza Hamwi is a visual artist working with animation, illustration and video. She has exhibited internationally at museums and galleries in Finland, Turkey, France, Bulgaria, Serbia and Syria. Hamwi has illustrated over 25 books. In 2014, three of her works were acquired by The British Museum. She started making films in 2011. A Day and A Button is her third film. This is her second participation with the BBC Arabic Festival.

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80 minutes, Egypt (English and Arabic with English subtitles)

Cairo, Egypt is a city of 20 million people, 23,600 miles of road and 2 million cars. Taxis, buses, donkey carts, and swarms of people, all jockey through the obstacle course that is daily life. Sitting at a cultural intersection, Cairo is a city where different faiths, races, and social classes all share a few clogged arteries of tarmac. Cairo Drive explores life in one of the world’s most populated cities from its streets. Shot between 2009 and 2012 the film explores the country’s collective identity, inherent struggles and the sentiments that lead through the historic changes taking place in Egypt today.

For years, Egypt has had two story lines: the official propaganda and the reality on the streets. Nowhere is this clearer than on the city roads.

DIRECTED BY SHERIEF ELKATSHA

Sherief Elkatsha was born in the United States, raised in Cairo and currently lives in Brooklyn, NY. He has been making films since 2006. His feature documentary, Butts Out (2006), received Best Documentary Award at the New England Film and Video Festival. His second film, We Are Watching You (2007), co-directed with Jehane Noujaim, was broadcast on 42 networks around the world. Cairo Drive is Sherief’s third feature length film. It won the award for Best Film from the Arab World in the Documentary Competition at the 2013 Abu Dhabi Film Festival.

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CAIRO DRIVE FEATURE DOCUMENTARY

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ONE MINUTE, DIRECTED BY DINA NASER

BAGHDAD MESSI, DIRECTED BY SAHIM OMAR KHALIFA

TUK-TUK, DIRECTED BY ROMANY SAAD

SATURDAY OCTOBER 313.30 - 5.30 PM

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LOSTCHILDHOODS

TWO SHORT FILMS AND ONE DOCUMENTARY THAT LOOK AT YOUTH IN PERIL

ONE MINUTESHORT FILM

11 minutes, Palestine (Arabic with English subtitles)

During the summer of 2014 Gaza war, in the battered neighbourhood of Shujaiya, 37-year-Salma made her home her shelter from the bombing. She and her daughter are protected in relative calm from the attacks outside, until she receives a text message warning her of her and her baby’s impending fate. One Minute imagines the moments between funny text messages from a friend and an evacuation notice from the Israeli army. Powerless at the mercy of the tactics of war, all Salma and her baby have are those moments.

DIRECTED BY DINA NASER

Dina Naser is a filmmaker and TV producer based in Jordan. In 2011, her short documentary Shamieh told the story of an ageing Palestinian woman living in the Zizya refugee camp in Jordan. Tiny Souls investigated the lives of Syrian refugee children and is now being developed into a feature length documentary. One Minute is herthird film.

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BAGHDAD MESSISHORT FILM

12 minutes, Iraq (Arabic with English subtitles)

Despite their deeply conflicted surroundings, 10-year-old Homoudi and his friends are obsessed with football. But as an amputee, his friends do not often accept him on the field. In order to win their comradery, he has to offer them something that others cannot - a TV set on which to watch the glorious Champions League. When this TV set breaks, he travels with his father through violent Baghdad in order to fix it. Baghdad Messi, winner of multiple international awards, tells the universal story of a child finding solace in a simple passion.

DIRECTED BY SAHIM OMAR KHALIFA

Born in Kurdistan, Sahim Omar Khalifa emigrated to Belgium in 2001. After completing film school in 2008, he teamed up with A Team Productions with whom he made two of his award-winning short films - Baghdad Messi (2013) and Land of the Heroes (2011). These two award winning films have featured in film festivals globally, receiving prominent recognition. Sahim, along with A Team Productions, is currently producing his first feature film.

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TUK-TUKFEATURE DOCUMENTARY

75 minutes, Egypt (Arabic with English subtitles)

Tuk-Tuk follows Sharon (15), Bika (14) and Abdullah (12), who have little choice but to drive tuk-tuks to earn an income for their families. Director Romany Saad points his camera at these hard-working young boys as they share their street-wise views on the chaos that surrounds them, sneaking cigarettes and missing out on their education. Besieged on all sides by police, thieves and competing taxis, the boys take every chance to find a fleeting escape from the stronghold of poverty. This energetic documentary illustrates the resilient outlook of three children who have become adults before their time and their struggle to hold onto their childhood.

DIRECTED BY ROMANY SAAD

Romany Saad is an Egyptian filmmaker born in Cairo in 1974. Romany has been making short films since 2010. His films have screened internationally and won several festival awards. These include the Naubel Film Festival in Tunis (2012); the Busan International Short Film Festival in South Korea (2012); and the Alexandria International Film Festival in Egypt (2011). Tuk-Tuk, made in 2015, is his first feature non-fiction film

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EVDAL, DIRECTED BY KAMIRAN BETASI

ARIJ: SCENT OF A REVOLUTION, DIRECTED BY VIOLA SHAFIK

SATURDAY OCTOBER 316.30 - 8.45 PM

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PEOPLE IN A CHANGING ARAB WORLD

A DOCUMENTARY DOUBLE-BILL THAT INTRODUCES US TO INDIVIDUALS DEALING WITH THE TRANSFORMATIONS

SURROUNDING THEM

PEOPLE IN A CHANGING ARAB WORLD

EVDALSHORT DOCUMENTARY

24 minutes, Iraq (Kurdish with English subtitles)

Abdallah is originally from a Christian part of Kurdistan. At a young age, he and his parents converted to Islam and were forced to resettle in a predominantly Muslim part of the region. However, their life became very difficult there. Evdal allows Abdallah to tell his story, recounting the poverty they faced and the challenge of life without medical assistance for his paralyzed mother. With this story, director Kamiran Betasi has sought to highlight the power of humanity over differences of religionand nationality.

DIRECTED BY KAMIRAN BETASI

Kamiran Betesi is a director, scriptwriter and photographer. Born in 1972 in Zakho in Kurdistan, Iraq he directed television documentaries and programmes before producing films. He has made a number of award-winning short films including Black Mirror, Silhouette and A Long Night. His films have screened in numerous film festivals including the Dubai International Film Festival, Duhok International Film Festival and the Gulf Film Festival.

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Arij: Scent of Revolution is narrated by director Viola Shafik as she goes on a journey into the past and the disastrous attempts to develop the city of Luxor. Shafik interviews four different individuals: Safwat Samaan, a Coptic political activist; Francis Amin Mohareb, owner of the largest collection of historical negatives in Egypt; Alaa El-Dib, a socialist writer and Awatef Mahmoud, a 3-D designer. Each character and event in the film contributes to provide a holistic, yet also personal, description of how Egypt has arrived at its present situation.

DIRECTED BY VIOLA SHAFIK

Viola Shafik is a film academic and freelance filmmaker and curator. She is the author of Arab Cinema: History and Cultural Identity, (AUC-Press, Cairo, 1998) and Popular Egyptian Cinema: Gender, Class and Nation, (AUC-Press, 2007). She has taught Film Studies at the American University in Cairo and has worked as a consultant for international film festivals and training initiatives, including La Biennale di Venezia, the Dubai Film Connection and the Rawi Screenwriters Lab.

ADMISSION FREE


ARIJ: SCENT OF A REVOLUTION FEATURE DOCUMENTARY

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PERSEVERANCE

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 112 - 2.30 PM



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THE RUNNER, DIRECTED BY MOHANNAD EISSA

BLUE, DIRECTED BY ABO GABI

IMMORTAL SERGEANT, DIRECTED BY ZIAD KALTHOUM

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THREE TRUE STORIES OF INDIVIDUALS WHOWITHSTOOD THE ODDS

THE RUNNERREPORTAGE

4 minutes, Libya (Arabic with English subtitles)

Celebrating victory in an international race, Libyan runner Tari Al-Shibli revealed a tattoo showing the flag of independence. In this film, he describes the consequences he faced on returning to Gadhafi’s Libya.

DIRECTED BY MOHANNAD EISSA

Mohannad Eissa is an emerging filmmaker based in Tripoli, Libya. The Runner is his first short documentary, made during a creative workshop organised by the British Council and Scottish Documentary Institute, in partnership with Tripoli Schoolof Art.

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BLUESHORT DOCUMENTARY


“Since I fled the Yarmouk Refugee Camp and came to Beirut, I have had a recurring dream. The dream takes me back to besieged Yarmouk, where death and destruction have settled in all its details. My memory retains images of the place and it is difficult for me to abandon it. Maybe the sound of my friend Ayham’s piano changed the nightmare into dream and the place into a legend.” – director, Abo GabiThis unique story of Ayham, a pianist playing his music amidst the wreckage of the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus, is narrated by the director, Abo Gabi. A musician himself, Abo Gabi fled Yarmouk and now tells this story by way of his dreams and memories, fears and hopes. Though surrounded by rubble, his poetic storytelling takes audiences out of devastated Yarmouk, and into a place where strength, respect and semblances of normality persist.

DIRECTED BY ABO GABIAbo Gabi is a Syrian-Palestinian writer, musician and singer. He is co-founder of Reaction: the Palestinian Creative Collective in Yarmouk Camp, Damascus. With the collective, he directed a number short films and theatre pieces. Abo Gabi has also composed original musical scores for films and theatre. He has worked on a numerous collaborative projects with musicians from around the world. He launched his latest album, Hijaz Harb, in November 2014.

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THE IMMORTAL SERGEANTFEATURE DOCUMENTARY


After the Syrian revolution, Ziad Kalthoum served as a reservist whilst also working as assistant to the acclaimed Syrian film director Mohammed Malas. The Immortal Sergeant follows Ziad through a typical day in 2012, giving us a glimpse of his fellow Syrians as they struggle with their grief and trauma whilst attempting to continue with their ordinary lives. The Immortal Sergeant, borne out of his experience working on Ladder to Damascus, has screened at numerous festivals and was awarded a prize at the Locarno Film Festival.

DIRECTED BY ZIAD KALTHOUM

Ziad Kalthoum is a soldier in the morning and a filmmaker for the rest of the day. He was born in Homs, Syria in 1981. Before making feature documentaries, he worked as assistant director on several films, series and TV programmes. His first documentary Aydil (Oh, My Heart) (2012) was selected for the Carthage Film Festival.

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AMBIGUOUSBORDERS

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 13.30 - 5.40 PM

MOUNT GOUROUGOU, DIRECTED BY BRUNO ROCCHI

SECOND HAND REFUGEE, DIRECTED BY JUMANA SAADEH

THIS IS EXILE: DIARIES OF CHILD REFUGEES, DIRECTED BY MANI

#73, DIRECTED BY REKESH SHAHBAZ

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BRINGS TOGETHER STORIES OF EXILE AND MIGRATION

9 minutes, Morocco (English and French with English subtitles)

Hundreds of sub-Saharan African migrants have taken up residence in the treacherous conditions of Mount Gourougou. As they wait to attempt the crossing into Spanish territory, they recount their previous attempts to cross the border and their determination to start a better life. Bruno Rocchi tells their stories with compassion and conviction, painting a vivid picture of the inhospitable environment and hostility they face from both the Spanish and Moroccan police.

DIRECTED BY BRUNO ROCCHI

Bruno Rocchi is an Italian filmmaker with a focus on observational and ethnographic filmmaking. Between 2012 and 2015 he travelled the northern part of Morocco and shot a documentary about the working situation in the Rif, Bled el Makhzen as well as producing and directing Mount Gourougou in 2013.

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MOUNT GOUROUGOU REPORTAGE

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SECOND HAND REFUGEESHORT DOCUMENTARY

24 minutes, Jordan (Arabic with English subtitles)

Like many others, a Palestinian family from Hebron was forced to leave Palestine in 1948. Exiled in Jordan, their Jordanian citizenships were revoked after the Black September events of 1970 and they were, once again, driven out of their homes. Sent to Syria to settle in the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus, this time they were not given any citizenship papers and were considered ‘unidentified’. Today, this family faces yet another expulsion. After hearing about their father’s execution via Facebook, the family decided to leave Yarmouk back to Jordan despite their lack of identity papers. Through Second Hand Refugee, audiences hear Thawra, Farah and Ahmed tell their story of life without formal identity papers and their repeating history of displacement.

DIRECTED BY JUMANA SAADEH

Jumana Saadeh is a filmmaker from Jordan. She is currently a director and producer at Shashat Multimedia Productions in Amman, creating content for web and television. Second Hand Refugee is her first documentary. It was screened at the Al-Jazeera Documentary Film Festival in Qatar and the Altın Çınar Film Festivali in Turkey. Jumana holds an MA in Film Production from the University of Central Lancashire.

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This is Exile is an intimate portrait of child refugees forced to flee from the violence of Syria’s civil war to neighbouring Lebanon. Filmed over a year, the documentary allows the children to tell their stories in their own words capturing the truth of how they deal with loss, hardship and a political consciousness beyond their age. The testimonies in this film form an intelligently crafted snapshot of the human cost of this ongoing war. This topical documentary is also a timeless look at the essence of exile. By now, over 4 million people have been forced to leave their homes to neighbouring countries, half of them are children.

DIRECTED BY MANI

Mani is an award-winning independent filmmaker and photographer. He has worked in Niger, India and Pakistan, settling in Syria in 2011. His first documentary, Horror of Homs (2012), produced by ITN/Channel 4 News, won the Royal Television Society Award, the Rory Peck Award, the Amnesty International Media Award and the Front Line Club Award, among others. His photos have appeared in Paris Match, Le Monde, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Magazine, Die Zeit and the National Geographic Magazine. His films have aired on Channel 4, CNN, CBS, France 2, Canal+ and ZDF.

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THIS IS EXILE: DIARIES OF CHILD REFUGEES FEATURE DOCUMENTARY

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#73 SHORT DOCUMENTARY

23 minutes, Iraq (Kurdish with English subtitles)

#73 looks at the plight of the minority Yezidi community, many of whom have been left homeless by the rise of the so-called Islamic State. Having left his parents behind in his besieged village, Barakat Hassan travels back across the Syrian/Iraqi border in search of them. As we follow Barakat on this perilous journey, we hear the stories of other refugees who are crossing the border and get a first-hand account of the challenges they face.

DIRECTED BY REKESH SHAHBAZ

Rekesh Shahbaz was born in Duhok, 1981. He is a theatre and film actor, a TV host and producer and a documentary director. Rekesh received his degree from the Institute of Fine Arts in Dohuk.

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ODD, WRITTEN BY HAITHAM DABBOUR

SAFWAN MARKET, DIRECTED BY HADI MAHOOD

SISA, IRON LADY, DIRECTED BY ALY ELSOTOHY

THE GREAT SAFAE, DIRECTED BY RANDA MAROUFI

IBN BNOOT, DIRECTED BY MINA MAGDY

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 16.30 - 8.30 PM

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SEX, SECTAND STIGMA

FIVE FICTION AND NON-FICTION STORIES THAT EXPLORE ISSUES OF IDENTITY POLITICS

ODD SHORT FILM


Adel Iskandar is Christian Egyptian in Cairo. When he goes home to find that his neighbours have just fixed the building elevator, they invite him to be the first to try it out. This welcoming gesture becomes the setting for an awkward encounter between neighbours of different religions and levels of devotion. This ironic short film is a satirical look at the co-existence of people in predominantly Muslim Egypt. The characters’ subtle, yet loaded, differences suggest a power dynamic between the majority and minority ethnic and religious groups. Odd stars the popular and charismatic Egyptian actors Khaled El-Nabawy, Sayed Ragab and Khaled Bahgat, directed by Karim Elshenawy.

WRITTEN BY HAITHAM DABBOUR

Haitham Dabbour is an award-winning Egyptian journalist and scriptwriter. He has worked on several documentary and fiction films and participated in numerous international film festivals. His screenplay for the film Photocopy was short-listed for the 2014 Sawiris Award. He wrote and developed the documentary film Tahrir 2011 which went on to win the UNESCO Award at the Venice Film Festival and the Best Documentary Award in the Oslo Film Festival. In 2012 he founded ElWatanNews.com, which won the best website prize in 2013.

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SAFWAN MARKETSHORT DOCUMENTARY

25 minutes, Iraq (Arabic with English subtitles)

Safwan Market, located in the heart of Samawa, Iraq, is the city’s largest marketplace and most lucrative area for its inhabitants to earn a living. When the government decides to demolish the predominantly Shia’a market in order to build a Sunni mosque, the vendors working there have reason to revolt. Where will they take their business? How will they earn their livelihood? And why have the city developers decided on this particular spot?

DIRECTED BY HADI MAHOOD

Hadi Mahood is an award-winning filmmaker and theatre director. His works include The Drowned, a documentary based on confidential information from the Iraqi police file, Nights of Gypsy’s Descent, a documentary on gypsies subjected to hatred following the fall of the Iraqi regime in 2003, Iraq my Country, Collapse, Cart, and Ambulance Driver.

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SISA, IRON LADYREPORTAGE


Sisa’s husband died while she was pregnant with their first child. This short report tells the extraordinary story of how she has spent the past 43 years dressing as a man in order to work and support her child. Sisa, Iron Lady illustrates her determination to overcome gender bias.

DIRECTED BY ALY ELSOTOHY

Aly ElSotohy is a director, producer and editor. After graduating in 2007, he started his career in investigative journalism. Aly now works as Director for the Department of Multimedia News in Egypt.

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THE GREAT SAFAESHORT FILM

16 minutes, Morocco (Arabic with English subtitles)

The Great Safae is a fictional, experimental documentary inspired by a real person. Referred to as ‘The Great Safae’, she was a transgender who spent part of her life working as a domestic servant for the director’s family. Throughout this time, her ‘true’ sexual identity eluded everyone in the house. Based on this ambiguity, Maroufi re-imagines ‘Safae’ as she goes through her daily routine, working in the house and changing from male to female. The film stylistically weaves in snippets of conversation from various members of the family about social views on gender behavior. The Great Safae is a story of interchanging realities.

DIRECTED BY RANDA MAROUFI

Randa Maroufi is an artist who works across photography, installation, performance, sound and film. Her work has a focus on issues surrounding gender and public space. Maroufi has exhibited in institutions globally, including the Marrakech Biennale, the Arab World Institute in Paris, the African Photography Meeting in Bamako and the Internationale Kurzfilmtage International Short Film Festival in Dresden. She lives and works between Tangier and Lille.

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IBN BNOOTSHORT FILM


Ibn Bnoot is a fantastical comedy that imagines a world in which women are the dominant sex, controlling men’s lives and choices. This short film follows Adam as he grows up subject to his mother’s domineering decisions, obliged to stay home, cook for his sisters and eventually marry the suitable bride who asks for his hand. This inverse world, while presenting a comical juxtaposition, highlights the issue of women’s rights and subjugations across patriarchal societies.

“The film is aimed more at men, telling them to wake up. I wanted to shock men into realising that if the things happening to women were happening to men, they wouldn’t be able to bear it.” – MINA MAGDY

DIRECTED BY MINA MAGDY

Mina is an Egyptian director and producer. Prior to making Ibn Bnoot, he directed documentaries, Sufi videos, television programmes and live concerts. He is now working on his first feature film.

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CLOSING AWARDS CEREMONY GALA


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HOSTED BY SHAPPI KHORSANDI

Shappi Khorsandi is an Iranian born British stand-up comedian and author. She has appeared on many BBC Radio 4 programmes as well as the BBC TV programme Have I Got News For You. She has also hosted her own four part series, Shappi Talks, for BBC Radio 4, examining what it is like growing up in multi-cultural families.She has starred in Live at the Apollo, Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross and Q.I.

‘SHE HAS PLENTY TO SAY, AND SAYS IT WITH POINTEDNESS AND POTENCY.’The Guardian

BBC ARABIC WILL ANNOUNCE THE OVERALL WINNERS OF BBC ARABIC FESTIVAL 2015

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CLOSING AWARDS CEREMONY GALA

MUSICAL GUEST MASHROU’ LEILA

Born of a nocturnal encounter, Mashrou’ Leila has revolutionized the sound and industry of Arab Pop. Emerging from Beirut’s underground scene, they combine indie-rock influences with a characteristically Balkan sway. Singing about gender equality, political freedoms, race, religion and modern Arab identity, they have crafted some of the most melancholic ballads and raucous anthems in contemporary alternative Arabic music.

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LIMITED PUBLIC AVAILABILITY: TICKETS AVAILABLE BY REGISTERING THROUGH

[email protected]

BBC ARABIC WILL ANNOUNCE THE OVERALL WINNERS OF BBC ARABIC FESTIVAL 2015

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NOVEMBER 2 7 - 9 PM RECEPTION TO FOLLOWTHIS IS A TELEVISED EVENT

SHORT FILMS AND SHORT DOCUMENTARIES

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BBC ARABIC FESTIVAL WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE 2015 JUDGES:

SAFA ALAHMADJOURNALIST ANDDOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER

JASON SOLOMONSFILM CRITIC, MAIL ON SUNDAYAND BBC LONDON 94.9

ORWA NYRABIADOCUMENTARY PRODUCER,PROACTION FILM &CO-FOUNDER OF DOX BOX

BBC ARABIC FESTIVAL WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE 2015 JUDGES:

FEATURE DOCUMENTARIES AND REPORTAGE

LILIANE LANDORCONTROLLER OF LANGUAGES, BBC GLOBAL NEWS

TINA CARRDIRECTOR,RORY PECK TRUST

MARTIN CHULOVCORRESPONDENT,THE GUARDIAN

GISELLE KHOURYTV HOST,BBC ARABIC

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@BBCARABICFESTIVAL

OCTOBER 30 - NOVEMBER 2

BBC RADIO THEATRE, BROADCASTING HOUSEPORTLAND PLACE, LONDON, W1A 1AA

ADMISSION FREE

VISIT BBCARABIC.COM/FESTIVALTO REGISTER FOR FREE TICKETS

#BBCARABICFEST

october 30th - november 2nd festival...

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