Festivals show Arab films to audiences around the world

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Arab Film Festival 2013 Australia

Arab Film News Digest: 25-31 May 2013 –  Film festival news continues as Arab film festivals open in Marseille, France; Pleasantville, New York in the USA; and later, in June, the Arab Film Festival  takes place in Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney in Australia.  Meanwhile, the 16th edition of Egypt’s Ismailia International Film Festival for Documentaries and Shorts in Suez Canal city is back from 4-9 June showing 52 films from around the world and, according to the organisers, 10 world premieres.

The first International Festival of Arab Cinema began straight after the Cannes Film Festival in the French Mediterranean city of Marseille organised by Arab cultural association Aflam. In the USA, Pleasantville’s Jacob Burns Film Center opened its Contemporary Arab Cinema Series on Thursday with Safinez Bousbia’s documentary about long-lost Algerian Chaabi musicians El Gusto. The series is organised by Dubai-based Lina Matta and runs 30 May to 5 June 2013.

Down under, the 10th Arab Film Festival Australia (27 June to 14 July 2013) will open at Sydney’s Parramatta Riverside Theatre with the Australian premiere of Yousry Nasrallah’s After The Battle, which tells the story of the Tahrir Square protests in 2011, the ‘Battle of the Camels’ and the aftermath of the protests. The Festival aims to share stories and culture of the Arab world with Australian audiences, including a programme of six feature films and five short films from 10 countries. The Festival opens first in Sydney followed by a tour taking in Canberra (4-7 July) and Melbourne (12-14 July).

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