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Arab Film Festival Presents Rarely Seen Films From the International Festival Circuit
They originated in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, Algeria and Tunisia. They have garnered honors in festivals around the world. And they won’t be popping up on the marquee at your local multiplex anytime soon.
The 2010 Arab Film Festival at the Arab American National Museum, Friday, December 3 through Sunday, December 5, presents a wide-ranging and thought-provoking selection of feature-length films paired with short films, in a variety of genres including stop-motion animation.
Among the titles at this sixth annual festival is the crime drama Ajami, a 2010 Academy Award nominee in the Best Foreign Language Film category which also earned a Golden Camera – Special Mention at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. Co-directed by a Palestinian and an Israeli, Ajami interweaves several powerful tales of residents in the melting-pot Tel Aviv neighborhood for which the film is named.
In conjunction with the 2010 Arab Film Festival, the Museum staged its first-ever national Short Film Contest, offering cash prizes to U.S. filmmakers between the ages of 18-30 whose work best represented the theme of “Trans-Ubuntu”: Trans indicating movement and Ubuntu, an African philosophy which sees individuals through their relationship with the larger community.
First prize, including a cash award of $1,500, went to Brooklyn, New York-based filmmaker Joel Fendelman; second prize, $750, went to Los Angeles film student Michaela Wagner; third prize, $500, went to film student Pablo Torroella of Pasadena, California. All three films will be screened at 6 p.m. Friday, December 3 to open this year’s festival. Descriptions of the winning films and filmmakers appear below.
This year, the AANM’s Arab Film Festival has also expanded to embrace and support those trying to further their film careers. Professionals from the Detroit branch of Screen Actors Guild (SAG) will present a series of free workshops on Saturday, December 4 at the AANM, culminating with an Open Casting Call for actors on Sunday, December 5. Details of the workshops appear below. The workshops and casting call are open to the public.
“The Detroit Branch of Screen Actors Guild is pleased to work with the Arab Film Festival because we have never worked with a local museum or cultural institution before,” says Marcia Fishman, SAG Detroit Branch executive director. “It is our hope that these workshops will offer benefits to filmmakers and actors alike. We also hope to introduce Arab Americans to SAG, and SAG members to Arab Americans making films.”
The 2010 Arab Film Festival is made possible in part by The Kresge Foundation; DoubleTree Hotel – Dearborn; Screen Actors Guild, Detroit Branch; Wayne County Film Initiative; Detroit Film Think Tank; Arab Detroit; and MFC Magazine.
2010 Arab Film Festival
December 3-5, 2010
Arab American National Museum
Schedule: Friday, December 3
5:30-6 p.m. Opening Night Reception
Includes strolling halal dinner under the dome in the dramatic Community Courtyard at the Arab American National Museum, plus the AANM Short Film Contest Winners Screening and Package A films. Partial proceeds benefit the Arab American National Museum’s Short Film Contest. Reception presented in collaboration with the Detroit Film Think Tank.
6-7 p.m. AANM Short Film Contest Winners Screening
Join us in the Lower Level Auditorium to kick off the festival with a screening of the film submissions that best grasped the theme of Trans-Ubuntu: Trans indicating movement and Ubuntu, an African philosophy which sees individuals through their relationship with the larger community. Free and open to all who have purchased Festival tickets or Weekend Passes.
First Prize- $1500
Daud
Dir: Joel Fendelman
Brooklyn, NY
13 min.
Daud is a slice of the life story of a 10-year-old Muslim boy who one day finds himself wanting to play softball with the other kids. At its core, Daud is a universal story of all children’s struggles to fit in.
Joel Fendelman, 29, is a graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design. He works as an editor for A&E and PBS in addition to running his own boutique production company.
Second Prize- $750
Choson
Dir: Michaela Wagner
Los Angeles, CA
5 min.
Choson begins as a family prepares to make the dangerous border crossing from North Korea into China. The authoritarian police discover their plans; after a raid in which their parents are killed, two young sisters decide to make the crossing themselves.
Michaela Wagner, 22, moved to Minnesota with her family from Lund, Sweden. She is now a senior at the prestigious School of Cinematic Arts at USC in Los Angeles. She also is interested in social justice and anti-oppression issues.
Third Prize – $500
Painted Memories
Dir: Pablo Torroella
Pasadena, CA
23 min.
Painted Memories delves into the artistic pursuits of the filmmaker’s father, Mario Torroella. Motifs of Cuba and the clutter of a studio reveal the meticulous process of creating a painting from concept to finished product. The deeper meaning and purpose of the artist’s work is revealed through quotes and dialogue.
Pablo Torroella, 26, transferred to Tulane University just before Hurricane Katrina. Though he had to return to home and school in Massachusetts as New Orleans got back on its feet, he has since returned to Tulane and is attaining his MFA in Film in hope of becoming a director and screenwriter.
Package A Friday, December 3
(FOUR FILMS)
7 p.m.
Sadness Between the Private and the Public
Dir: Sherif El Morsi
2009/Egypt
6 min.
After the death of a family member, a young man decides to attend a demonstration for the first time in his life. He joins in the demonstration with thoughts of his family loss, but communes with others in their pain as part of the world family he now feels related to. It is a sensitive film illustrating the turmoil of our global situation, how it relates to, and affects lives of both Muslim and Jewish citizens. Arabic with English subtitles.
Jury Grand Prize, 2008 Corto del Med Festival, France
PLUS
7:10 p.m.
At The Doorstep (Al Bab)
Dir: Firas Mahadin
2009/Egypt, Jordan
10 min.
Waiting for his girlfriend in his apartment, a man is continually interrupted by unwanted visitors, phone calls and all manner of irritants. Where on earth is she? He is waiting! And waiting… Arabic with English subtitles.
PLUS
7:20 p.m.
A Game
Dir: Marwa Zein
2009/Egypt
6 min.
Adapted from the short story Let’s Play a Game by the Italian writer Alberto Moravia, this is the story of a divorced mother and her young daughter, told through a game played by the little girl.
Arabic with English subtitles.
Jury Award – Best Short Film, 2010 National Egyptian Film Festival
Official Selection, 2010 AMAL Euro Arab International Film Festival, Spain
PLUS
7:30 p.m.
Eye of the Sun (Ein Shams)
Dir: Ibrahim El Batout
2008/Egypt
90 min.
From the restless imagination of a young girl in a rundown suburb of Cairo springs a rich and dynamic story dealing with power, corruption, yearning and childhood innocence. Through her experiences, the director pulls together a tangled web of stories to create a tale that is insightful and pointed as it is heartwarming. Arabic with English subtitles.
Golden Tauro Best Film Award, 2008 Taormina Film Festival, Sicily
Best First Film Award, 2008 Rotterdam Arab Film Festival
Best Film Award, 2009 San Francisco Arab Film Festival
Schedule: Saturday, December 4
AANM Short Film Contest winners and other short films will be screening throughout the weekend in the Lower Level Gallery.
SCREEN ACTORS GUILD WORKSHOPS
Saturday, December 4
Free and open to the public; suggested donation $5 per workshop.
The Detroit Branch of Screen Actors Guild (SAG) presents a set of interactive workshops designed to help aspiring actors, directors and others interested in joining Michigan’s growing film industry, highlighting the critical tools needed to promote and sustain a film career.
Noon-1 p.m. (repeated 1-2 p.m.)
Acting Differences: Stage vs. Screen
What are the different acting techniques when performing on stage or in front of the camera? Is it merely voice projection or is it more? Watch professional actors and directors take one script and demonstrate two methodologies. In the Lower Level Auditorium.
12:30-1 p.m. (repeated 1:30-2 p.m.)
Marketing Yourself
How do you get that job in front of the camera? Is your headshot or resume effective? Whom do you need to know? Hear from the professional actors who snag those jobs. In the Lower Level Classroom.
12:30-1 p.m. (repeated 1:30-2 p.m.)
The Professionalism of Acting
Being a professional actor is not limited to talent. Behavior as a professional is also a key component. How does a professional prepare for his work, behave or even eat on a set, and complete the job in a way that makes the producer want to work with you again? Learn what you may not have read in a text or heard in a classroom. In the Lower Level Classroom.
2-2:30 p.m.
Putting It All Together
A panel of professionals will talk about putting together a production, including working with professional actors. A great script can fall short if the actors do not perform it well. Using professional actors can truly be easy and inexpensive. Come and find out how. In the Lower Level Auditorium.
Package B Saturday, December 4
(TWO FILMS)
3:30 p.m.
Borderline (Wara Al Blayek)
Dir: Sonia Chamkhi
2007/Tunisia
25 min.
A love story set in an unlikely place, Borderline recounts a relationship between a man and woman at the crossroads of a city that seems inhospitable and forbidding. Both have come to the city to find work and are living among dilapidated buildings and construction sites that – like their burgeoning love affair – contain a promise for the future. But a naive belief in the promise of the city makes disillusionment even more painful. Arabic with English subtitles.
PLUS
4 pm.
(Un)Lucky (Z’har)
Dir: Fatma-Zohra Zamoum
2009/Algeria
78 min.
Director Fatma-Zohra Zamoum plays herself in this highly original and intriguing debut. Interweaving a documentary-style account of her return to Algeria to shoot her film, she employs the narratives of various characters whose paths cross through Farid, the taxi driver who guides them through a fraught Algerian landscape. Arabic and French with English subtitles.
Best Feature Film, 2009 Mumbai Film Festival
Official Selection, 2009 Dubai International Film Festival.
Package C Saturday, December 4
(TWO FILMS)
5:30 p.m.
Bus
Dir: Yasmine Novak
2009/Palestine
11 min.
This short documentary illustrates the parallel universes in the city of Jerusalem. Running alongside Egged, the Israeli national bus system, are the green and white Palestinian public buses. They pick up people traveling through Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem, and cross back and forth over the Green Line. As the buses traverse the city, they carry with them dreams from various worlds. Hebrew, English, Arabic and French with English subtitles.
PLUS
5:45 p.m.
Laila’s Birthday
Dir: Rashid Masharawi
2008/Palestine, Tunisia, The Netherlands
71 min.
Abu Laila used to be a judge, but because the government cannot renew his assignment he is forced to become a taxi driver. On the day his daughter turns seven years old, his wife insists that he be home early and bring her a present and a cake. Abu Laila has nothing else on his mind beyond completing this mission, but daily life in Palestine complicates his efforts. Arabic and Hebrew with English subtitles.
Interfaith Award – Best Feature, 2009 St. Louis International Film Festival
Silver Screen Award – Best Asian Feature Film, 2009 Singapore International Film Festival
Mustafa Akkad Prize, 2009 Fajr International Film Festival, Tehran
Schedule: Sunday, December 5
AANM Short Film Contest winners and other short films will be screening throughout the weekend in the Lower Level Gallery.
OPEN CASTING CALL
Noon-2 p.m. Sunday, December 5
Free and open to the public
Read scripts and show off your acting chops for casting directors looking to recruit talent for metro Detroit productions. Bring your resumes, headshots and demo reels. If needed, sample scripts are available at the Saturday, December 3 SAG workshops. In the Lower Level Auditorium.
Package D Sunday, December 5
(TWO FILMS)
3 p.m.
Chicken Heads (Roos Djaj)
Dir: Bassam Ali Jarbawi
2009/Palestine
14 min.
Set in the farmlands of Palestine, Chicken Heads tells the story of an 11-year-old Bedouin boy who faces a moral dilemma when his pet gazelle harms one of his father’s prized animals. It’s a coming-of-age story that explores the fine line between taking responsibility for one’s actions and lying in order to protect oneself. Arabic with English subtitles.
First Prize – Muhr Arab Award, Short Films, 2009 Dubai International Film Festival
Student Choice Award – Best Film, 2009 Columbia University Film Festival, New York
PLUS
3:15 p.m.
Ajami
Dir: Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani
2009/Palestine, Israel
120 min.
This powerful crime drama is set on the streets of Jaffa’s Ajami neighborhood – a melting pot of cultures and conflicting views among Jews, Muslims and Christians. It is told by a cross-section of the city’s inhabitants: a young Israeli fighting a criminal vendetta against his family; a Palestinian refugee working illegally to finance a life-saving surgery; a Jewish police detective obsessed with finding his missing brother; and an affluent Palestinian dreaming of a future with his Jewish girlfriend. As their stories intersect, the dramatic collision of worlds leads to tragic consequences. In Arabic and Hebrew with English subtitles.
Nominee, Best Foreign Language Film, 2010 Academy Awards
Golden Camera – Special Mention, 2009 Cannes Film Festival
Wolgin Prize for best feature film, 2009 Jerusalem Film Festival
Best Film; Best Director; Best Script; Best Editing; and Best Music, 2009 Ophir Awards, Israel
Grand Prix, 2010 Boulder International Film Festival
Best Feature Film – Golden Alexander; Fischer Public Choice Award; Best Screenplay Award,
50th Thessaloniki International Film Festival, Greece
Sutherland Trophy for outstanding first feature, 53rd London Film Festival.
Package E Sunday, December 5
(THREE FILMS)
5:30 p.m.
Missing
Dir: Tariq Rimawi
2010/Jordan
3 min.
Based on true stories, this stop-motion animated short film opens a window on a child who lives in a war-torn area where he longs for his past peaceful life. No dialogue.
Best Short Film, 2010 Franco Arab Film Festival, Jordan
Official Selection, FICMEC International Film Festival, Lebanon
PLUS
5:35 p.m.
9 August (9 Aab)
Dir: Talal Khoury
2009/Lebanon
13 min.
This bittersweet film explores the aftermath of a death in both public and private contexts. It is also a tribute to Mahmoud Darwish, the late master of Arabic poetry. Arabic with English subtitles.
Special Jury Prize, 2009 Dubai international Film Festival
PLUS
5:50 p.m.
Our Feelings Took the Pictures: Open Shutters Iraq
Dir: Maysoon Pachachi
Iraq/2009
102 min.
Five women from different cities in Iraq study photography and share life stories while living together in Damascus. Ultimately, they weave these multiple narrative threads into a collective story of experience. After shooting their stories in Iraq, the women return to Syria to edit and complete their work. This documentary explores the ways in which traumatized and silenced people can resist the ‘un-making’ of their world, and assert their sense of existence with an act of creativity.
ATTENDING THE 2010 ARAB FILM FESTIVAL
All screenings take place in the intimate 156-seat Auditorium on the Lower Level of the Arab American National Museum (AANM), 13624 Michigan Avenue, Dearborn, Michigan.
The Friday, December 3 Opening Night Reception takes place in the AANM Community Courtyard.
The Saturday, December 4 SAG workshops “Acting Differences” and “Marketing Yourself” take place in the Lower Level Classroom.
The Saturday, December 4 SAG discussion “Putting It All Together” and the Sunday, December 5 Open Casting Call take place in the Lower Level Auditorium.
Free, lighted parking is available in the municipal lot behind the Museum; enter lot by turning north from Michigan Avenue onto Neckel Street, immediately west of the AANM.
For driving directions, visit www.arabamericanmuseum.org or call 313.582.2266.
BUYING TICKETS AND WEEKEND PASSES
To purchase tickets and weekend passes IN ADVANCE, please visit www.arabamericanmuseum.org and use a debit/credit card.
Tickets and weekend passes will also be available at the door; cash or debit/credit card.
To become a Member of the Arab American National Museum and take advantage of reduced rates on this and other event tickets, call 313.624.0200 or visit the website above.
WEEKEND PASSES
Includes all Film Packages, Opening Reception and SAG Workshops
Member Weekend Pass $50
Non-member $60
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3 OPENING RECEPTION + PACKAGE A FILMS
AANM Member $18
Non-member $20
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4 SCREEN ACTORS GUILD WORKSHOPS
Free and open to the public; suggested donation $5 per session
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 5 OPEN CASTING CALL
Free and open to the public
INDIVIDUAL PACKAGES (A, B, C, D, E)
Individual AANM Member package
$6
Individual non-member package $8