Most films with “Middle
Eastern” or “Arabian” themes that we think of today are actually Western-made
films, which can be hit or miss, and can run the risk of projecting sterotypes
onto the Middle Eastern world. The most infamous perhaps, “Sex in the City”,
wasn’t allowed to be filmed in Abu Dhabi, and had to rely on US and Morrocan
locations. Even a film with an immensely better reputation, “Lawrence of Arabia”,
which won 7 Academy Awards, is British. In order to truly get a sense for the
Arabian cinematic scene, one must go directly to the source, and rely on what
Middle Eastern people say represents them best.
Luckily for Westerners, there
is a plethora of film festivals in the Middle East that have been getting more
attention, most of them focusing on local film endeavors and some even
highlighting Middle Eastern women’s cinematic work. One of the biggest festivals
is the Dubai Film Festival, which dedicates categories to best actor, actress,
director, etc. for Arab films. These winners come from films from Morocco, Egypt,
UAE, Palestine, Lebanon, as well as a few Western countries like France and Belgium.
Other festivals include the Marrakech International Film Festival, held in
Morocco, the Doha Film Festival, held in Qatar, and the Damascus International
Film Festival.
Other sources for reliable
depictions of the Middle East include foreign festivals that honor Arabian
filmmakers. A British festival called Bird’s Eye View dedicated an entire year’s
festival to Arab women and their part in Arabic cinema. It featured films from female
Arabic directors from countries including Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Jordan,
Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, etc. This festival has awards for feature length
films, documentaries, short films, and film scores.
If you’re looking for
suggestions about an Arab film to watch, look no further than these festivals’ “Best
Arab Film” categories. These films have been created by Arabic filmmakers, and
have been praised by both Arabic and international communities. Bird’s Eye View
suggests “Wadjda”, whereas the Dubai Film Festival ranks “Al-Mummia” as it’s
top pick.
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/the-womens-blog-with-jane-martinson/2013/apr/03/birds-eye-view-female-arabian-film-makers
It's interesting to see how all of these countries can come together to celebrate the efforts of directors, actors, producers, etc. even though their relationships with each other may sometimes be unstable. The fact that many of these festival's are celebrating women's efforts and their art demonstrates how times and perspectives are changing within certain parts of the culture. I think it would be great if we could watch an original film in class and see which words we can understand.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a very important issue. Unfortunately, the diverse cultures of the Middle East and North Africa have fallen under the hands of Orientalism. Either Western filmmakers are misinformed/lack research skills, or the misrepresentation of the vast region is purely propaganda. Looking to work by native filmmakers in the emerging Arab film scene could probably provide a more nuanced perspective of people from Iran and the Arab world, who have so often been "exotified" by the West.
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