Middle East Film Festival

Annual Middle East Film Festival
October 4-6, 2011
Cook DeWitt Center - Films begin at 7:00 PM
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Tuesday, October 4 - 1:00PM
Loutit 102 Lecture Hall

The Spring of Arab Culture

John Sinno - AFD/Typecast Films

John Sinno was born in Lebanon and is the President of AFD/Typecast Films, a film distribution company in the US specializing in Arab films. Started in 1993, Sinno's company, holds a unique catalog of Arab films, ranging from successes such as Golden Globe winner "Paradise Now" to the first DVD recording of the Koran. "We're the only company in the US that focuses on Arab film," says Sinno. "We're pretty much unique in the world. Even in the Arab world companies don't have the range of titles that we have."

 

Tuesday, October 4 - 7:00PM
Cook DeWitt Center
 

RANA'S WEDDING (2004)

Introduction by John Sinno - AFD/Typecast Films

Run time: 90 minutes.

Shooting on location in East Jerusalem, Ramallah and at checkpoints in-between, Palestinian director Hany Abu-Assad sees the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through the eyes of a young woman who, with only ten hours to marry, must negotiate her way around roadblocks, soldiers, stone-throwers, overworked officials ... and into the heart of an elusive lover.

This timely feature that explores love among the ruins of an occupied territory was presented with the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival's 2003 Nestor Almendros Prize for courage in filmmaking.

 

Wednesday, October 5 - 7:00PM
Cook DeWitt Center
 

SYRIAN BRIDE (2006)

Introduction by Sebastian Maisel
Middle East Studies/Modern Languages & Literatures Department

Run time: 97 minutes.

A family deals with the typical anxieties of a wedding day while also confronting the political turmoil of the Middle East in this drama.

 
 

Thursday, October 6 - 7:00PM
Cook DeWitt Center

    
CAPTAIN ABU RAED (2008)

Introduction by Brian J. Bowe
Middle East Studies/School of Communications

Run time: 108 minutes.

Jordanian director/screenwriter Amin Matalqa tells this tale of an elderly airline janitor mistaken for a pilot by the children of his neighborhood who does his best to inject a little imagination into their bleak reality.

 

Thursday, October 6 - 9:00PM
Cook DeWitt Center

    SALAAM BAND

Salaam has delighted audiences for years with its expansive repertoire of Middle Eastern and North African music. Salaam is true to the traditions, informing the uninitiated, and evoking nostalgia in listeners who are familiar with the art form.  What sets Salaam apart is the versatility of its musicians, whose deep knowledge of Eastern and Western styles gives them the flexibility to move effortlessly between genres. The sound, while rooted in maqam (the modal system used throughout the Middle East), infuses tasteful forays into jazz, rock, blues, classical and avant garde.  Salaam, whose name means "peace" in Arabic, is a musical ambassador for peaceful coexistence. 

 

Sponsored by: Middle East Studies, Brooks College, Arab Culture Club, Frederik Meijer Honors College, Padnos International Center, Modern Languages and Literatures

For more information or special accomodations: Contact Area Studies at 331-8110 or areastudies@gvsu.edu.