2019 Programme
Opening Night Friday 4th October
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The Reports on Sarah and Saleem Directed by: Muayad Alayan Friday 4th (20.30) Film info: 127 mins, 2018, Palestine-Germany-Netherlands, Digital. Synopsis Saleem (Adeeb Safadi), a Palestinian deliveryman and Sarah (Sivane Kretchner), an Israeli café owner, are engaged in a clandestine affair as both seek to escape the pressures of their respective marriages. The two live on opposite sides - geographically, politically and religiously - of Jerusalem, and the risk of exposure comes at a great cost. When a late-night tryst in Bethlehem - a West Bank city under Palestinian authority - goes awry, the repercussions turn their romance into a minor international crisis involving the secret police, forced confessions and Saleem’s arrest in Israel under false charges. |
Saturday the 5th of October
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The Poetess
Directed by: Stephanie Brockhaus + Andreas Wolff Saturday 5th (15.30) Film info: 89 mins, Germany-United Arab Emirates, Digital. F-Rated. Synopsis Saudi poetess Hissa Hilal made headlines around the world as the first woman to ever make it to the final of “Million’s Poet”, an Abu-Dhabi based multi-million dollar reality television show. It is the Arab world’s biggest poetry competition, and is dominated by men. In her poems Hissa criticizes the patriarchal Arab society and she attacks one of the most notorious Saudi clerics for his extremist fatwas, live, in front of 75 million viewers. The Poetess tells the story of a woman who grabs the opportunity to speak up against religious extremism and stand up for a peaceful Islam |
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The Day I Lost my Shadow
Directed by: Soudade Kaadan Saturday 5th (20.30) Film info: 94 mins, 2018, Syria-Lebanon-France-Qatar, Digital. Synopsis The year is 2012, the beginning of the war in Syria: Sana (Sawsan Arsheed), a young pharmacist in Damascus, is struggling to give her son Khalil (Ahmad Morhaf Al Ali) as normal a childhood as possible. With water, gas and electricity in short supply, Sana sets off on a search that becomes increasingly dangerous when she encounters unexpected obstacles. On the journey she experiences the kindness of strangers, but also her worst fears. She also learns that people can lose their shadows, as though the trauma of war causes them to lose something of themselves. |
Sunday 6th October
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The Tower
Directed by Mats Grorud Sunday 6th (13.30) Film info: 74 mins, 2018, France-Sweden-Norway, Digital. Synopsis Wardi, an eleven-year-old Palestinian girl, lives with her whole family in the refugee camp where she was born. Her beloved great-grandfather Sidi was one of the first people to settle in the camp after being chased from his home back in 1948. The day Sidi gives her the key to his old house back in Galilea, she fears he may have lost hope of someday going home. As she searches for Sidi’s lost hope around the camp, she will collect her family’s testimonies, from one generation to the next. |
OTHER EVENTS
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In association with Chester Beatty Library, Dublin Arabic Film Festival will be presenting:
The Breadwinner! The Breadwinner (will be presented by the director) Directed by Nora Twomey Saturday, October 5th (14.00) Free, no booking required Directed by Nora Twomey Saturday, October 5th (14.00) Free, no booking required Director Nora Twomney will be at the event to introduce the film. Synopsis Parvana is an 11-year-old girl who lives under Taliban rule in Afghanistan in 2001. After the wrongful arrest of her father, Parvana cuts off her hair and dresses like a boy to support her family. Working alongside a friend, she soon discovers a new world of freedom and danger. Drawing strength from the fantastical stories she invents, Parvana embarks on an epic quest to find her father and reunite her family. |