The 16th edition of the Arab World Film Festival opens on August 19. The event – already traditional in São Paulo’s cultural calendar – takes place virtually this year. The films will be shown on the official exhibition website and on the Sesc Digital platform. There will also be panels, bringing together directors and experts to discuss the productions.
On August 27, at 6 p.m., the author of this blog Orientalíssimo moderated a debate between Palestinian filmmaker Ameen Nayfeh and Brazilian historian Maria Aparecida Aquino, from the University of São Paulo.
The Arab World Film Festival is promoted by the ICArabe (Institute of Arab Culture), co-organized by Sesc São Paulo and sponsored by the Arab House. Organized by Arthur Jafet, the event brings this year seven new films to Brazil. See their trailers below:
Chaos / Austria, Syria, Lebanon, Qatar / 2018
Acclaimed documentary by Sarah Fattahi about three Syrian women displaced by the bloody civil war that has raged in the country since 2011.
Screwdrivers / Palestine, Qatar and USA / 2018
Psychological thriller by Bassam Jarbawi on the reintegration of Palestinians into society after their arrests in Israeli prisons.
The Scarecrows / Tunisia, Morocco and Luxembourg / 2019
Another production on the social reintegration of prisoners. In this case, Nouri Bouzid tells the story of women detained in Tunisia.
We’re from there / Lebanon, France / 2020
Documentary by Wissam Tanios on two brothers fleeing the war in Syria. They go to Germany and Sweden, where they start from scratch.
Baghdad Lives in Me / Switzerland, Germany, United Kingdom / 2019
Samir Jamaleddine’s fictional feature film on the integration of Iraqi migrants in London and their contact with local social values.
200 meters away / Palestine, Jordan, Qatar, Sweden, Italy / 2020
Ameen Nayfeh’s film about a father’s desperate struggle to break through the wall between the West Bank and Israel – just 200 meters away.
In Memoriam / Brazil, Argentina, Syria / 2021
An autobiographical short film by Otávio Cury on the search for a descendant of Syrians for their roots in the land of their ancestors.