FILMS ABOUT SPORT IN THE MIDDLE EAST

After the Cup: Sons of Sakhnin United (Israel, 2003)

Directors: Christopher Browne Language: Hebrew and Arabic with English subtitles Synopsis: There are over 1.4 million Arabs who are citizens of Israel, facing the challenge of living in a Jewish state while maintaining their Arabic heritage. In Israel, soccer is king, and Bnei Sakhnin has become the first team from an Arab town to win the prestigious Israeli Cup- and represent Israel in European competition. Fielding Arab, Jewish and foreign-born players, owned by an Arab, and coached by a Jew, Bnei Sakhnin’s success has begun to represent a symbol of coexistence, a potential bridge between Arabs and Jews in Israel.

But as Bnei Sakhnin begins its first season after their unexpected win, they know it may well be their first and last in the limelight. As the ideals born in the heady days and weeks following their cup win collide with the realities of a long season competing against the more talented and better funded teams, Bnei Sakhnin must fight to survive in Israel’s premier league. These challenges, and the weight of impossible expectations that have come with their sudden success, threaten to crush the team and all of the hope and goodwill that its historic victory inspired.

After the Cup tells the story of a soccer team that couldn’t create a new Middle East, but showed the world what one could look like. Where to Find After the Cup: Official Website: http://www.afterthecup.com

Child Fiction (Palestine,2006)

Directors: Amer Shomali and Basel Nasr Rating: not rated Length: 4 minutes Language: Arabic with English subtitles Synopsis: “The film shows a lad bouncing a ball that resembles the world as he approaches the barrier. It topples as he plays, suggesting that the joy of the game is a powerful weapon against oppression.” Raab, A. (2010) Walls and Goals, in Sports and the Middle East, Middle East Institute Where to Find Child Fiction: Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUyAsUtWieI

Cup Final (Israel, 2003)

Directors: Eran Riklis Rating: not rated Length: 107 minutes Language: Hebrew with English subtitles Synopsis: Israeli soldier Cohen, who has been captured by the Palestinian Liberation Organization in Lebanon, bonds with its leader, Ziad, over a love of soccer. Even though they're on

opposing sides of the political, ideological and religious fence, they both revel in the televised World Cup action and learn lessons about tolerance and understanding. Where to Find Cup Final: Available on Netflix Instant Streaming

The Day I Became a Woman (, 2000)

Directors: Marzieh Makhmalbaf Rating: not rated Length: 74 minutes Language: Persian with English subtitles Synopsis: For her first film, The Day I Become a Woman, Marziyeh Meshkini, the wife of Iran's most prominent filmmaker, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, has crafted a mystical three-part allegorical vision of the treacherous cycle in which Iranian women are robbed of their freedom and dignity. In the first episode, a girl is informed on her ninth birthday that she can no longer play with or speak to boys and must begin to wear the traditional head-to-toe black body covering warn by Iranian women. In the second, a young woman feverishly competes in a visually stunning all-female bicycle race while pursued on horseback by her husband, family, and clan members, urging her to return to her responsibilities and duties, and eventually taking her bicycle from her. The protagonist in the final episode is a crippled old woman, lost in delusional fantasies, who hires a young child to assist her in buying all of the things that she lacked throughout her long and difficult life. While the plots are simple, the interweaving visual and conceptual motif of a life cycle of deprivation and humiliation creates a reflexive and elegant elegy to the struggles and poetic dignity of the Iranian woman. Where to find The Day I Became a Woman: Available for purchase at amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/The-Day-I-Became- Woman/dp/B000A59QOQ

Forerunner (Israel, 2005)

Directors: Daniel Sivan and Dorit Tadir Rating: not rated Length: 15 minutes Language: Arabic with English subtitles Synopsis: Ishaq Omar is a 13-year-old Palestinian boy who just wants to play a game of soccer with his friends. However, the Israeli separation wall built around his house turns a simple trip to the village square into a rather difficult endeavor. Will he make it on time? Offside takes the absurdity of the Israeli occupation and filters it through the apolitical perspective of a young boy. Where to Find Forerunner: Online at the International Documentary Festival of Amsterdam: http://www.idfa.nl/industry/tags/project.aspx?id=35fd260e-fc37-4915-95b2-c01b110821ad

Forerunners (Israel, 2004)

Director: Pazeet Mili Ben Hayl, Galit Shaked Rating: not rated Length: 62 minutes Language: Hebrew, Arabic and Russian with English subtitles Synopsis: Forerunners is the story of three Israeli women who share a dream to form a team to receive public recognition and play professional football. Salwa Amsis, 21, a Christian Arab from Ramleh is living her father's dream by becoming a soccer player, but pays a heavy social price for it. Sylvie Jean, 28, starred in a Norwegian team and was considered to be the best in the world only to return to Israel four years later to a family tragedy. Inna Diditch, 26 from the Ukraine finds it difficult to fit into Israeli society and is forced to support herself with temporary jobs in order to continue playing soccer. Where to Find Forerunners: Available for free at MESC resource library

Goal Dreams (Israel, 2006)

Directors: Maya Sanbar and Jeffrey Saunders Rating: not rated Length: 86 minutes Language: Arabic with English subtitles Synopsis: How can a team without a recognized homeland, no permanent domestic league, no place to train and with players and coaches scattered around the globe compete in the world of modern football? Founded in 1928, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) is considered one of the oldest football associations in the Arab World. Since being recognized by FIFA in 1998, the team has risen 70 places in the international rankings, despite never having been able to play on home soil. Following the team as they prepare for the 2006 World Cup, Goal Dreams chronicles the suspension of domestic league games after an Israel air strike on Palestine Stadium, while Austrian coach Alfred Riedle makes a heroic effort to mold players from diverse countries such as the USA, Chile, Palestine and Lebanon into a national team unlike any other. Where to Find Goal Dreams: Available for free at MESC resource library Available for purchase at amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Goal-Dreams-Palestinian- Football-Associaition/dp/B000K14LLI

Longboarding for Peace

Directors: Michael Brooke Length: 15 min Language: English Synopsis: What would happen if you took 30 skateboards and 30 helmets and brought them to kids in Israel and the Palestinian Territories in an effort to create a peace-building initiative? Michael Brooke, publisher of longboard skateboard magazine, Concrete Wave came up with the idea of longboarding for peace to answer this question. He contacted Arthur Rashkovan of Surfing for

Peace and Matt Olsen of Explore Corps. Together they worked with the Peres Center for Peace in Jaffa, Israel to make this idea a reality. This is the story of what took place in July 2012. Where to Find Longboarding for Peace: Longboardism.com: http://longboardism.com/2012/09/longboarding-for-peace-a-film-on- what-took-place-in-the-middle-east.html Indiegogo: http://www.indiegogo.com/longboardingforpeace

Offsides (Iran, 2006)

Directors: Jafar Panahi Rating: PG Length: 99 minutes Language: Persian with English subtitles Synopsis: Who is that strange boy sitting quietly in the corner of a bus full of screaming fans going to the football match? In fact, this shy boy is a girl in disguise. She is not alone; women also love football in Iran. Before the game begins, she is arrested at the checkpoint and put into a holding pen by the stadium with a band of other women all dressed up as men. They will be handed over to the vice squad after the match. But before this, they will be tortured -- they must endure every cheer, every shout of a game they cannot see. Worse yet, they must listen to the play-by-play account of a soldier who knows nothing about football. Yet, these young girls just won’t give up. They use every trick in the book to see the match. Where to Find Offsides: Available for free at MESC resource library Available for purchase at amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Offside/dp/B000S0GYD4

Shadya (Israel, 2006)

Directors: Roy Westler Rating: not rated Length: 60 minutes Language: Arabic with English subtitles Synopsis: Like many 17-year-old girls, Shadya Zoabi enjoys listening to music and hanging out with her friends. But unlike most other girls, Shadya is also a world champion in karate, a feminist in a male-dominated culture and a Muslim Arab living in Israel. Shadya tells her story over the course of two years, as she journeys from teenage girl to woman, from daughter to wife and from one family to another. Where to Find Shadya: At PBS.org: http://video.pbs.org/video/2256068137/

Skateistan: To Live and Skate in Kabul (Afghanistan, 2011)

Directors: Rene Kock and Nadia Soraya Hennrich Rating: not rated Length: 9:24 Language: English Synopsis: To Live and Skate in Kabul profiles a revolutionary school in Kabul started by two Australian skateboarders that teaches children—including girls—how to skateboard, while also providing an educational curriculum on subjects such as environmental health, the future of Kabul, peace in Afghanistan, and gender equality. The Skateistan School started in 2009, when two Australian skateboarders, Oliver Percovich and Sharna Nolan, traveled to Kabul with three skateboards and not much else. They were soon approached by children who, to their surprise, were eager to learn howt o skateboard themselves. The intense popularity or and interest in skateboarding among the Afghan youth inspired Percovish and Nolan to build Afghanistan’s first skateboarding park. The film captures how the skateboarding school had transformed the lives of two of its students, Murza, a 17 year old boy, and Fazilla, a 12 year old girl, who pursues the sport in defiance of social norms. Where to Find Skateistan: Youtube: http://skateistan.org/skateistan_blog/watch-nine-minute-skateistan-documentary Stay tuned for the full length documentary, Skateistan the Movie: http://www.skateistanthemovie.com/

Too Young the Hero (Iran, 2012)

Directors: Nima Shayeghi Rating: not rated Language: English and Persian Synopsis: has always occupied a special place in Iranian culture. It’s more than a sport; it’s a way of life, deeply rooted in Iranian mythology and religion. Despite the lack of appropriate facilities, funding and governmental support, Iran has produced many world champions and their Olympic wrestling team has won medals at every Olympics since 1948. Despite the successes of the sport, almost all of Iran’s wrestlers are from the rural areas and wrestling is one of the only ways open to them to gain respect and pride for themselves and their families. 2000 kids a year hope to make it to the championships, but only a handful will.

Too Young The Hero follows three young hopeful wrestlers through the dramatic months of preparing for the biggest event of their lives, the world championship in Hungary. Where to Find Too Young the Hero: Film is in post-production. You can find a trailer at Contraimage.com: http://www.contraimage.com/projects/documentary/too-young,-the-hero.aspx

Wadjda (Saudi Arabia, 2012)

Directors: Haifaa Al-Mansour Rating: not rated Length: 97 minutes Language: Arabic with English subtites Synopsis: Wajdja is a 10-year-old girl living in a suburb of Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Although she lives in a conservative world, Wadjda is fun loving, entrepreneurial and always pushing the boundaries of what she can get away with. After a fight with her friend Abdullah, a neighborhood boy she shouldn't be playing with, Wadjda sees a beautiful green bicycle for sale. She wants the bicycle desperately so that she can beat Abdullah in a race. But Wadjda's mother won't allow it, fearing repercussions from a society that sees bicycles as dangerous to a girl's virtue. So Wadjda decides to try and raise the money herself. At first, Wadjda's mother is too preoccupied with convincing her husband not to take a second wife to realize what's going on. And soon enough Wadjda's plans are thwarted when she is caught running various schemes at school. Just as she is losing hope of raising enough money, she hears of a cash prize for a Koran recitation competition at her school. She devotes herself to the memorization and recitation of Koranic verses, and her teachers begin to see Wadjda as a model pious girl. The competition isn't going to be easy, especially for a troublemaker like Wadjda, but she refuses to give in. She is determined to continue fighting for her dreams. Where to Find Wadjda: Not yet available for purchase

Veil of Dreams: Women’s Soccer and Islamic Tradition in Iran (Iran, 2008)

Director: Haifaa AlZalhrat Banu Codelli Rating: not rated Length: 47 minutes Language: English and Farsi with subtites Synopsis: Exploring a clash between sacred customs and contemporary athletic aspirations, this program follows an Iranian women’s soccer team daring to push traditional limits and pursue victories both on and off the field. Interviews with players and their families are combined with commentary by supporters of the sport as well as cultural leaders in the wider region who convey various opinions about its prospects. Specific topics include: what it’s like to play soccer (or football) with a or headscarf; the team’s rigorous preparations for an overseas trip; the construction of sports facilities in the Middle East; perceptions of female athletes within male-dominated Iranian society; and more. Where to Find Veil of Dreams: http://digital.films.com/play/W7AT8L