The Arab British Centre in association with the Institute of Contemporary Arts and Dubai International Film Festival presents: FULL PROGRAMME ANNOUNCEMENT FOR SAFAR: THE FESTIVAL OF POPULAR ARAB CINEMA Exhibition: 2 September – 6 October 2014 Film Programme: 19 - 25 September 2014 ICA, London After the phenomenal success of the inaugural festival in 2012, the Arab British Centre returns to the ICA with Safar. The only festival in the world solely focused on programming popular Arab cinema, Safar includes UK premieres alongside classics of the Arab silver screen. These will be accompanied by Q&As, special introductions and a day-long forum which will bring together some of the most significant figures in Arab cinema. Safar has expanded its scope this year to include an exhibition of vintage Arab art and film ephemera, all shown in the UK for the first time. Safar’s Artistic Director Omar Kholeif says, “Popular histories are too often sidelined in favour of a particular breed of ‘art house’ cinema which seeks to emphasise a Eurocentric model focused on particular social, political and aesthetic concerns. Safar seeks to remove Arab cinema from the perceived notion that it is a peripheral or ‘third’ cinema. Safar is a celebration of the complex social histories inherent within popular Arab cinema, and highlights the significance of particular icons and makers.” Executive Director of the Arab British Centre, Noreen Abu Oun says, “The Arab British Centre exists to improve the British public’s understanding of the Arab World, and it does so by showcasing the best of the region’s diverse culture in its year-round programme. Cinema is the most widely enjoyed and accessible cultural output, which is why Safar remains a permanent fixture in our Calendar. Safar is an ever growing project, and will continue to develop to make popular Arab cinema widely available to the general British public. We are thrilled to be working with Dubai International Film Festival and the ICA for the second edition of Safar, which sees the addition of a month long exhibition of Arab film art and memorabilia.” This festival chronicles the re-mapping of the future of Arab cinema, and allows a unique glimpse of what it might look like tomorrow. Screening highlights include: Factory Girl/ Fatat al Masnaa [UK Premiere] - from legendary director Mohamed Khan comes this award-winning contemporary drama-comedy. Hiyam is a young factory worker under the spell of Salah, the factory's supervisor. Believing that love can transcend their class differences, Hiyam pursues a dream of being together. When a pregnancy test is discovered in the factory premises, her family and close friends accuse her of sinning, and when Hiyam decides not to defend herself, she pays an enormous price in a society that fails to accept her. Presented in partnership with Dubai International Film Festival Kit Kat - voted as one of the ten best Arab films of all time, Kit Kat is an early 1990s Egyptian comedy from Daoud Abdel Sayed, one of the most unique voices in global cinema. Sheikh Hosny is a marijuana-smoking blind man who lives with his old mother and his frustrated son in the Kit Kat neighbourhood. Presented in partnership with the Egyptian National Film Center. Rock the Casbah [UK Premiere] - this award-winning contemporary film by Moroccan director Laila Marrakchi unfolds over the three days of the rites of mourning dictated by Muslim custom, following the death of a prominent magnate and family patriarch, Moulay Hassan (Omar Sharif). The solemnity of the occasion is disrupted by the unexpected return to the family fold of Sofia, the rebellious youngest daughter who left Morocco, against her father's wishes, pursuing an acting career in the US. Presented in partnership with Dubai International Film Festival West Beirut - is a late 1990s homage to Beirut, set in 1975, this film documents the uprising that divided the city of Beirut into Muslim and Christian sectors that led to over a decade of civil war. A chilling story based on the award-winning writer and director, Ziad Doueiri's boyhood memories, this film underscores the terrors children suffer during wartime. Salvation Army [UK Premiere] - This rapturous debut feature from Moroccan writer Abdellah Taia offers a charged, semi-autobiographical tale about a young graduate who must navigate the sexual, racial and political intrigue surrounding his arrival in Geneva. Inspired by his own autobiographical novel of the same title, Taia’s contemporary coming of age story unfolds with love, pain, desire and violence. The Forum [Saturday 20 September]: The forum, comprised of three 60-minute panel discussions, is an integral part of Safar. The forum will bring together some of the most significant figures in Arab cinema to publicly discuss the emergent trends and issues affecting contemporary Arab filmmaking and will be moderated by Safar’s Artistic Director, Omar Kholeif. The forum is a rare opportunity to capture the pulse of Arab cinema’s future. An Evening of Short Films [Sunday 21 September]: In an exciting new addition to the Safar programme, the short films explore themes of memory, desire and place. This showcase presents stunning short film works from Ali Cherri, Roy Dib and Jumana Manna. Exhibition: Whose Gaze Is It Anyway? [2 September – 6 October]: A central component to Safar is the exhibition, Whose Gaze Is It Anyway? curated by Omar Kholeif and will be held in the ICA’s Fox Reading Room. This display examines the history of Arab pop culture through printed matter – posters, notebooks, diaries and book covers, as well as through film and video. Included is a selection from the archive of Abboudi Bou Jaoudeh, a prolific collector whose archive located in Beirut holds one of the biggest collections of Arab film memorabilia; from rare Arab film posters to cultural magazines published from the 1930s to the present day, displayed here for the first time. This material sits alongside a newly commissioned work by Sophia Al-Maria with Sam Ashby who exhibit an imaginary poster and sketchbook for her unmade film, Beretta, a rape-revenge thriller set in Cairo. Additionally, Maha Maamoun presents Domestic Tourism II, 2009, a film that seeks to challenge how the image of the Egyptian pyramids has been used by the world’s tourist industry. Raed Yassin’s ebullient single-channel video work, Disco, 2010, also on show, tells the story of the artist’s father, a disco-addict and fashion designer who leaves his family to become a star in the Egyptian horror film industry. Full film programme below, and available on www.arabbritishcentre.org.uk For further press information, images and interview requests, please contact John Dunning or Christiane Brittain at Margaret_ on 020 7923 2861/ [email protected] Full Programme Listings: All films are in Arabic with English subtitles 19-25 September 2014 The Institute of Contemporary Arts, London FRIDAY 19 SEPTEMBER, 8.30PM - OPENING GALA SCREENING Factory Girl/ Fatat Al Masnaa (2013) + Director Q&A Egypt | Dir: Mohamed Khan | 90 mins | DCP | Cert: 15| UK PREMIERE From the legendary director Mohamed Khan comes this award-winning drama- comedy. Hiyam, a young factory worker, lives in a lower-middle-class neighbourhood, along with her co-workers. She is clearly under the spell of Salah, the factory's new supervisor. Believing that love can transcend their class differences, Hiyam relentlessly pursues a dream of the pair being together. However, when a pregnancy test is discovered in the factory premises, her immediate family and close friends accuse her of sinning. Hiyam decides not to defend herself and pays an enormous price in a society that fails to accept her. Presented in partnership with Dubai International Film Festival SATURDAY 20 SEPTEMBER, 6PM Around the Pink House/ Autour de la maison rose (1999) + Directors Q&A Lebanon | Dir: Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige | 92 mins | 35mm | Cert: 12A One of the most popular Lebanese films of the late 1990s, Around the Pink House is a story that explores the changing urban landscape of Beirut after the Civil War. La maison rose (the pink house) is an old mansion in Beirut where the Nawfal family found shelter during the Civil War. Unfortunately for them, their immediate environment is rapidly changing, as many of the old shell-ridden buildings are being torn down and replaced by new construction projects. When Mattar, the owner of the pink house, decides to sell it to make room for a large commercial centre, the residents of the neighbourhood become divided between the shopkeepers and businessmen in favour of a different kind of modernity. SATURDAY 20 SEPTEMBER, 8.50PM Chaos, Disorder/ Harag W’ Marag (2012) + Director Q&A Egypt | Dir: Nadine Khan | 77 mins | DCP | Cert: 15| UK PREMIERE Part of a new generation of inspiring filmmakers is Nadine Khan whose evocative debut film Chaos, Disorder captures the spirit of an ever-evolving Egypt. Set in a poor Cairo neighbourhood, Manal, Zaki, and Mounir, all in their twenties, live in a chaos-filled community next to a garbage dump where their basic needs are barely met. Beneath the disorder in their society is a layer of troubled relationships, decaying love and a feverish competition between Zaki and Mounir to woo Manal. The film was the winner of the Muhr Arab Feature Competition at Dubai International Film Festival. Presented in partnership with Dubai International Film Festival SUNDAY 21 SEPTEMBER, 2PM The Sparrow/ Al Asfour (1972) + Intro Egypt | Dir: Youssef Chahine | 105 mins | 35mm | Cert: 12A From the great auteur of Arab cinema comes this sumptuous digitally re-mastered 35mm print of a cinematic gem. Set shortly before and during the Six Day War in June of 1967, The Sparrow follows a young police officer stationed in a small village in Upper Egypt whose inhabitants suffer from the harassment of a corrupt businessman.