VARIOUS: New York's Arab and South Asian Film Festival aims to raise awareness of cultures in the two regions

Record ID: 476924

  • Title: VARIOUS: New York's Arab and South Asian Film Festival aims to raise awareness of cultures in the two regions
  • Date: 16th March 2007
  • Summary: (MER1) NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, USA (RECENT) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) NACER KHEMIR, DIRECTOR OF "BABA AZIZ, THE PRINCE WHO CONTEMPLATED HIS SOUL," SAYING: "'Baba Aziz' speaks of Sufism, which is the civilisational and cultural and spiritual reference point for Arab-Muslim civilisation. It is, in my opinion, the political answer to what is happening today. It is perfo
  • Embargoed: 31st March 2007 13:00
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  • Reuters ID: LVADYDL8H3MGVFUDWV0ZSVHWE93G
  • Story Text: New York's new Arab and South Asian Film Festival has showcased more than 70 new films and documentaries that depict the cultural mores and political realities of peoples of those regions, both in their native countries and abroad.
    A special feature of the festival, which is in its first year, was the screening of a series of short films called "War Diaries," which introduced snippets of life in various war zones in the Arab World and southern Asia.
    Installments of "War Diaries" were screened alongside each feature film in the festival, but the series of short films, each lasting only several minutes, was also screened at various parks and public spaces throughout New York City during the duration of the festival.
    Editor of "War Diaries" Emily Jasser believes that these images of conflict show the reality that is sometimes overlooked by news coverage.
    "We brought scenes from Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon because we wanted to show what daily life was like there and show scenes that people don't see here, scenes from these countries which are living under occupation and war," says Jasser.
    Director of the event Ahmed Issawi said cultural affinities and geographical continuity between the Arab World and South Asia, as well as the current political context, made the pairing of the two regions in the festival a natural choice.
    "Given the geographic continuity (between the Arab World and southern Asia), and there are countries bordering each other, we feel that it is important that we showcase the culture and film and the aesthetics of these countries. It also provides us with an opportunity to present to the Arab world and the South Asian world each other's respective cultures, especially as we all know that we are bound politically by the current context and by the American Empire or American Imperialism. And we want to go beyond that by providing a more cultural and aesthetic opportunity, environment, perspective," Issawi said.
    Showing Middle Eastern and South Asian films together seems to be an emerging theme at film festivals across the globe. Recently the International Film Festivals in Dubai and Singapore, the Oriental Film Festival in Geneva and Osian's-cinefan festival in New Delhi featured contributions from both these regions.
    The screening of veteran Tunisian director Nacer Khemir's most recent film "Baba Aziz" was one of the highlights of the festival and drew a large crowd. The film tells the story of a grandfather and granddaughter who travel across a desert looking for each other. Fellow countryman Elyes Baccar is a relative new comer to the industry, but his film, "She and He," also drew considerable attention from viewers at the festival. The feature film tells the story of a young reclusive man and an unknown woman who unexpectedly enters his home.
    The Film Festival, which ran in New York between February 23 and March 4, will next be heading to Rotterdam.
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