Fifty years of movie magic, from Tunisia to Iraq, as chosen by Omar al-Qattan, film-maker and chair of Shubbak – A Window on Contemporary Arab Culture
The Night (Al-Lail)
Mohammad Malas, 1993
A great Syrian film. It is about the director's home town of Quneitra, on the borders of the Golan Heights, which was almost completely destroyed by the Israelis after the 1967 war and remains in ruins. The film is a historical-autobiographical epic of three generations, taking you from the Syrian fight for independence against the French in the 1930s, through the 1948 war with Israel, and into recent times. Malas is probably the most highly regarded living Syrian director – he is still based in Damascus as far as I know – and this film is heavily influenced by Tarkovsky in the use of long, contemplative dream and memory sequences where time is as important an expressive element as space, dialogue or movement.
The...
The Night (Al-Lail)
Mohammad Malas, 1993
A great Syrian film. It is about the director's home town of Quneitra, on the borders of the Golan Heights, which was almost completely destroyed by the Israelis after the 1967 war and remains in ruins. The film is a historical-autobiographical epic of three generations, taking you from the Syrian fight for independence against the French in the 1930s, through the 1948 war with Israel, and into recent times. Malas is probably the most highly regarded living Syrian director – he is still based in Damascus as far as I know – and this film is heavily influenced by Tarkovsky in the use of long, contemplative dream and memory sequences where time is as important an expressive element as space, dialogue or movement.
The...
- 7/6/2013
- by Omar al-Qattan
- The Guardian - Film News
Pyjama Party: John Hughes Edition | Glasgow Youth Film Festival | Vive Le Punk | Middle East Film Festival
Pyjama Party: John Hughes Edition, London
Ever since the discovery of the teenager, film-makers have struggled to come up with the perfect movie for them, but John Hughes cracked the formula. Mixing smart comedy, hip music and empathetic observation of teen social rituals, his movies are equally at home in the arthouse cinema or the home slumber party, but that's a choice you don't have to make here. Turn up in your PJs or in Hughes-movie fancy dress and veg out to 80s classics such as Pretty In Pink, Weird Science, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and The Breakfast Club.
Prince Charles Cinema, WC2, Sat
Glasgow Youth Film Festival
Officially it's a precursor to the Glasgow Film Festival, but there's plenty to justify this as a festival in its own right, and not just for the kids.
Pyjama Party: John Hughes Edition, London
Ever since the discovery of the teenager, film-makers have struggled to come up with the perfect movie for them, but John Hughes cracked the formula. Mixing smart comedy, hip music and empathetic observation of teen social rituals, his movies are equally at home in the arthouse cinema or the home slumber party, but that's a choice you don't have to make here. Turn up in your PJs or in Hughes-movie fancy dress and veg out to 80s classics such as Pretty In Pink, Weird Science, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and The Breakfast Club.
Prince Charles Cinema, WC2, Sat
Glasgow Youth Film Festival
Officially it's a precursor to the Glasgow Film Festival, but there's plenty to justify this as a festival in its own right, and not just for the kids.
- 2/2/2013
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
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