International: Middle East
New York 2024 Review: THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG, Striking Tale of Violence and Moral Compromises
Iman (Misagh Zare) has just gotten the much-desired promotion, but asks his family to keep quiet about his new job: he is now an investigating judge in the Revolutionary Court in Tehran. So, while the very real protests against the...
New York 2024 Review: NO OTHER LAND Chronicles Living Under Occupation
The suffering of people in this film is staggering, but so is their resilience.
Venice 2024 Review: THE WITNESS Sees a Family Drama Become Political in Iranian Minimalist Thriller
Iranian filmmaker Nader Saeivar crafts a quietly intense narrative that intertwines personal and political conflicts, offering an exploration of power, repression, and resistance within the framework of contemporary Iranian society.
Amman 2024: Prizes For Moroccan Gangster Drama HOUNDS, Lebanese Q, Jordan - Armenian MY SWEET LAND and Jordanian OUR MALES AND FEMALES
The closing awards ceremony of the fifth edition of the Amman International Film Festival – Awal Film were held on the 11th of juli at the Royal Film Commission – Jordan, one of the most scenic movie theatres in the...
Amman 2024 Review: MY SWEET LAND, And The Usefulness Of Having Dreams
My Sweet Land of Sareen Hairabedian was one of the stronger films in a small but mostly strong feature documentary competition section of the 2024 Amman International Film Festival. The film gained not only the International Film Critics Fipresci Award...
Karlovy Vary 2024 Review: TROPICANA, A Middle Age Coming of Age With Seidlian Touch
Omer Tobi's debut feature sees a weary supermarket cashier in the Israeli desert embarks on an unexpected journey of self-discovery in the echoes of Ulrich Seidl´s poetics.
Mediterrane 2024 Review: TO A LAND UNKNOWN Challenges Conventional Immigrant Dramas
Palestinian-Danish filmmaker Mahdi Fleifel navigates the harrowing realities of exile and survival, set against the dilapidated backdrop of Athens, in a bold departure from his documentary roots.
AIFF Jordan 2024 Preview: Context Is Everything
The Amman International Film Festival - Awal Film (AIFF) is celebrating its fifth edition this summer, in what is shaping up to be a hot July for the Middle East. Among the more than 30 long films and many short...
Hot Docs 2024 Review: IMMORTALS Follows Iraqi Youth on the Frontlines
Swiss director Maja Tschumi presents a compelling exploration of the lives of Iraq's youth navigating the post-US invasion landscape, through the lens of the pivotal 2019 October Revolution.
First Look 2024 at Museum of the Moving Image: Preview
The First Look Festival returns to the Museum of the Moving Image this month offering audiences opportunities to see exciting new films of all kinds from all over the world. There are films just out of Sundance, like Haley Elizabeth...
Berlinale 2024 Review: WHO DO I BELONG TO, Lyrical Drama Explores Radical Family Ties
In her debut film Who Do I Belong To, Tunisian-born, Canada-based filmmaker Meryam Joober explores the poignant narrative of Aicha, a mother faced with the daunting reality of her sons' association with ISIS. The film is set in the tranquil...
The Novelist's Films: Cinema of Nuri Bilge Ceylan
If Ceylan's previous films gave you the impression that he's making wordy filmed plays in a spectacular setting, 'About Dry Grasses' will surprise you.
Berlinale 2024: Exclusive WHO DO I BELONG TO Poster Premiere, Exploring War's Human Toll
Tunisian-Canadian director Meryam Joobeur will be unveiling her first feature film in the Berlinale competition.
INSHALLAH A BOY Review: A Situation To Crack Under
Last year, the Cannes Film Festival crowds screened its first ever Jordanian film, and simultaneously, the debut of director Amjad Al Rasheed. Inshallah A Boy is about the hypocrisy of vultures in times of grief, the societal constraints of a...
Toronto 2023 Review: NAGA, Drug-Infused Race Against the Clock
Sara is in the middle of the desert, a fair drive from her city of Riyadh. She's been taking drugs. The police raided the event she was at, scattering everyone. She can't find her boyfriend. She doesn't have the keys...
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Locarno 2023 Review: Dissent and Dreams Intersect in CRITICAL ZONE's Midnight Tehran Odyssey
Iranian director Ali Ahmadzadeh clinched the main award with its psychedelic portrayal of Tehran's nocturnal wanderings.
ASHKAL: THE TUNISIAN INVESTIGATION Review: Riveting Supernatural Noir
If a person sets themselves alight and no one sees it, does the act lose its meaning? Is a half-built housing complex still a potential home, or a constant reminder of impermenance? Can justice be served only through the law,...
Exclusive: Poster & Trailer for Tunisian Supernatural Thriller ASHKAL
With a slightly new title, Ashkal: The Tunisian Investigation, this eeri mystery was something of a sleeper hit on the festival circuit in 2022. We're seeing a rise in more genre.leaning work coming from MENA countries; considering the rich folkloric...
Cannes 2023 Review: ABOUT DRY GRASSES, Turkish Drama Is Too Profound By Half
Nuri Bilge Ceylan returns with his seventh consecutive Cannes Competition entry, another sprawling three-hour plus drama about the human condition.
Lighthouse 2023: Final Wave Announced, Brittany Snow's PARACHUTE To Open
Tickets go on sale tomorrow for this year's edition of the Lighthouse Film Festival in Long Beach Island, New Jersey. We already highlighted the midnighter program, led by Ted Geoghegan's Brooklyn 45, the other day. The final wave of titles...
