Beirut DC, a film co-operative founded in 1999, seeks to make independent Arab author cinema more widely known, among other things via "Ayyam Beirut", the Arab Film Festival that recently celebrated its fifth anniversary. Mona Sarkis talked to Eliane Raheb
A glimpse into life in the Yemen as rarely seen by Western audiences: images of the country's landscape and insight into the characters of the colorful Yemeni people and their rich customs. The film's journey across the Yemen is seen from the points of view of both expert and novice - The Sheikh and The Gentleman. The film introduces Bader Ben Hirsi, a British-Yemeni born and bred in London after his parents' exile from the Yemen in the 1960s for being relatives of the last ruling king, The Imam al Badr. Upon discovering the award-winning book, Yemen - Travels in Dictionary Land by Tim Mackintosh-Smith, Bader feels compelled to journey to the Yemen to discover his country, its people and traditions for himself. His main task, however, is to persuade the eccentric author, Mackintosh-Smith, an Englishman who has been living as a Yemeni in the ancient city of Sana'a for the past 18 years, to be his personal guide through the Yemen. A friendship soon develops between th
"Captain Abu Raed" is the first feature-length film from Jordan. The debut film of the Jordanian-American director Amin Matalqa has been awarded numerous international prizes. Martina Sabra had a look at the film