Essential Cinema Archives

CHILDREN OF ABRAHAM/IBRAHIM 6: FILMS OF THE MIDDLE EAST & BEYOND

FebRUARY 21 – April 3, 2012

In the past year, the Middle East and North Africa have been transformed by the Arab Spring, with revolutions in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, and Yemen, endless strife in Syria, demonstrations elsewhere in the region, and the American military withdrawal from Iraq. Our series of films from these regions will continue looking at the lives of “ordinary people” as depicted by filmmakers native to the region. We will see a love story in Yemen, a dreamlike world in the Tunisian desert, the struggles of a young woman in Iran, the strife within a family in Baghdad, a meditative view of Israel, and the comic dreams of an Algerian gardener. – Chale Nafus, Director of Programming, Austin Film Society

	A NEW DAY IN OLD SANA'A Tues Feb 21, 7pm at Alamo Drafthouse S. Lamar This very first feature film from Yemen tells the story of a young man who falls hopelessly in love with a beautiful, young, but poor woman, even as he is preparing for marriage to the daughter of a prominent, wealthy judge. More info & tickets>>
	WANDERERS OF THE DESERT (El-Haimoune) Tues Feb 28, 7pm at Alamo Drafthouse S. Lamar With the stunning compositions and locales exemplified in his later BAB’AZIZ (shown by AFS in 2009), Khemir starts his Saharan trilogy with the story of a young teacher sent to an isolated desert village, where mysterious figures appear and disappear, children run wild, and a ship sits atop a sand dune. More info & tickets>>
	MY TEHRAN FOR SALE Tues March 6, 7pm at Alamo Drafthouse S. Lamar Marzieh shows her opposition to the theocratic government of Iran by participating in an underground play and attending illegal raves outside of Tehran, but her real dream is to escape to Australia with a new lover. More info & tickets>>
	QARANTINA Tues March 20, 7pm at Alamo Drafthouse S. Lamar In his second feature film, Iraqi filmmaker Oday Rasheed tells the tale of a terribly damaged family, headed by an arrogant patriarch who has married a second wife, impregnated his own daughter, and taken in a contract killer as a boarder. More info & tickets>>
	CARMEL Tues March 27, 7pm at Alamo Drafthouse S. Lamar In this poetic meditation on Israel, acclaimed filmmaker Amos Gitai uses letters, photographs, documentary footage, and reenactments to examine his thoughts and feelings about loving and remaining in a country seemingly torn by war and conflict eternally. More info & tickets>>
	MASQUERADES (Mascarades) Tues April 3, 7pm at Alamo Drafthouse S. Lamar In this Algerian comedy, a gardener sees a way toward fortune: marrying his sister Rym to a “real gentleman.” But there are problems: Rym is narcoleptic and actually in love with her brother’s best friend, Khliffa, who has eagerly reciprocated her love for years. More info & tickets>>