Arab cinema
All topics-
Documentary: "A Silent Revolution"
Pioneering Saudi women
Thanks to the courage of a few, Saudi Arabian women are now managing companies and will soon be allowed to drive cars. The documentary "A Silent Revolution" showcases Saudi Arabia's female movers and shakers. Elizabeth Grenier talked to director Danya Alhamrani and producer Dania Nassief
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Film review: ″Sheikh Jackson″
Pop go the faithful
The death of Michael Jackson is the catalyst that leads a young imam in Cairo to question the meaning of his life in the Egyptian film "Sheikh Jackson". Schayan Riaz watched the film
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Documentary series: "Paradises of the earth"
The time is now
Nadir Bouhmouch, director of the ground-breaking web documentary series ″Paradises of the earth″, talks about the inception of the project and the urgency of telling North African stories
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Egyptian film controversy
Shams buys a man
Egypt is in uproar over a film: a single woman marries solely in order to have a baby via a sperm donor and then gets divorced. A female television presenter who showcased the film and its controversial theme on her programme has been given a prison sentence. By Dunja Ramadan
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A new age dawns for Tunisian cinema
Press reboot!
With young Tunisian directors winning international awards, the decision to finally go ahead with a long-planned cinematheque, and a careful festival relaunch, the signs are all there: the winds of change are blowing in the Tunisian film sector. By Sarah Mersch in Tunis
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Interview with director Tamer El Said
"In the Last Days of the City": Between light and dark
″In the Last Days of the City″ is Egyptian director Tamer El Said′s debut film. Although it premiered to great acclaim at the 2016 Berlinale and has gone on to win more than ten awards, it is still hasn't been released in Egypt. Tugrul von Mende spoke to El Said as the film opened in Germany
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Interview with Egyptian film director Mohamed Rashad
A homage to life
In his first documentary film, "Little Eagles", director Mohamed Rashad moves from Alexandria to Cairo and back. On his journey, he links up the past and the present, raising many questions about the individual and society. Interview by Islam Anwar
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Women in Moroccan cinema
For freedom and diversity
The Moroccan Film Festival in Berlin highlighted films made by women or dealing with women's issues. In interview with Elizabeth Grenier, the director of the Moroccan Cinema Centre revealed what he found most fascinating about the movies in the programme
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Women in Moroccan cinema
Included in the Moroccan Film Festival now taking place at the Babylon Cinema in Berlin, these movies feature the stories of women or were directed by female filmmakers – and depict the many challenges women face in the country. By Elizabeth Grenier
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Merzak Allouache′s ″Tahqiq fel djenna″
Seventy two grapes
In his film ″Tahqiq fel Djenna″ (Investigating Paradise), which was awarded the Panorama 2017 prize at this year′s Berlinale, Merzak Allouache investigates the sexualised idea of Paradise as spread by Salafist preachers. By Rene Wildangel
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Raed Andoni's "Ghost Hunting" at the Berlinale
The ghosts that lurk
Raed Andoni's film functions as both trauma therapy and as an opportunity to discuss the political problem of prisoners. First and foremost, though, the film works as an impressive piece of cinematography dealing with the basic questions of the human condition. By Rene Wildangel
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″Cinema Clubs″ in Egypt
Rediscovering the silver screen
Since the revolution of 25 January 2011, Egypt has seen a resurgence of its cinema clubs: places where fans of the "seventh art" (Alain/Schelling) meet, mostly in cultural centres, to watch films together and discuss them afterwards. Islam Anwar reports from Cairo