Films
Index / Activities / Films / Arab Cinema in Barcelona, with CINEDebats
Arab Cinema in Barcelona, with CINEDebats
From September 10, 2012 until September 26, 2012
Once more, Casa Árabe collaborated this year with CINEDebats, a yearly season on Arab cinema at the European Institute for the Mediterranean, in Barcelona, from September 12th to 26th.
After the successful first edition, the IEMED proposed a new brief panorama over the cinematographies which in the latest years have dealt with the migration phenomenon, as well as the complexity of modern, heterogeneous and diverse societies, which are richer due to its diverse origins.
“Immigration cinema” is a first step towards those realities whose frame is set by this migration phenomenon and where all this stories take place. They are told by three filmmakers with different origins, who have grown up and live in countries and diverse realities, those films which make us move from France to Sweden, passing by the United States. Through drama or comedy those stories tell a wide range of human experiences: from adolescence to couple life, passing through nostalgia and suffering the difficulties of fitting into a strange life, an alien reality or a hostile environment.
Amreeka, by Cherien Dabis (United States, 2009, 96 min.)
Knowing that it is the only way to get a better future, Muna and her teenage son Fadi leave Palestine seeking a new life in a small city in Illinois. Muna's sister, her husband and three of their daughters settle the guests at home, where Muna and Fadi will have to strive to fit into the new culture without losing their own, facing an environment which, after Iraq's invasion, is looking at the Middle East with suspicion. Muna does not lose hope and, despite living a double life working on a local hamburger restaurant, she is optimist about her new stage. The film is a fresh depiction of the migrant family life and of its first teen generation.
The filmmaker Susana Casares, who is preparing a film on the Muslim community in the United States, intervened at the end of the screening.
Jalla, Jalla!, by Jossef Fares (Sweden, 2001, 89 min.)
A Lebanese family with Armenian origins who lives in Sweden decides to marry their oldest son Roro with his young cousin Yasmine, a female he has never met. This decision does not takes into account that Roro had already a Swedish girlfriend, who the family did not know about, and neither Yasmine’s opinion. Roro and his best friend Mans try to figure a way out of the situation. A funny comedy about the new communities living in the old Europe.
At the end of the screening, Xavier Aragall, expert on migrations at the IEMed, intervened.
Games of Love and Chance, by Abdellatif Kechiche (France, 2004, 120 min.)
The film is located in the drab high-rise Paris suburbs, where a group of teenagers rehearse the final course performance, the piece Games of Love and Chance by the French writer Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux. Krimo is a shy introverted guy who was not part of the casting of the theatre play at first, but by who falls in love with Lidia. To try to seduce her, he starts playing the harlequin role, which a friend of his offers him. The film was awarded four Cesar prizes in 2005: best film, best director, best script and most promising actress.
At the end of the screening, Salwa el Gharbi, president of the Association of Amazigh Women, gave a speech.
Wednesday September 12th: Amreeka
Wednesday September 19th: Jalla, Jalla!
Wednesday September 26th: Games of Love and Chance
Screenings took place at the event gall at the IEMed (Girona, 20. CP 08010 Barcelona), at 18.30. Films were on original version with subtitles in Spanish. Free entrance.
“Immigration cinema” is a first step towards those realities whose frame is set by this migration phenomenon and where all this stories take place. They are told by three filmmakers with different origins, who have grown up and live in countries and diverse realities, those films which make us move from France to Sweden, passing by the United States. Through drama or comedy those stories tell a wide range of human experiences: from adolescence to couple life, passing through nostalgia and suffering the difficulties of fitting into a strange life, an alien reality or a hostile environment.
SYNOPSIS
Amreeka, by Cherien Dabis (United States, 2009, 96 min.)Knowing that it is the only way to get a better future, Muna and her teenage son Fadi leave Palestine seeking a new life in a small city in Illinois. Muna's sister, her husband and three of their daughters settle the guests at home, where Muna and Fadi will have to strive to fit into the new culture without losing their own, facing an environment which, after Iraq's invasion, is looking at the Middle East with suspicion. Muna does not lose hope and, despite living a double life working on a local hamburger restaurant, she is optimist about her new stage. The film is a fresh depiction of the migrant family life and of its first teen generation.
The filmmaker Susana Casares, who is preparing a film on the Muslim community in the United States, intervened at the end of the screening.
Jalla, Jalla!, by Jossef Fares (Sweden, 2001, 89 min.)
A Lebanese family with Armenian origins who lives in Sweden decides to marry their oldest son Roro with his young cousin Yasmine, a female he has never met. This decision does not takes into account that Roro had already a Swedish girlfriend, who the family did not know about, and neither Yasmine’s opinion. Roro and his best friend Mans try to figure a way out of the situation. A funny comedy about the new communities living in the old Europe.
At the end of the screening, Xavier Aragall, expert on migrations at the IEMed, intervened.
Games of Love and Chance, by Abdellatif Kechiche (France, 2004, 120 min.)The film is located in the drab high-rise Paris suburbs, where a group of teenagers rehearse the final course performance, the piece Games of Love and Chance by the French writer Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux. Krimo is a shy introverted guy who was not part of the casting of the theatre play at first, but by who falls in love with Lidia. To try to seduce her, he starts playing the harlequin role, which a friend of his offers him. The film was awarded four Cesar prizes in 2005: best film, best director, best script and most promising actress.
At the end of the screening, Salwa el Gharbi, president of the Association of Amazigh Women, gave a speech.
SCREENING PROGRAM
Wednesday September 12th: Amreeka
Wednesday September 19th: Jalla, Jalla!
Wednesday September 26th: Games of Love and Chance
Screenings took place at the event gall at the IEMed (Girona, 20. CP 08010 Barcelona), at 18.30. Films were on original version with subtitles in Spanish. Free entrance.