Films
Index / Activities / Films / Cinema in Barcelona
Cinema in Barcelona
From January 15, 2013 until February 07, 2013
The film Heavy Metal in Baghdad, by Eddy Moretti and Suroosh Alvi, will be shown in Barcelona on Thursday, January 31st as part of Casa Árabe’s cooperation with IEMed and its DocuDebats program.
After showing in both Madrid and Cordoba, the cinema series “Connected to the Amplifier: Music, youth and transitions,” through which Casa Árabe is cooperating with IEMed and its DocuDebats program, has now come to Barcelona.
This series, prepared by Khadija Douieb for Casa Árabe, gives us a tour through the most surprising and unknown underground scenes in several Arab and Muslim countries, providing us with a report on the rapid transformations being experienced by their societies and the important role being played by youths in these transitions.
Within this cycle, IEMed has selected four documentaries which provide an excellent overview of the wide-ranging musical production occurring in countries like Egypt, with its documentary “Microphone,” and Lebanon with “Lebanon: Beirut Beats,” though it also allows us to delve into completely unknown worlds, like the heavy metal scene of the group Acrassicauda in “Heavy Metal in Baghdad,” and the hip-hop and rap scenes of Morocco and Syria in “Arab Rap.”
The screenings will be held on Thursday, January 17th, 24th and 31st and February 7th, 2013, at 6:30 p.m. in the IEMed auditorium (c/ Girona, 20, Barcelona). The films will be shown in the original language version with subtitles in Spanish or Catalan. Free entrance.
Thursday, January 17th
Microphone, by Ahmad Abdallah (Egypt, 2010, 120 min.)
Khaled returns to Alexandria after having spent several years abroad. He has a hard time understanding how the city where he was born could have changed so much while he was away. It is now too late for him to rekindle a relationship with his former love, and the bonds with his elderly father have been broken for good. Drifting through the city, he discovers the underground art world: hip-hop singers, skaters, graffiti artists… Despite his limited resources, he attempts to support this movement and draw people’s attention to different facets of the city.
After the screening, there will be a colloquium with Carmen Medina, a technician from the IEMed Euro-Mediterranean Policy Observatory.
Thursday, January 24th
Arab Rap, by Bachir Bensaddek (Canada, 2011, 52 min.) (Original language version with subtitles in Spanish)
Several performers, three countries, one single language: Arabic; one unique style: hip-hop. From Casablanca to Aleppo these youths’ voices rise up. Their black gold consists of the words they refine as fuel for the vehicle they have chosen to use: rap, a well-oiled machine made up of audio mixers and diverse sounds. Youths who dare to speak out, even when they are told to stay quiet.
After the screening, a debate will be held with the participation of Pilar Sampietro, a cultural journalist and the director of R3-RNE’s radio show Mediterráneo, which provides a showcase for the cultural and social scenes of youths in Mediterranean countries today.
Thursday, January 31st
Heavy Metal in Baghdad, by Eddy Moretti and Suroosh Alvi. Iraq, 2007, 84 min. (Original language version with subtitles in Spanish)
A documentary which follows the Iraqi heavy metal group Acrassicauda from the time of Saddam Hussein’s fall in 2003 to the year 2007. Playing heavy metal in their country had been nearly impossible, but after the regime was brought to an end, the group was able to enjoy a brief period in which freedom seemed possible. This film bears witness to the hope of a generation of Iraqi youths.
Debate with the participation of Consol Saenz, director and host of the program Gran Quilombo on R3-RNE and Músiques Clandestines on R4-RNE. Throughout her career at Spain’s national radio station, she has specialized in programs dedicated to contemporary music.
Thursday, February 7th
Líbano: los ritmos de Beirut (Lebanon: Beirut Beats), by Fermín Muguruza. Spain and Qatar, 2011, 50 min. (Original language version with subtitles in Spanish)
Photographer Deborah Phares invites us on a journey of sound throughout the landscape of Lebanon, a mosaic of voices which arise from traditional Arab music, the country’s folklore and instruments, traveling to search for new languages which act as a bridge for understanding between East and West, through more modern rhythms such as pop, rock, rap and alternative rock.
Debate with the participation of Jordi Martí, editor of the magazine Enderrock and Sons de la Mediterrània.
This series, prepared by Khadija Douieb for Casa Árabe, gives us a tour through the most surprising and unknown underground scenes in several Arab and Muslim countries, providing us with a report on the rapid transformations being experienced by their societies and the important role being played by youths in these transitions.
Within this cycle, IEMed has selected four documentaries which provide an excellent overview of the wide-ranging musical production occurring in countries like Egypt, with its documentary “Microphone,” and Lebanon with “Lebanon: Beirut Beats,” though it also allows us to delve into completely unknown worlds, like the heavy metal scene of the group Acrassicauda in “Heavy Metal in Baghdad,” and the hip-hop and rap scenes of Morocco and Syria in “Arab Rap.”
The screenings will be held on Thursday, January 17th, 24th and 31st and February 7th, 2013, at 6:30 p.m. in the IEMed auditorium (c/ Girona, 20, Barcelona). The films will be shown in the original language version with subtitles in Spanish or Catalan. Free entrance.
Thursday, January 17th
Microphone, by Ahmad Abdallah (Egypt, 2010, 120 min.)
Khaled returns to Alexandria after having spent several years abroad. He has a hard time understanding how the city where he was born could have changed so much while he was away. It is now too late for him to rekindle a relationship with his former love, and the bonds with his elderly father have been broken for good. Drifting through the city, he discovers the underground art world: hip-hop singers, skaters, graffiti artists… Despite his limited resources, he attempts to support this movement and draw people’s attention to different facets of the city.
After the screening, there will be a colloquium with Carmen Medina, a technician from the IEMed Euro-Mediterranean Policy Observatory.
Thursday, January 24th
Arab Rap, by Bachir Bensaddek (Canada, 2011, 52 min.) (Original language version with subtitles in Spanish)
Several performers, three countries, one single language: Arabic; one unique style: hip-hop. From Casablanca to Aleppo these youths’ voices rise up. Their black gold consists of the words they refine as fuel for the vehicle they have chosen to use: rap, a well-oiled machine made up of audio mixers and diverse sounds. Youths who dare to speak out, even when they are told to stay quiet.
After the screening, a debate will be held with the participation of Pilar Sampietro, a cultural journalist and the director of R3-RNE’s radio show Mediterráneo, which provides a showcase for the cultural and social scenes of youths in Mediterranean countries today.
Thursday, January 31st
Heavy Metal in Baghdad, by Eddy Moretti and Suroosh Alvi. Iraq, 2007, 84 min. (Original language version with subtitles in Spanish)
A documentary which follows the Iraqi heavy metal group Acrassicauda from the time of Saddam Hussein’s fall in 2003 to the year 2007. Playing heavy metal in their country had been nearly impossible, but after the regime was brought to an end, the group was able to enjoy a brief period in which freedom seemed possible. This film bears witness to the hope of a generation of Iraqi youths.
Debate with the participation of Consol Saenz, director and host of the program Gran Quilombo on R3-RNE and Músiques Clandestines on R4-RNE. Throughout her career at Spain’s national radio station, she has specialized in programs dedicated to contemporary music.
Thursday, February 7th
Líbano: los ritmos de Beirut (Lebanon: Beirut Beats), by Fermín Muguruza. Spain and Qatar, 2011, 50 min. (Original language version with subtitles in Spanish)
Photographer Deborah Phares invites us on a journey of sound throughout the landscape of Lebanon, a mosaic of voices which arise from traditional Arab music, the country’s folklore and instruments, traveling to search for new languages which act as a bridge for understanding between East and West, through more modern rhythms such as pop, rock, rap and alternative rock.
Debate with the participation of Jordi Martí, editor of the magazine Enderrock and Sons de la Mediterrània.
