The Diaries of Yossef Nachmani (Israel) 2006 63 min. In Arabic and Hebrew w/English subtitles. Director/Filmmaker: Dalia Karpel; Producers: Marek Rosenbaum, Itai Tami, Dalia Karpel; Distributor: First Run Icarus Films. Print source: First Fun Icarus Films.

The Diaries of Yossef Nachmani illuminates a controversial period of Israeli history by drawing upon the writings of a land broker for the Jewish National Fund (JNF), who recorded his daily activities and private thoughts from 1935 to 1965. Born in the Ukraine in 1891, Nachmani immigrated to Palestine as a young man, quickly became involved with the Labor Zionist movement, and in 1922 dedicated himself to purchasing Arab-owned lands in order to establish Zionist settlements for the nascent Jewish state. Utilizing excerpts from Nachmani's diaries, rare archival footage, interviews with Nachmani's son and daughter, eyewitnesses and participants on both sides of the conflict, Israeli historian Benny Morris and geography Professor Danny Gur. This provocative historical documentary presents a challenge to the foundation myth of Israel.

Dreaming in Morocco (Morocco) 2007 30 min. In English w/English subtitles. Director/Producer/Distributor: Pamela M. Nice. Print source: Pamela M. Nice. FILMMAKER IN ATTENDANCE

This documentary explores Moroccan culture as experienced by young people between the ages of 18 and 30. The filmmaker spent a year teaching in Morocco. The film looks at the dreams and aspirations of Moroccan people as well as their perceptions of the west. Especially geared to the student audience.

Encounter Point (Israel/Palestine) 2006 85 min. In Arabic and Hebrew w/English subtitles. Director/Producer: Ronit Avni and Julia Bacha. Distributor: Typecast Releasing/Arab Film Distribution. Print source: Arab Film Distribution.
JULIA BACHA IN ATTENDANCE

Encounter Point follows a former Israeli settler, a Palestinian ex-prisoner, a bereaved Israeli mother and a wounded Palestinian bereaved brother who risk their lives and public standing to promote a nonviolent end to the conflict. Their journeys lead them to the unlikeliest places to confront hatred within their communities. The film explores what drives them and thousands of other like-minded civilians to overcome anger and grief to work for grassroots solutions. A chronicle of courage.

Enemies of Happiness (Vores Lykkes Fjender) (Denmark/Afghanistan) 2006 59 min. In Farsi and Pashto w/English subtitles. Director/Filmmakers: Eva Mulvad and Anja Al-Erhayem; Distributor: Women Make Movies. Print source: Women Make Movies.

In September 2005, Afghanistan held its first parliamentary elections in 35 years. Among the candidates for 249 assembly seats was Malalai Joya, a controversial 27-year-old woman who ignited outrage among hard-liners when she spoke out against corrupt warlords at the Grand Council of tribal elders in 2003. Enemies of Happiness is a portrait of this extraordinary freedom fighter and the way she won the hearts of voters, and a snapshot of life and politics in Afghanistan.

Filmmaker Uri Rosenwaks came to Rahat to teach a group of Black Bedouin women a class in filmmaking. Rahat is partially populated by the Black Bedouins who were brought to the Negev as slaves. Kidnapped in Africa by Arab slave traders, they were auctioned off in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Zanzibar. Until 50 years ago, the Black Bedouins were enslaved by the White ones. The small modest course in filmmaking became the vehicle for a big revelation.

Ghosts of Abu Ghraib (Iraq) 2006 78 min. In English. Director/Filmmaker: Rory Kennedy; Distributor: Moxie Firecracker Films. Print source: Moxie Firecracker Films.

The familiar and disturbing pictures of torture at Abu Ghraib raise many disturbing questions: How did torture become an accepted practice at the facility? Did U.S. government policies make it possible? How much damage has the aftermath had on America’s credibility as a defender of freedom and human rights around the world? This film raises serious questions about what happened, why and whether it was an isolated incident, as the government continues to maintain.

The Glories of Islamic Art (3-part series) (US/Islamic World) 2006 45 min. ea. In English. Director: Roger Thomas; Producer: Howard Anderson; Distributor: Landmark Media. Print source: Landmark Media.
Part 1: The Umayyads & Their Capital Damascus
Part 2: Two Islamic Regimes in Cairo
Part 3: The Ottomans & Their Capital Istanbul
Divided in chapters for ease of classroom use. FilmFest will screen Part 3.

This three part series showcases the glorious heritage left by Islamic artists and architects, and explains the close connection between the architectural splendor and the religious message of Islam. Combining travelogue with story-telling, the program is accessible to a broad audience. Presented by Professor Akbar Ahmed. Part 3: The Ottomans, highlights Islamic calligraphy, Sufi influence on the arts, the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, Iznik tile work, among others.

The Greedy Heart of Halide Edib (USA) 2007 28 min. In English. Distributor: Lucasfilm Ltd., CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment. Print source: Lucasfilm Ltd. (From the “Young Indiana Jones” series. This is the companion documentary series to provide background history.)

Novelist, playwright, educator and independence leader, Halide Edib personified the new Turkish woman in her life and her writing. The film traces her evolution from a spirited child to visionary educator, and though her writings helped inspire a new nation into existence, her clash with the revolution’s leader sent her into exile.

Hamas Victory (US/Gaza/West Bank/Israel) 2006 27 min. In English; Producer/Director: Foreign Correspondent Australian Broadcasting Company; Distributor: Landmark Media. Print source: Landmark Media.

Hamas Victory investigates the appeal of an officially terrorist organization both in the isolated, more traditionally Islamic oriented Gaza Strip, and in the secularized West Bank. Beginning with its’ Israeli-supported development by the Muslim Brotherhood imported decades ago from Egypt and climaxing in its’ unanticipated sweep of democratic elections, this emerging force was born of a deep and furious hatred of Israel and its’ Western supporters. Can the West hope that it will become more pragmatic and recognize the need to negotiate with Israel?

Iran: A Cinematographic Revolution (Iran) 2006 98 min. In Persian w/English subtitles and English narration. Director: Nader Takmil Homayoun; Co-production: ARTE France-Avenue B Productions; Distributor: First Run Icarus Films. Print source: First Run Icarus Films.

This is a film about Iran’s unique film industry, tracing the development of film as it intertwines with, react to, and is a result of, Iran’s greater political structure. Discusses the works of Bahram Beyzai, Sohrab Shahid Saless and Parviz Kimiavi and pre- and post-Islamic revolutionary ‘new wave’ filmmakers such as Amir Naderi, Rakhshan Bani-Etemad, Dariush Mehrjui, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Jafar Panahi, Bahman Ghobadi and Abbas Kiarostami.

KAPITAL-IST-anbul (Turkey) 2004 13 min. In Turkish w/English subtitles. Filmmakers: Aysim Turkmen and Erkin Peprek. Print source: Aysim Turkmen.

This film is an artistic response to the “joining the European Union fervor” that dominates discourse in Turkey. Resembles Koyannisquatsi in flavor.

KILOMETRE ZERO (Iraqi Kurdistan/France) 2005 96 min. Director: Hiner Saleem, Producer: Alexandre Mallet-Guy, Hiner Saleem, Émilie Georges, Distributor: Global Film Initiative, Global Lens 2007. Print source: Global Film Initiative.

A story of ethnic conflict between Kurds and Iraqis in the context of the war between Iraq and Iran in the 1980s, when Kurds were conscripted to serve in the Iraqi army, where they were brutally abused, as a despised minority in Saddam Hussein’s military. Kilometre Zero pairs a Kurdish soldier, under orders to return the body of a dead soldier to his family, with an Iraqi taxi driver who will drive them cross–country to the dead soldier’s home. This is a masterful and sometimes comical farce, with minimalist overtones.

Me & the Mosque (Canada) 2005 52 min. In English w/English subtitles as needed. Director: Zarqa Nawaz; Producer: Joe MacDonald; Distributor: National Film Board of Canada. Print source: National Film Board of Canada.

In Me and the Mosque, journalist and filmmaker Zarqa Nawaz visits mosques throughout Canada and talks to scholars, colleagues, friends and neighbors about equal access for women. Discussions about the historical role of women in the Islamic faith, the current state of mosques in Canada and personal stories of anger, fear, acceptance and defiance punctuate the film. With original animation, archival footage and personal interviews, Me and the Mosque is a smart, self-aware and whimsical story that documents the debates and presents the personalities on all sides of the issue.

Using a journalistic approach, The Miseducation of Pakistan explores the country’s appalling public education system. Schools with no teachers, schools overflowing with garbage, schools under the open sky, without drinking water or electricity; this is what most students of public schools in Pakistan can look forward to. Corrupt hierarchy of officials and school staff line their pockets with funds meant for education, while sending their offspring to the best schools in the country and abroad. The alternative?- the rise of madrassas.

The Noble Struggle of Amina Wadud (USA) 2006 29 min. In English. Director: Elli Safari; Kino Safari Production; Distributor: Women Make Movies. Print source: Women Make Movies.

On March 18, 2005, Amina Wadud shocked the Islamic world by leading a mixed-gender Friday prayer congregation in New York. This African-American Muslim woman soon found herself the subject of much debate and Muslim juristic discourse. Wadud explains how Islam, with its promise of justice, appeals to the African-American community. She links the struggle for racial justice with the need for gender equality in Islam.

No One Ever Wins-Lebanon in the Summer of Hezbollah (Lebanon) 2007 50 min. In Arabic w/English subtitles and narration. Directors: Krisztian K. Orban and Tony Urgo; Producer: Krisztian K. Orban. Print source: Krisztian K. Orban.

No One Ever Wins documents life in Lebanon in the aftermath of the war between Hezbollah and Israel in July of 2006. Interviewees include Lebanese-Americans, a Shi’ite school teacher who lost students in the bombardment, ordinary families whose homes were destroyed by rockets, and UN peacekeepers. The documentary includes a harrowing day with the UN bomb disposal team, and an insightful record of the Hezbollah victory rally only weeks after the 33 day war.

Off Beat (Iran) 2004 45 min. In Persian w/English subtitles. Director: Mojtaba Mirtahmasb; Co-Producers: Mojtaba Mirtahmasb and Siamak Poursharif. Print source: Mojtaba Mirtahmasb.

Restrictions on performing rock concerts in Iran led a 10-member group of music fans in 2002 to hold a contest on the Internet for Tehran’s underground rock bands. The film is an interesting insight of creativity finding a means of expression (with the help of technology).

Orhan Pamuk, Turkey’s best-known modern novelist and winner of the Nobel Prize in 2006, became a pariah overnight for speaking out about the Armenian genocide. After that, Pamuk’s books were banned, there were riots, and threats were made on his life. Filmed after he returned to Istanbul, he avows his passionate attachment to his country; at the same time, he insists that the nation should know the truth about its history, and that there must be freedom of speech.

Raised to be Heroes (Canada/Israel/Palestine) 2006 40 min. In English and Hebrew w/English subtitles. Director: Jack Silberman; Producer: Tracey Friessen; Distributor: National Film Board of Canada. US Distributor: Bullfrog Films. Print source: National Film Board of Canada.

Featuring accounts from the front lines, Raised to Be Heroes introduces the latest generation of Israeli soldiers to selectively object to military operations undertaken by their country. There are more than 1,600 Refuseniks in Israel and this number is growing. Many Israelis condemn them for failing their nation; however, they stand by their conscience in the hopes of ending the occupation. Raised to Be Heroes uses the unforgettable experiences of Refuseniks to inspire an essential dialogue about peace, democracy and personal responsibility.

Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People (USA) 2006 50 min. In English. Executive producer: Sut Jhally; Distributor: Media Education Foundation. Print source: Media Education Foundation.

Reel Bad Arabs takes a tour of the American cinematic landscape, moving from the earliest days of silent film to today’s biggest Hollywood blockbusters to reveal a persistent pattern of slanderous Arab stereotyping. Featuring author and Hollywood film consultant, Jack Shaheen, the documentary exposes American cinema’s love affair with Arab villainy and buffoonery, from over-sexed Bedouin bandits and submissive maidens to sinister sheikhs and blood-thirsty terrorists. This is a clear and thoughtful examination of media manipulation.

Rumi Returning (Turkey/USA) 2007 71 min. In English. Directors/Producers: Kell Keams and Cynthia Lukas for Heaven on Earth Creations. Distributor: Heaven on Earth Creations. Print source: Heaven on Earth Creations.Special MESA FilmFest Cineforum with Co-producer Cynthia Lukas.

Does a 13th century Muslim mystic hold a key to world peace? Rumi combines the philosophical greatness of Plato, with the soul force and realization of a Jesus or Buddha, with the literary gifts of a Shakespeare, so says Andrew Harvey. UNESCO has proclaimed Rumi’s 800th birthday year (2007), the International Year of Rumi. Shot on location in Konya, with sublime pictures of Islamic architecture, artistic masterpieces from his environs, and dramatic tableaus of Rumi and dervishes in traditional dress shot at historically accurate locations, the Islamic world of the Middle Ages comes to life, accompanied by calls to worship, classic Sufi music, and current interpretations. This is a special MESA FilmFest event.

From the director of the Academy Award nominated Iraq in Fragments, this short documentary follows an Iraqi mother struggling under U.S. occupation to care for her son, who is dying of AIDS. Filmed over a period of one year, Sari’s Mother employs stunning camera work and intimacy to offer a rare singular portrait of a resilient Iraqi woman.

SAZ: The Palestinian Rapper for Change (Israel/Palestine) 2007 51min. In Arabic and Hebrew w/English subtitles. Writer/Director: Gil Karni; Producers: Gil Karni and Meni Elias; Distributor: Choices, Inc. Print source: Choices, Inc.

This documentary goes behind the ghetto walls of Ramlah to look at a year in the life of budding Palestinian hip-hop star Sameh Zakout a.k.a. Saz. Growing up in a Jewish neighborhood as a third generation of a moderate family, Saz had to learn to balance his strong feelings of insult and rage for the suffering of his people with their traditional viewpoints. He uses music as a starting point for discussion with Israeli and Arab youth who have grown further apart since the recent Intifada. The music takes him to the clubs and neighborhoods of Tel Aviv, Haifa, and London. “My bullets are my rhymes. My M-16 is my microphone,” says Saz.

THE SITUATION (Iraq) 2007 102 min. In English and Arabic w/English subtitles. Producer/Director: Philip Haas; Distributor: New Yorker Films. Print source: New Yorker Films.

In this tense new thriller set in the turmoil of modern day Iraq, a love triangle forms between an American correspondent, her Iraqi photographer and a CIA operative, as the war that surrounds them makes life increasingly difficult. Director Philip Haas constructs a film with accuracy to the complexities of the Iraq war.

Six Days in June (US/Israel/Middle East) 2007 Parts 1 & 2 at 52 min. ea. In English. Director: Ilan Ziv; Producer: Ina Fichman; Distributor: Tamouz Media. Print source: Ilan Ziv. FilmFest will screen Part 1. Special MESA FilmFest Cineforum with Filmmaker Ilan Ziv.

Although the fighting lasted only six days in June of 1967, the effects of the Six Day War are still apparent today. On its 40th anniversary, the region remains trapped in conflict and is every bit as explosive as it was then. The consequences of the war, born out of secular nationalist dreams, unleashed religious conflicts which permeated the region and the world; the Six Day War. Six Days covers the weeks that preceded the war, its six days of fighting and the repercussions.

Stealing History (Netherlands) 2006 52 min. In English w/English subtitles as needed. Directors: Ola Flyum & David Hebditch for NRK. Distributor: Filmakers Library. Print source: Filmakers Library.

The looting of ancient artifacts from the troubled regions of Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan is an ongoing scandal. This film reveals the closely knit network of looters, smugglers, dealers, collectors and academics which encourages this illegal trade. The huge scale of the thefts of artworks, have led to police investigations in Britain, Norway and Afghanistan. Since the film was shown in Europe, one of the world’s largest collectors was forced to return some of the articles to their countries of origin.

Stone Time Touch (Canada, Armenia) 2007 70 min. In Armenian w/English subtitles and narration. Director: Gariné Torossian; A Gariné Torossian Film/National Film Board of Canada co-production; Producers: Gariné Torossian, Anita Lee; Executive Producer: Silva Basmadjian. Print source: Gariné Torossian.

Award-winning Armenian-Canadian experimental filmmaker Gariné Torossian weaves together a poetic collage of memory, loss and expectation in this essay documentary of a real and imagined Armenia. This diary-like exploration is layered with religious iconography, ritual, contemporary struggle and the burden of history. Featuring the beautiful vocals of the Armenian a capella folk trio, Zulal.

A Team for Peace (USA) 2007 45min. In English. Directors: Michael Boland, Michael Fuller; Producers: Michael Boland, Linda Stregger; Executive Producer: Barbara Barde; Distributor: Landmark Media. Print source: Landmark Media.

A Team for Peace follows the journey of a group of young soccer players, half Palestinian, half Israeli, who are put together to play on The Peace Team, and compete in the world’s largest international youth soccer tournament. Behind the concept is Johann Olav Koss, founder of the children’s charity, Right to Play, which promotes conflict resolution through sport in more than twenty impoverished countries.

They Call Me Muslim (Italy/France/Iran) 2006 27 min. Color. In French and Persian w/English subtitles. Director: Diana Ferrero; Distributor: Women Make Movies. Print source: Women Make Movies.

What does it mean for women’s freedom when a democratic country forbids the wearing of the veil? In this provocative documentary, filmmaker Diana Ferrero portrays the struggle of two women, one in France and one in Iran, to express themselves freely. They Call Me Muslim adds an interesting dimension to the continuing discourse on the meaning of wearing hijab.

WEST BANK STORY (USA) 2005 22 min. In English. Director: Ari Sandel; Producers: Pascal Vaguesly, Amy Kim, Ashley Jordan, Ravi Malhotra, and Ari Sandel; Print source: Ari Sandel.

A musical comedy set in the fast-paced fast food world of competing falafel stands on the West Bank, West Bank Story tells the tale of a budding romance between an Israeli soldier and a Palestinian cashier. The respective families of the unlikely couple clash over dueling family-owned falafel stands. A classic love story with a charming twist.

A Woman’s Word (Palabra de Mujer) (Spain/Egypt/Lebanon/Morocco) 2004 52 min. In Arabic w/English subtitles. Director: Silvia G. Pondoza; Distributor: Women Make Movies. Print source: Women Make Movies.

A Woman’s Word depicts the life and writings of three exceptional authors of the Arab word: Nawal Al Saadawi from Egypt, Hanan Al Shaykh from Lebanon, and Janata Bennuna from Morocco. For all three women, becoming a writer was never a choice but a necessity–a vocation fought for and hard won. Each writer struggles as an Arab woman in a society that often wants to shut down her powerful voice.

YACOUBIAN BUILDING (Egypt) 2006 161 min. In Arabic w/English subtitles. Director: Marwan Hamed; Writer/Producer: Waheed Hamed; Distributor: USA, Strand Releasing; Canada, Métropole Films Distribution. Print source: Métropole Films Distribution.

The best-selling novel by Alaa Al Aswany is now in film. A sprawling epic showing a cross-section of contemporary Egyptian society.

Young and Invisible: African Domestic Workers in Yemen (Ethiopia/Yemen) 35 min. In Arabic w/English subtitles and narration. Director/Producer: Marina Regt and Arda Nederveen; Distributor: Arda Nederveen-Visuele Producties. Print source: Marina Regt. FILMMAKER IN ATTENDANCE

While the employment of migrant domestic workers in the oil-producing countries of the Arabian Peninsula is well-known, few people know that in a poor country like Yemen mainly migrant women are employed as domestics. Why is there a demand for paid domestic labor in Yemen? Who fills the demand? What are the living and working conditions of Ethiopian and Somali women in Yemen? And how do they survive?