6 Arab Movies That Made It to The Venice film Festival 2018
The Arab world is finally leaving its mark on international film festivals. Countries represented in the Venice Film Festival 2018 are Syria, Palestine, Tunisia, and Saudi Arabia, however, no Arab films compete for the Golden Lion in Venice.
Here are the six movies that made it to Venice this week:
The day I lost my shadow
A Syrian film by Director, Soudade Kaadan, that follows the story of Sana who takes a day off from her job to search for a gas cylinder to cook a meal for her son, but suddenly finds herself stuck in the besieged area.
Tel Aviv on Fire
A Palestinian movie directed by Sameh Zoabi, that follows the trials and tribulations of a Palestinian actor working in a highly popular Palestinian soap opera Tel Aviv on Fire. In order to reach the studio located in Ramallah, the actor must pass through an Israeli checkpoint, where he meets a commander who gets involved in the show’s writing.
Dachra
Tunisian movie directed by Abdelhamid Bouchnak which follows the story of a Tunisian journalism student who sets out on a university assignment to solve the cold case of a woman found mutilated 25 years ago, now imprisoned in an asylum and suspected of witchcraft. This leads to the discovery of an isolated countryside compound filled with silent women and mysterious drying meat.
The Wedding Singer’s Daughter
The latest installment in Miu Miu‘s Women’s Tales, a series of short films launched by the Italian fashion house in 2011 and directed by women, is the work of Director Haifaa Al Mansour. The movie is set in 80’s at a wedding party in Saudi Arabia where women are dressed to impress. After an electricity outage ends up embarrassing the wedding singer, her young daughter steps up to save her mother.
Screwdriver
Palestinian psychological thriller, directed by Bassam Jarbawi, that shows the struggle of a former basketball champ who tries to fit into society after being in solitary confinement in an Israeli prison.
Still Recording
Another Syrian movie, directed by Ghiath Ayoub. Saeed and Milad, the protagonists of Still Recording decide to leave Damascus and go to Douma and join the Syrian revolution. The friends end up starting a graffiti art project and film life in Douma for more than 4 years.
