Arab Films To Watch While Tucked Under The Blanket This Winter

Winter is themed by a bunch of activities universally that range from staying warm under the blanket while watching a cozy film, or opting for long walks while it is raining, and certainly sipping hot chocolate. In the Arab world, those activities have their Middle Eastern touch, which involves certain Arab food, hot drinks, and certainly Arab films.

Below is a list of Arab films that are winter-friendly, for those who already watched Home Alone and Ice Age too many times and are looking for a change.

Cinema Lover (2004) Directed By Oussama Fawzi

The Arab alternative for the all-time classic Italian film Cinema Paradiso. Cinema Lover is an Egyptian film, some of it set in Winter, about a little boy who fights for his love of cinema faced with a conservative Christian father.

Smile, The Photo Comes Out Better (1998) Directed By  Sherif Arafa

Ahmed Zaki, the iconic figure of Egyptian cinema, and the acclaimed actress Mona Zaki, along with the famous Laila Elwi star in this classic. The film tells the story of a father sending his daughter to university, where she struggles to fit in with her overprivileged peers, and also falls in love.

West Beirut (1998) Directed By Ziad Doueiri

Set during the Lebanese Civil War, the conflict escalated between the East and the West between Christians and Muslims. The film puts two friends under the spotlight shedding light on their suffering amid a war that defined Lebanon’s socio-political atmosphere for decades.

The Dupes (1972) Directed By Tewfik Saleh

Based on Ghassan Kanafani’s famous novel “Men In the Sun” 1963. The Dupes is poetic, literary, and sometimes heartbreaking yet eye-opening. The film portrays the lives of three Palestinian refugees after the Nakba that happened in 1948 which displaced over 750,000 Palestinians.

Omar (2013) Directed by Hany Abu-Assad

Another film reflecting on the Palestinian struggle after the Nakba. Hany Abu Assad’s masterpiece intertwines a complicated relationship that intersects with the politically charged atmosphere that plays a big role in determining the fate of two lovers. Omar is seen crossing the West Bank Wall in order to meet his love Nadia, the Wall is both a metaphor and a concrete absurd barrier.

Wadjda (2012) By Haifaa al-Mansour

Wadjda is a 10-year-old girl living in Saudi Arabia. She passes by a store every day and dreams of owning a green bicycle. As a girl, she is not allowed to ride bicycles as her mother refuses to buy her one.

Microphone (2010) Directed By  Ahmad Abdalla

Another Egyptian masterpiece admired by the millennials in Egypt. It sheds light on the independent art scene in Egypt, specifically in Alexandria. Khaled who returns to Alexandria after years of travel he discovers that it is too late to rekindle a relationship with his old love, at the same time he is exposed to groups of independent artists, including rappers, graffiti artists, and other musicians. The film is set at the backdrop of wintry Alexandria, windy, stormy, yet warm and nostalgic.

There is a breadth of Arab films that can fit in the cozy season of winter, varying from classic noirs to modern films that are likely to appeal to the Middle Eastern viewer in terms of relevance, and to the foreigner in terms of exposure to a different culture, and other times strangely intimate and familiar.

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