Amira
Mohamed Diab - Egypt, Jordan, UAE, Saudi Arabia - 98 mins
Many Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails have no hope of release. For their families, reprieve comes in snatched minutes together separated by glass. Teenage Amira (Tara Abboud) has only known her father in this way; she was conceived with sperm smuggled out of the prison. She is proud to be a "daughter of a hero," and her freedom-fighter father, ... more
Beirut: Eye of the Storm
Mai Masri - Lebanon, France - 75 mins
What if they gave a revolution and Covid came? Shortly after the October 2019 demonstrations in Beirut aimed at toppling Lebanon's corrupt government, the streets that had exploded with chanting and hope (followed by tear gas and gunfire) were eerily quiet. The pandemic put optimism in lockdown, and the country's economy was in freefall. Four female journalist-artists ... more
Casablanca Beats
Nabil Ayouch - Morocco, France - 101 mins
When first-time teacher Anas arrives at a Sidi Moumen district cultural center, his lecture on hip-hop's roots—from Tunisia to the United States to Morocco—falls on eager ears. Sidi Moumen is basically Casablanca's Bronx, and Anas's teenage students—scrappy or shy, opinionated or open—have all written their earnest raps before class ... more
Costa Brava, Lebanon
Mounia Akl - Lebanon, France, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Qatar - 107 mins
In the forested hills above Beirut, the Badri family escape the city's physical and mental toxins by living—quite well, it must be said—off the grid. Walid (Saleh Bakri) and Soraya (Nadine Labaki), a writer and singer respectively, traded their dreams of changing the world for this personal resistance. (Their youngest child, little Rim, still talks ... more
Peace by Chocolate
Jonathan Keijser - Canada - 96 mins
Based on the inspiring true story of a Syrian refugee family who fled their war-torn homeland to find hope in the freezing snow of small-town Canada, this light-hearted yet serious film could not be more timely. After his father's chocolate factory is blown up, aspiring med student Tareq (Ayham Abou Ammar) gets a visa to escape to Canada. Although his English ... more
You Resemble Me
Dina Amer - France, Egypt, USA - 91 mins
Moroccan-French sisters Hasna and Mariam are sent to different foster homes. When Hasna (Lorenza Grimaudo) runs away, she becomes a child of the streets and then later a street-smart young woman (Mouna Soualem). Ever in search of a family, Hasna is fatally pulled in by a jihadist cousin's promises. Hasna Aït Boulahcen was believed to be Europe's first female ... more
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