Steppin' Out
Story
In the film 'Making Of,' Bahta, played by Lofti Abdelli, is a young break dancer who falls prey to fundamentalists in Tunisia. The film will be featured in the Arab Film Festival, which starts Oct. 18.
Complexities of Arab world showcased in film festival
By Tiffany Carney
On an average night at the movies, an Arab film might be hard to find in the Bay Area, but that will not be the case in October.
The Arab Film Festival, starting Oct. 18, showcases independent Arab filmmakers with screenings in Berkeley, San Francisco, San Jose and Los Angeles. The films showcase and explore complex social, political and personal issues of the Arab world.
Dina Saba organized the festival in 1996, with screenings in San Jose and San Francisco. The San Jose native is still involved and serves as vice president of the Arab Film Festival board of directors.
Initially, the festival was intended as a single-day event with five films, Saba says. The event has since expanded to four California cities and showcases more than 80 films.
Throughout the two-week festival, 22 films will be shown at Camera 12 Cinemas, 201 S. Second St. in San Jose, on Oct. 20, 26 and 27.
The nonprofit Arab Women's Solidarity Association has sponsored the event from its inception. The festival was organized and created by volunteers of both genders and various ethnic backgrounds, Saba says.
The festival shows films in three different categories: documentaries, feature films and short films.
Films shown must be requested by the organizers or submitted and reviewed. In order to meet the criteria for the event, a film must be created by an Arab filmmaker or contain issues related to the Arab world.
While a few films to be shown are in English, others have subtitles.
"We create the program with the American audience in mind," says Sonia El-Feki, artistic director for the festival. "There are a lot of films that deal with the youth of the Arab world."
Making Of, created in Tunisia in 2006, will kick off the festival on opening night, Oct. 18, 7 p.m. at the Clay Theatre in San Francisco. Making Of will also show at Camera 12 in San Jose on Oct. 20, 9:45 p.m.
The film, directed by Nouri Bouzid, features a struggling young break dancer who falls prey to a ring of fundamentalists in Tunisia.
"We go to great lengths to ship the films here and invite the filmmakers," says El-Feki, adding that some films are not available on DVD and must be shown from 3-millimeter film.
Cut & Paste is an Egyptian film written and directed by Hala Khalil. The romantic comedy won Best Arabic Film at the 2006 Cairo International Film Festival and is making its U.S. debut at the Arab Film Festival.
"We are very proud to show this film," El-Feki says.
The Cut & Paste screening is scheduled for Oct. 27, 7:30 p.m. at Camera 12 in San Jose.
The film marks the journey of Gameela, a young Egyptian woman whose dream is to immigrate to New Zealand. Khalil exploits the humor of a marriage of convenience as it grows into something more.
El-Feki says the festival is a one-of-a-kind experience featuring films that are not readily available to the public.
Single-show tickets are available for $10, or $8 for students and seniors. All access tickets for the San Jose and San Francisco screenings are available for $120. For more information, the film schedule or to purchase tickets, visit www.aff.org.
