RACING ARAB CHICKS AND BOUNDARY BREAKERS HIT ARAB FILM FESTIVAL
The 12th annual Arab Film Festival Australia returns in 2015 boasting a melting pot of films from around the Arab world. The Festival will open in Sydney on Thursday 13 -16 August, Melbourne on Friday 21 - 23 August, and Canberra on Friday 28 - 30 August and will present six feature films and four short films.
From a small Lebanese coastal village, to the racetracks of Palestine, to the iconic backdrop of the Arabian dessert, the Festival gives audiences the best of contemporary Arab films. Whilst conflict and instability continue to be the dominant representation of the Arab world, the filmmakers are uncovering rich and rare stories and capturing them in unique ways.
“Arab filmmakers are reflecting exciting and sometimes volatile times, and through cinema they are making powerful statements, challenging stereotypes, and creating conversations about the future they dream for” says Festival Co-Director, Mouna Zaylah.“We’re proud to showcase the diversity of the region with films from Jordan, Iraq, UAE, Palestine, Egypt and Lebanon.
Festival Co-DirectorFadia Abboud is particularly looking forward to audience reactions to this year’s line-up. “In 2015 the Festival explores taboos from small towns to big cities: Arab chicks’ car racing in the West Bank; Arab boys taking a road-trip partying across borders and check-points. There’s a theme of pushing boundaries both physically and ideologically”.