São Paulo – This week, a cinema exhibit that should bring Arab directors to Brazil. The 3rd Images of the East Cinema Exhibit should take place in São Paulo, between the 28th of May and June 7th, and should include the presence movie makers Montaser Marai, from Kuwait, and Rawan Damen, from Palestine. They both directed documentaries and are going to participate in debates during the exhibitions, promoted by the Institute of Arab Culture (Icarabe).
Marai was born in Kuwait and is graduated in Sociology by the University of Jordan. He is the producer of channel Al-Jazeera Documentaries, in Doha, Qatar, and has already directed several films. Rawan has award-winning documentaries like The Bitter Peace and Al Nakba. She graduated in Media and Sociology from the University of Birzeit, in Palestine, and has a master’s in Communications from the University of Leeds, in the United Kingdom.
Rawan’s Al Nakba, which means "the catastrophe", should be shown. It is the fruit of a research in English archives of the period of British domination in Palestine, between 1922 and 1948. The film brings reflections of the Palestinians, English and Israeli about the period, little explored and known, and recalls the history of Palestine from 1799 to the end of British domination.
The director is going to speak to the audience after exhibition of the documentary, on May 29th and 30th, and on June 2nd. Movie Al Nakba and the others to be shown at the exhibition will be shown at CineSesc, Cine Olido and São Paulo Cultural Centre. In total, 23 films should be shown, among them long movies, mid length and short ones. Apart from the Arab ones, there are Iranian, Turkish and Kurdish movies related to the Muslim populations.
The opening of the exhibit is on the 28th, at 9:00 pm, with movie Salt of this Sea, by Annemarie Jacir, a Palestinian director at CineSesc. The production tells the story of a factory floor worker and her experiences on returning home. On the day of the opening there should also be a photography exhibition, "Spring in Kabul", by journalist Adriana Carranca, showing Afghanistan. The exhibit should be in the lobby of CineSesc.
Apart from Rawan and Marai, the debates should also include filmmaker Inka Stafrace, from Malta, and Massoud Bakhshi, from Iran. Alongside the Icarabe, the event is being promoted by the São Paulo Secretariat of Culture and the São Paulo Chapter of the Social Service for Commerce (Sesc-SP). At the São Paulo Cultural Centre, the films are free, at Cine Olido, admittance costs 0.50 Brazilian real (for students) and 1 real (others), and at CineSesc 2 reals (students), 4 reals (others) and 2 reals (for those registered at Sesc).
*Translated by Mark Ament
