São Paulo – The Arab and Islamic Culture Festival should grant the public an opportunity to see films about the East for free, starting on March 29th, and it should include a movie about recent social and political movements in the region. The festival is scheduled to take place at Associação Cecília, in the central region of the city of São Paulo, and will include films from Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Turkey, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, China and Yemen, as well as debates about matters connected to cinema and to the region.
The highlight of the festival is documentary “Road to 25 January”, in which director Rawan Damen shows how Egypt trailed the route to the revolution that ousted former president Hosni Mubarak. “It shows the preparation and attraction through Facebook and other social networks, paving the route to January 25,” stated journalist Marcia Camargos, one of the curators of the event. She recalls that another forerunner of the revolution was the protest, via Facebook, due to the death of Khaled Said, tortured and murdered by policemen in Egypt in 2010.
Camargos, who has a post-doctorate in History from the University of São Paulo (USP) and 22 books published, is responsible for the festival, alongside Arlene Clemesha, an Art History professor at USP, director of the Arab Studies Centre at the same university and author of books and articles on contemporary Arab history. They have both already curated other exhibitions and events about Arab and Islamic culture.
“We aim to foster knowledge and reduce the bias there is regarding the Middle East. Yemen is different from Saudi Arabia, which has nothing to do with Egypt, although they are all in the same region and share Arabic and religion,” she said, explaining the cultural diversity of the region.
Other films speak about the daily life in the Arab and Islamic world. “Ask the Wind” deals with feminism in Iran, “Al Nakba I and II” deals with British colonisation of Palestine, “The Owners of the Homeland” is about the Palestinians who have Israeli passports, “A Flood in Baath Country” tells the story of the 35 years of government of the Syrian Baath party, “A Plate of Sardines – Omar Amiralay”, tells the directors story and his thoughts on Arab questions.
The festival also includes “All restrictions end”, which connects the history of garments to Iran, “Behind the Wheel of Life” tells the story of how a single mother lives in Tehran, “Second voice” covers the prohibition of female singing in Iran, “Countdown” tells the story of the daily life of an Iranian youth up to college, “The Afghan Bride” tells the story of an Iranian trying to recover his love, “On a Tightrope” tells the story of the Uyghur minority in China, “The Gift Maker” tells the story of a bomb producer in Yemen, among others.
The debates will be about Iranian society and cinema, on March 31st, at 4:00 pm, and about the Muslim Brotherhood, on Sunday, April 1st, at 4:00 pm. The festival has the support of the São Paulo State Cultural Secretariat and will take place at Associação Cecília up to April 1st. Associação Cecília, is a non-governmental organisation and should attract a new kind of audience to the festival, according to Camargos, including residents of Santa Cecília and people who go to the association.
*Translated by Mark Ament
