São Paulo – The 16th Arab World Film Festival at Home will promote virtual debates with Arab directors. The meetings will be broadcasted live on Brazil’s Arab Culture Institute (ICArabe) YouTube channel. The festival is organized by ICArabe, co-organized by the Brazilian Social Service for Commerce (SESC) of the state of São Paulo, and sponsored by the Arab House, the cultural center of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC). Pictured above, Iraqi diaspora director Samir Jamal Aldin.
The first roundtable will be this Friday (27) and will discuss the films “200 Meters” and “Screwdriver” (“Mafak”). The works have never been released before in Brazil and will be screened at the exhibition. Ameen Nayfeh, the Palestinian director of “200 Meters,” and Shrihari Sathe, the Indian producer of “Screwdriver,” will participate.
In addition to the filmmakers, the meeting will also have the participation of Maria Aparecida Aquino, historian and head professor at the University of São Paulo (USP), and moderation by journalist Diogo Bercito.
The second debate will occur on September 1, at 5:00 pm BRT, discussing the feature “We are from there” and the short film “In Memoriam.” On the occasion, the guests will be Wissam Tanios, Lebanese director of the first work, and Otávio Cury, the Brazilian filmmaker of the short. Also in the event will be Murilo Meihy, a historian from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), and Soraya Smaili, creator of the Arab World Film Festival, who will moderate.
The last meeting will be on September 3, at 7:00 pm BRT. The roundtable will discuss the film “Baghdad in My Shadow,” featuring Samir Jamal Aldin, the film’s director, born in the Iraqi diaspora in Switzerland, and Muna Omran, culturalist and playwright, with moderation by journalist José Arbex.
The festival’s online screenings started on August 20 and will run until September 16, 2021. Each week the organization makes available a new work to be watched for free.
Quick facts:
Round tables of the 16th Arab World Film Festival
August 27, September 1, and 3
On ICArabe’s YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxjQDWkGf74
Film screenings
From August 20 to September 2
Festival’s website: mundoarabe2021.icarabe.org
From August 20 to September 16
SESC’s Digital Platform: sescsp.org.br/cinemaemcasa
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
