São Paulo – Cultural foundation Badesc, based in Florianópolis, is hosting the Arab Film Festival, which opens this Tuesday (25th) and will continue until Friday (28th), always at 7:00 pm. The event features four films in Morocco, Palestine, Lebanon and Egypt. The event will be opened by Fawzi El-Mashi, who was the Palestinian ambassador in Mexico for 15 years.
“I have noticed people in Brazil have limited awareness of what the Arab culture is, they have stereotypes and prejudice,” says Fedra Rodríguez, the festival’s coordinator, regarding her initiative of organizing the event. Rodríguez is pursuing a PhD in Arabic Literature at the Federal University of Santa Catarina.
The festival will open with Five Broken Cameras, a documentary depicting the peaceful resistance of Palestinians against the Israeli occupation in the village of Bil’in. The production won the Emmy Award for Best Documentary in 2013.
Rodríguez explains that the films have been selected based on their having been made at different times, and in different countries. “The film selection was designed to provide an overview of Arab culture at two different moments in time, and covering different countries within the Arab League.”
The second film is La nuit sacrée. The Moroccan fiction film tells the story of a father to seven daughters who is convinced his family is cursed, because he does not have a son.
The Lebanese-made Once Upon a Time in Beirut, by Jocelyn Saab, tells the story of two women, Yasmine and Leila, who are driven to desperation by the destruction of Beirut, and set out on a quest for their own pasts. “The film’s director herself sent it to us,” says Rodríguez.
The festival closes with a screening of the Egyptian film Cairo 678, telling parallel stories of three women struggling with social pressure in the country. “We can begin promoting Arab culture in a prejudice-free way through Florianópolis,” says the event’s coordinator.
Service
Arab Film Festival
March 25th to 28th
Fundação Cultural Badesc
Rua Visconde de Ouro Preto, 216, Centro – Florianópolis – Santa Catarina
All screenings will take place at 7:00 pm. One film will be shown each evening, in the following sequence: Five Broken Cameras, La nuit sacrée, Once Upon a Time in Beirut, and Cairo 678.
The theatre has 45 seats on a first-come, first-serve basis. Attendees are advised to arrive earlier in order to collect their tickets.
Admittance is free
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
