São Paulo – The 46th São Paulo International Film Festival started on Thursday (20), this year in a mostly in-person format. Over two weeks, 223 titles from 60 countries will be screened in movie theaters and outdoor cinemas in São Paulo. Ten titles can be seen on the SESC Digital platform and seven on Spcine Play, with free access. The festival runs until November 2.
Out of more than two hundred films, five feature Arab themes. Other three are co-productions with Qatar, an Arab country that has become a major investor in international productions. The festival is divided into International Perspective, New Directors Competition, and Mostra Brasil.
The titles featuring Arab themes are Tunisia’s Harka, Syria’s Nezouh, Sudan’s The Dam, Palestine’s Mediterranean Fever, and Sonne by an Iraqi director. Pictured above, a still from Nezouh.
Co-productions that involve Qatar are Japan’s Plan 75 (Japan, France, Philippines, Qatar), Costa Rica’s Sunday and the Fog (Costa Rica, Qatar), and Iran’s Until Tomorrow (Iran, France, Qatar). See You Friday, Robinson (France, Switzerland, Iran, Lebanon) is another Iranian title co-produced with an Arab country, Lebanon.
See below the information and synopsis of the Arab titles and some of the trailers. The full program is available on the festival website.
– Nezouh (United Kingdom, Syria, France, Qatar; 2022; Fiction; 103 min.) Directed by Syria’s Soudade Kaadan. International Perspective.
The film takes place during the Syrian conflict, when a missile destroys the ceiling of the house of 14-year-old Zeina. As a result, she sleeps for the first time under the stars and makes friends with Amer, the boy next door. When the violence escalates, Zeina’s mother, Hala, decides to leave. She puts up a fight with her husband, Motaz, who refuses to become a refugee and tries everything to stop his family from leaving their house.
Winner of two awards at Venice International Film Festival.
– The Dam (France, Sudan, Lebanon, Germany, Serbia; 2022; Fiction; 80 Min.) Directed by Lebanon’s Ali Cherri. New Directors Competition.
Sudan, near the Merowe dam. Maher works in a traditional brickyard fed by the waters of the Nile. Every evening, he secretly wanders off into the desert to build a mysterious construction made of mud. While the Sudanese people rise to claim their freedom, his creation starts to take a life of its own.
– Harka (France, Luxemburg, Tunisia, Belgium; 2022; Fiction; 90 min.) Directed by Egyptian American Lotfy Nathan. New Directors Competition.
A modern day parable about resistance, the film centers on the story of Ali, a young Tunisian who dreams of a better life, making a precarious living selling contraband gas at the local black market. When his father suddenly dies, he’s forced to take charge of his two younger sisters and their impending eviction. What ensues is a fight for dignity. The voice of a generation trying to be heard.
– Mediterranean Fever (Palestine, Germany, France, Chipre, Qatar; 2022; Fiction; 108 min.) Palestine’s Maha Haj. New Directors Competition.
Waleed is a 40-year-old who lives in Haifa with his wife and children and dreams of a writing career while suffering from chronic depression. He develops a close relationship with his neighbor (a small-time crook) with an ulterior plot in mind. While the scheme turns into an unexpected friendship between the two men, it leads them into a journey of dark encounters. Winner of the Best Screenplay Prize at Cannes Film Festival 2022 – Un certain Regard.
– Sonne (Austria, 2022, Fiction, 88 min.) Directed by Iraq’s Kurdwin Ayub. New Directors Competition.
Three teenage girls from Vienna twerk in hijab and sing a pop song. A YouTube video of it makes them famous overnight, especially among Kurdish Muslims. Yesmin, the only one of the friends who is Kurdish herself, begins to distance herself more and more from her culture. Nati and Bella, on the other hand, seem fascinated by a world that is strange to them. When the girls meet two young Kurdish patriots, the situation threatens to escalate. A film about young people caught between social media and self-discovery, a story of rebellious young women. Berlin Film Festival 2022 – Encounters Competition (GWFF Best First Feature Award).
The Kurdish people are an ethnic group that believes itself to be native from a Middle Eastern region that spans part of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. The Kurdish population is estimated to be around 25 million.
Sonne will also be available for screening on the Spcine Play platform from October 20 to November 2 (or until it reaches the limit of 800 views).
Quick facts
46th São Paulo International Film Festival
October 20 to November 2
Full program on the website
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
