S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 The 7th Arab World Film Festival (Mostra Mundo \u00c1rabe de Cinema), due from June 25th to July 10th in S\u00e3o Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, will bring to Brazil a selection of films from :Mapping Subjectivity: Experimentation in Arab Cinema from the 1960s to Now<\/i>, currently showing at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) in New York. <\/p>\n
This year, the Brazilian event promoted by the Institute of Arab Culture (Icarabe) will be curated by the Lebanese Rasha Salti. In addition to having co-curated the MoMa exhibition, Salti was formerly a programmer and creative director for ArtEast, a New York-based organization that helps Middle Eastern and North African contemporary artists to promote their work around the world. <\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018Mapping Subjectivity\u2019 is a three-year program featuring historical art films that represent different strains of Arab cinema. There are documentaries and fiction films, the newest of which date from 2011,\u201d says Soraya Smaili, Icarabe director and the cultural director and producer of the Arab World festival in Brazil.<\/p>\n
In New York, the festival is in its third year. In 2012, Icarabe will present the productions from the first two years of the event. \u201cBrazil will be the first country to receive the show\u2019s travelling exhibition,\u201d says Smaili. She says the festival will feature films made in several Arab countries, such as Morocco, Palestine, Algeria, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, etc. <\/p>\n
\u201cThus we will break the paradigm that (Arab) cinema means Egyptian cinema. The Arab world has a moviemaking tradition, and that doesn\u2019t just mean Egypt. Arab cinema has evolved a lot,\u201d she says. Of the non-Egyptian directors, she highlights Ahmed Bouanani and Ali Essafi, from Morocco, and Mohamad Soueid, from Lebanon. <\/p>\n
Soueid\u2019s \u2018Tango of Yearning\u2019 and \u2018My Heart Beats Only for Her\u2019 will be shown in Brazil. \u2018Wanted\u2019 and \u2018Ouarzazate, the Movie,\u2019 by Essafi, will be featured. Both directors will travel to Brazil to engage in debates with the audience. The Palestinian short film \u2018The Shooter,\u2019 by Ihab Jadallah, and the Egyptian \u2018Domestic Tourism II,\u2019 by Maha Maamoun, will be highlights of the Brazilian festival.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to promote a seminar with the guests in order to discuss what it\u2019s like to live in those countries. That will help to bring us closer, to talk, and do away with stereotypes,\u201d says the Icarabe director. \u201cBut still we are only reaching a share [of the audience]. That’s why we’re expanding the festival to include other cities. Last year we did it in Bras\u00edlia and this year we are going to Rio,\u201d she explains. The event will feature seven guest directors who will present their work and attend meetings with the audience.<\/p>\n
A show that informs <\/b><\/p>\n
According to Smaili, throughout the years, the Brazilian show is gaining space and helping to show the audience what is the Arab world and culture. \u201cThe show is increasing in consistence and size. Last year we had space in TV shows, newspapers and magazines. We gradually devised a set of actions that have expanded, and that is reflected in the attendance.\u201d In 2011, the event attracted approximately 5,000 people. <\/p>\n
The events of the Arab Spring also contributed to spark the interest of Brazilians in Arab cinema. \u201cWe had full capacity at all times,\u201d says the director. The revolutions in the Arab countries are the theme of five 2011 productions included in the show.<\/p>\n
Brazil will also be addressed by the event\u2019s productions. The film \u2018Constantino,\u2019 by Ot\u00e1vio Cury, has never been shown, and will premiere at the festival. It tells the story of the director\u2019s trip to Syria, his great-grandfather\u2019s native country, which he visited for the first time in 2001.<\/p>\n
Another sign of the success of Arab cinema in Brazil is the proposal for the event to become permanent in S\u00e3o Paulo. \u201cRepresentative Jamil Murad has submitted a bill to the chamber of representatives so the festival may become a part of the city\u2019s official schedule,\u201d says Smaili.<\/p>\n
The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce <\/b> will co-produce this year\u2019s event. \u201cThis year, we are coming in strong in the cultural area to mark the Chamber\u2019s 60th anniversary. We will promote a host of events including cinema, theatre, dancing and cuisine to celebrate the date alongside the Arab and Brazilian communities,\u201d says Karina Cassapula, the Marketing coordinator.<\/p>\n
After being featured in S\u00e3o Paulo and Rio, some films in the festival will also go to Porto Alegre and Belo Horizonte. In S\u00e3o Paulo, the festival will take place at Cinemateca (free of charge), CineSESC and Cine Olido (price: 1 real). In Rio de Janeiro, the films will be screened at Instituto Moreira Salles (free of charge). The full program is yet to be defined, and will be available at www.icarabe.org.br.<\/p>\n
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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