São Paulo – Movies produced by Jordan, Qatar, Algeria, Egypt and Iraq are being shown at the Rio Festival, an event to take place up to October 10, in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Works from other countries, like the United States, Israel and France also cover the Arab theme in their stories.<\/p>\n
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May in the Summer,<\/em> a joint production by Jordan, Qatar and the United States, tells the story of a North American author called May, of Jordanian roots, who decides to spend the summer with her family in Jordan amidst preparation for her wedding. On seeing the resistance of her parents to her wedding and watching their divorce, she starts reviewing her own life.<\/p>\n French and Algerian film Yema<\/em> tells the story of Ouardia, a woman who suffers through life in a small abandoned house in the countryside in Algeria. After burying her son, Tarik, murdered by radicals, she starts considering the possibility that her other son, Ali, may have been responsible for his brother’s death.<\/p>\n In my mother’s arms,<\/em> a documentary from Iraq, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, shows that hardships of orphaned Iraqi children, who total almost one million. In Al-Sadr City, one of the most violent neighbourhoods of Baghdad, Husham houses 32 children in a small orphanage with only two rooms. Facing eviction, Husham seeks a solution for the housing of the children, while having to deal with the personal problems of each of the children.<\/p>\n The Square,<\/em> a production from Egypt and the United States, shows the stories of characters who participated in the movement that resulted in the ousting of presidents Hosni Mubarak and Mohamed Mursi in the country in North Africa. The film received the audience award at Sundance Film Festival (in the United States) and was named best documentary at the 2013 Toronto Festival (Canada).<\/p>\n Good Garbage,<\/em> an Israeli movie, shows the fight for survival of Palestinian families who live near a garbage dump at Mount Hebron and the difficult reality they live under the Israeli occupation. In French and Israeli production Rock the Casbah, a group of soldiers from Israel set up offices on the terrace of a Palestinian family seeking the culprit for the death of one of their friends during the first intifada, in 1989.<\/p>\n The Festival in Rio should take place in several movie rooms in the city and the tickets range from free to R$ 20. The full programme of the event is available at www.festivaldorio.com.br.<\/p>\n *Translated by Mark Ament<\/strong><\/p>\n