Lincoln Center and Dubai International Film Fest Team Up for Orientation

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Tuesday, 31 July 2012 15:27

Written by Renzo Adler

Orientation: A New Arab Cinema (August 24 – 29, 2012) at the Film Society of Lincoln Center (165 West 65th Street) showcases Arab filmmakers telling stories of a world that has led to, and changed, since the Arab Spring. These are internationally minded filmmakers, many of whom have honed their craft abroad and look to shine new light on subjects where once others feared to tread.

Orientation is conducted in conjunction with the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), which was founded in 2004 to give Arab filmmakers an international platform to be seen.

These are films that approach characters in perpetual desperation. Some have to look to the camaraderie of other victims (Every Day is a Holiday), while others cannot trust their own family (The Rif Lover). Though it seems the greatest fear present in these films is the fear of society. Whether the main character’s own tumultuous and unpredictable home (Habibi, Cairo Exit) or foreign societies that mistrust and fear those that are simply looking for a better life (Amreeka).

Calling the tone of this festival “heavy” would be putting it quite mildly.

The festival also includes a panel discussion called Arab Filmmaking After the Arab Spring in which four directors whose work is featured in Orientation discuss how post-Arab Spring filmmakers and cinema approach the international and Arab world from a new perspective. The directors taking part in the panel are:

Narjiss Nejjar (The Rif Lover)
Susan Youssef (Habibi)
Ali F. Mostafa (City of Life)
Yahya Alabdullah (The Last Friday)

Society is constantly changing, but these are filmmakers that are witnessing and taking part in a radical and sharp change in society. Orientation is a film festival that embodies an era of great fear and trepidation leading to an era of upheaval.

To learn more, go to http://www.filmlinc.com

Orientation: A New Arab Cinema
August 24 – 29, 2012  

The Film Society of Lincoln Center
165 West 65th Street
New York, NY 10023

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