Arab Film Festival Screens 2 Films at Stanford

The Arab Film Festival came to Stanford University for the first time on November 2, 2013 and screened two new amazing films that have received much critical acclaim this year: When Monaliza Smiled (Directed by Fadi Haddad) at 6 PM and Mars at Sunrise (Directed by Jessica Habie who was in attendance and participated in a discussion afterwards) at 8 PM. The films screened at Annenberg Auditorium (Cummings Art Building) and were free of charge.

The event was sponsored by the Department of Comparative Literature and the Stanford Language Center, Stanford University.  With special thanks to Professor Alexander Key for making this event possible.

Stanford Lecturer Dr. Ramzi Salti welcomes The Arab Film Festival to Stanford
(http://youtu.be/BhebiE6Yq-4)

Pictures from the event:

Dr. Ramzi Salti's opening remarks

Q & A session with Director Jessica Habie

DATE:  Saturday November 2, 2013 at 6 pm and 8 pm

LOCATION: Annenberg Auditorium, Crothers Way, Stanford University

PROGRAM

6:00 PM
When Monaliza Smiled, by Fadi Nader Haddad
Trailer at http://youtu.be/G-L8mQI1xVg


8:00 PM
Mars at Sunrise, by Jessica Habbie (plus Q&A with Director)
Trailer at http://vimeo.com/71063478


SYNOPSIS OF FILMS:

1) WHEN MONALIZA SMILED: Monaliza, a 37-year-old Jordanian woman unable to draw a smile, grew up with her grumpy, older, unmarried, agoraphobic sister, Afaf. After a 10 years wait, Monaliza finally gets a job in an archaic government department where she meets Hamdi, the jolly Egyptian tea guy. On her journey of transformation, Monaliza is confronted by a community of nosy and quirky stereotypes from the heart of the colorful city, Amman. (Free screening on Nov 2 at 6 pm)



2) MARS AT SUNRISE: A painter’s resistance, courage and spirit can never be imprisoned in this highly stylized story of the conflict of two frustrated artists on either side of Israel’s militarized borders. Inspired by the creative journey of renowned Palestinian artist in exile Hani Zurob and on true stories and testimonies from the region, we witness expression, confinement, torture, jealousy, courage and freedom as both artists from each culture strive to paint a picture of life surrounded by conflict. (Free screening on Nov 2 at 8 pm)

Mars at Sunrise Trailer HD from Mars At Sunrise on Vimeo.
The Festival for the Schools is a year-round series of special, FREE events for students and educators. It presents windows on the world that move students beyond the practice of learning about the Arab World. Instead, the films featured connect students to characters and situations that they can relate to and that help them to begin to learn from within the Arab World through the eyes and ears of cutting-edge contemporary filmmakers.

For Event Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/222653364568185/
Arab Film Festival Schedule: http://aff2013.arabfilmfestival.org/events/festival-for-the-schools-stanford-university/

Naima Shalhoub Guests on 'Arabology' (Oct 24, 2013)

Podcast at https://soundcloud.com/arabology/arabology-s6-episode-4

The Oct 24, 2013 episode of 'Arabology' includes a live interview with Lebanese American soul singer Naima Grace Shalhoub who discusses her hit 'Herstory of Soul' and sings, live, her amazing version of the Arabic classic 'Adduka Al-Mayyas.' (video at youtu.be/ZAiDaoQ1arA). Show also features music by Mashrou' Leila, Rima Khcheich, NO Blues, Dalida (Remix), Yolla Khalife and humorous tracks by Michelle Keserwany and Rania Kurdi.   also includes ticket giveaway to the Aswat tribute concert to Abdul Halim Hafez at San Mateo City College on Dec 7, 2013.

Show also features music by Mashrou' Leila, Rima Khcheich, NO Blues, Dalida (Remix), Yolla Khalife and humorous tracks by Michelle Keserwany and Rania Kurdi.   also includes ticket giveaway to the Aswat tribute concert to Abdul Halim Hafez at San Mateo City College on Dec 7, 2013.

Naima Shalhoub singing 'Qadduka Al-Mayyas' at KZSU 90.1 FM: http://youtu.be/ZAiDaoQ1arA

Naima Shalhoub Singing "Herstory of Soul" (Official Clip): http://youtu.be/upFKlL3_egY

DJ Ramzi with Naima Shalhoub at KZSU 90.1 FM, 2013

In the Studio with Yasmine Hamdan

Watching Yasmine Hamdan in the recording studio is an amazing experience.  Only here can you actually see and hear some of what she experiences while recording.  Paradoxically aloof yet emotionally devastated, Yasmine's technique, gestures, and voice acrobatics are that of true artist.  This may be a long way from her debut with the forever-hip, groundbreaking Lebanese duo 'Soapkills' but it is a phenomenal way to showcase Yamsine Hamdan's solo career as well as her latest album 'Ya Nass.'

Yasmine Hamdan Sings 'Beyrouth'
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x15ty7b_en-studio-avec-yasmine-hamdan-1-2-beyrouth_music

En studio avec Yasmine Hamdan 1/2 : Beyrouth by telerama

Yasmine Hamdan Sings 'Shouei'
http://youtu.be/Motkt9k77bQ

Yasmine Hamdan Sings 'Nedya'
(http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x15tyln_en-studio-avec-yasmine-hamdan-2-2-nediya_music)

En studio avec Yasmine Hamdan 2/2 : Nediya by telerama

A Focus on Egypt and Turkey [Oct 17 Stanford Event}

THE MEDITERRANEAN STUDIES FORUM at Stanford presents Summer of 2013: A Focus on Egypt and Turkey.

Amr Adly (Stanford University), “Egypt after June 30th: Between Abortive and Potential Fascism”
Ayça Alemdaroğlu (Stanford University), “Youth and Politics in Turkey”
Alexander Key (Stanford), “Should It Matter What We Call It? Islamic, Democratic, and Spring Politics”
Kabir Tambar (Stanford University), “Popular Protest and the Politics of the Present in Turkey”

Monday, October 21, 2013, 6:30 – 8:00 pm at Encina Hall, Bechtel Conference Center . It is free and open to the public.

[Co-sponsored by the Sohaib and Sara Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies, the CDDRL Program on Arab Reform and Democracy, and the Stanford Humanities Center Workshop on Ethnic Minorities, Religious Communities, Rights and Democracy in the Modern Middle East and Central Asia]

My Interview with Moumen Smihi + Peter Limbrick

With Moumen Smihi (top pic) and Peter Limbrick, Stanford 2013

Click on the arrow below to hear my interview with Moroccan Filmmaker Moumen Smihi and Professor Peter Limbrick, Associate Professor, Film and Digital Media, UCSC.  The interview was conducted on October 17, 2013 at Stanford University.

Moumen Smihi is a critically celebrated Moroccan filmmaker whose career spans more than four decades, during which he has written, produced and directed award-winning and influential feature films, short films and documentaries. He is often credited for creating  "new Arab cinema."   His production company, IMAGO Film International, founded in 1979, has produced some twenty films and edited books on film theory.

Peter Limbrick is Associate Professor of Film and Digital Media. He is the author of Making Settler Cinemas: Film and Colonial Encounters in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand(Palgrave 2010) and of articles in Third Text, Screening the Past, Camera Obscura, and Journal of Visual Culture as well as edited anthologies.

Professor Limbrick is currently heading a 2-day Symposium at UC Santa Cruz (Oct 25-26, 2013) titled
Unfixed Itineraries:: Film and Visual Culture from Arab Worlds.  For the full schedule of events, see their Program page and  Events.  See also my blog entry.

Pictures from Moumin Smihi + Peter Limbrick's visit to Stanford:

Peter Limbrick (far left) and Moumin Smihi (4th from right) with Stanford scholars and students

Moumen Smihi speaking with Stanford faculty and students

Moumin Smihis's Filmography:.

• The Unlucky Man [Si Moh, pas de chance] (1971)
• El Chergui, (The Eastwind) (1976)
• The Tales of the Night اسطورة الليل (1982
• The Big Mirror (1987)
• The Lady from Cairo (1991)
• Defending Egyptian Cinema (1990)
• With Matisse in Tangiers (1993)
• Moroccan Chronicles (1999)
• A Muslim Childhood (2005)
• Of Virgins and Swallows (2008) العذارى والسنونو
• Tanjaoui (2013)

Unfixed Itineraries: Film and Visual Culture from Arab Worlds (UC Santa Cruz)

October 25 – 26, 2013, Digital Arts Research Center (DARC), UC Santa Cruz
For more information see: http://unfixed.ucsc.edu

A two-day symposium of scholars and artists at UCSC's DARC, and an exhibition of visual art at UCSC's Sesnon Gallery

This symposium on Arab film and visual culture emphasizes its plurality, the complex itineraries by which it is produced, and the multiple trajectories through which it can be experienced. Artists and scholars will visit from Lebanon, Morocco, Egypt, Syria, Europe and the US. Work presented will cover a wide area of forms, styles and thematic concerns. Featuring participation and work by:

Livia Alexander • Michael Allan • Ahmed Bouanani • Dore Bowen • Ali Cherri • Kay Dickinson • Tarek El-Ariss • Nouri Gana • John Greyson • Lamia Joreige • Hassan Khan • Marie El Khazen • Sunaina Maira • Nabil Maleh • Susette Min • Stefania Pandolfo • Larissa Sansour • Zineb Sedira • Jeffrey Skoller
With special guest: Moumen Smihi

Symposium screenings, panels and presentations will address topics such as: Movement and Extra-territoriality; Itineraries of Intertextuality; Past, Present and Future Itineraries; Narrative and non-Narrative Itineraries; Archives, Images, Memory.

Unfixed Itineraries Exhibition:
Mary Porter Sesnon Art Gallery
October 25 – December 10
Work by Hassan Khan, Zineb Sedira, Marie El Khazen
Reception October 25, 5 – 7pm
http://arts.ucsc.edu/sesnon

Related series:
Moumen Smihi, Poet of Tangier (Moroccan Director who guests on Arabology 10/17/13)
Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley
October 10 – 27
http://bampfa.berkeley.edu/filmseries/smihi

Organizers:
Peter Limbrick Associate Professor, Film and Digital Media, UCSC (Guests on Arabology 10/17/13)
Omnia El Shakry Associate Professor, History, UC Davis

UCSC Steering Committee:
Shelby Graham, Director/Curator, Mary Porter Sesnon Art Gallery
Soraya Murray, Assistant Professor, Film and Digital Media
Irene Lusztig, Assistant Professor, Film and Digital Media
Neda Atanasoski, Associate Professor, Feminist Studies
Jennifer Derr, Assistant Professor, History

Sponsors
The organizers wish to thank Porter College, the Arts Dean's Fund for Excellence, the Department of Feminist Studies, the UC Davis Division of Social Science, the UC Davis Institute for Social Sciences, and the other institutions listed below for their generous support of this event.

Oct 10 Arabology Podcast Spotlights Arab Film Festival

The 2nd episode of the 6th season of Arabology (aired Oct 10, 2013) includes music by Massar Egbari, Ziad Sahab & Yasmina Fayed, NO Blues, Salam, Mashrou' Leila, Breaking the Boundaries and Abdulrahman Mohammed, Yolla Khalife, Tania Saleh, Adel Salameh, May Nasr, Jadal.
Episode also includes interview with Serge Bakalian, Executive Director of the Arab Film Festival and Director Jessica Habie whose film 'Mars at Sunrise' will screen at the Arab Film Festival in San Francisco on Oct 12, 2013.

Playlist at zookeeper.stanford.edu/index.php?act…laylist=26694

Serge Bakalian and Director Jessica Habie at KZSU 90.1 FM