Ramzi Salti's Arabology

Legendary ballroom dancing champion Pierre Dulaine, who stars in the critically acclaimed documentary Dancing in Jaffa documentary (where he brought Arab and Jewish children together through his dancing method) will be at Stanford on May 29, 2015 for two events:  A talk at noon in 30-102 and a 7 pm screening of his film + Q&A with Mr. Dulaine himself in 260-113. See details below. Co-Sponsored by the Center for Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, The Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies, Taube Center for Jewish Studies, The Arab Film Festival, Stanford Language Center, Division of Literatures Cultures and Languages, Department of Comparative Literature, The Department of Theater & Performance Studies (TAPS), ITALIC, Arab Students Association at Stanford, Hillel, Jewish Student Association and a generous artsCatalyst grant by the Stanford Arts Institute. Lunch event with Pierre Dulaine at the Language Center Building 30-102 at 1-2 pm: Talk by ballroom danci

Sin Visa is an independent, poignant film that broaches the topic of immigration in a powerful, thoughtful and unique way.  At a time when immigrants seem to be systematically portrayed en masse by so many media outlets, this film succeeds in humanizing the immigrant experience by reminding us all of the individuality and uniqueness of every immigrant that has ever crossed the border. Sensitively written, in Spanish, by Bassam Kassab, this 81-minute drama takes us upon the often horrifying journey of Marco, a 17-year old Mexican who crosses the border in search of work, security, and a better life.  What he finds instead is that the road ahead is filled with treachery, exploitation, and a total lack of humanity. This is not to say that this film does not offer hope, for the script does introduce us to characters that actually help Marco in overcoming various obstacles while adjusting to his new life.  These multi-ethnic characters serve to underline the need for various immig

https://soundcloud.com/arabology/arabology99 Arabology 9.9 aired on March 31, 2015 and included and interview with Bassam Kassab (who spoke about his film Sin Visa) as well as with 2 Arab women photographers whose work is currently exhibited at the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford: Rania Matar and Tanya Habjouka. The show also premiered a new song by Mike Massy titled 'Ya Immi' as well as Mashrou' Leila's new track called '3 Minutes.'  Other featured singers included Oum (Morocco), Macadi Nahhas (Jordan), Haifa Kamal (Jordan), Maya Waked (Lebanon/Canada), +Aziz (Kuwait), Rim Banna (Palestine), Zein Aljundi (Syria) and Aswat: the Bay Area Arabic Music Ensemble. Listen to the podcast below or at  https://soundcloud.com/arabology/arabology99