Arab Film Festival

By Korea.net Honorary Reporters Esraa Elzeny and Salwa Elzeny

Photos = Korea-Arab Society

From June 1 to 7, Korea will host its sixth Arab Film Festival, which presents different kinds of Arabic films, such as black comedies and science fiction, in Seoul, the capital of Korea, in the city of Busan, the second largest city in the country, and in Gwangju city .

All the screenings are subtitled in Korean and English. Here you can find the location of screenings in each host city:

In Seoul at the Arthouse Momo 1 theater, June 1 to 7 

In Busan at the Busan Cinema Center Cinematheque , June 1 to June 7 

In Gwangju at the Asia Culture Center, June 2 to 4

The film festival is part of the Arab Cultural Festival, launched in 2008 in line with the establishment of the Korea-Arab Society. This year, the Arab Cultural Festival is celebrating its 10th anniversary. The festival, which will promote a diverse range of cultural events, including the Arab Film Festival and invitational "Arab cultural performances," is designed to help the Korean public learn about Arab culture and lay the foundation to forge closer friendships between Korea and Arab countries.

The 10th Arab Cultural Festival is organized by the Korea-Arab Society and sponsored by the Korean Ministry of Foreigner Affairs, the Korean Foundation, various diplomatic corps from Arab governments, the Busan International Film Festival and the Momo Art House. The official sponsor is also Etihad Airways. The goal of the festival is to provide a chance for people to enjoy the richness of Arabic culture.

The sixth Arab Film Festival will feature 12 films from 10 Arab countries and territories: Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Palestine, Qatar, Syria, Tunisia and the UAE. Both "Clash" by the Egyptian director Mohamed Diab and "The Worthy" by UAE director Ali Mustafa will be shown at the festival.

The participating films at the festival this year also include "Solitaire," the opening film,, "Clash," "House Without Roof," "Dallas," "Gaza Surf Club," "Mimosas," "After Spring," "Hedi," "The Worthy," "Brooks, Meadows and Lovely Faces," "After the Battle" and "Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story."

The movie "Solitaire" by the Lebanese director Sophie Boutros was chosen to be the opening film at the festival. The film tells the story of a difficult Syrian-Lebanese love affair that reflects the social reality between the countries of Lebanon and Syria. The movie screened before at the 2016 Dubai International Film Festival and at the 2017 Arab Women Film Festival in Sweden. 

The festival organizing committee also invited Lebanese actress Julia Kassar, who is the main actress in "Solitaire," to visit Korea. It also invited Egyptian film director Yousry Nasrallah. He graduated in economics and political science from Cairo University. After that, he worked as a film critic and as a director's assistant in Beirut from 1978 to 1982. He then became assistant to Youssef Chahine, one of best Egyptian directors who's world-renowned. Yousry Nasrallah has directed many successful movies, such as "Brooks, Meadows and Lovely Faces" (2016), "After the Battle" (2012) and "Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story" (2009), which is being screened at the Arab Film Festival this year. 

The movie "Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story" is by Egyptian director Yousry Nasrallah and the main actress is Mona Zaki, one of best Egyptian actresses in Egypt nowadays. The film revolves around Hebba, a television-speaker, who hosts a successful political talk show on a privately owned network. Karim, her husband, is deputy editor in chief of a government-owned newspaper. His ambition is to become editor in chief. He is led to believe by party big shots that his wife’s constant meddling with opposition politics could put his promotion in danger. Using his boyish charm and sexual prowess, he convinces Hebba to stay away from politics and devote her program to social issues for which the government cannot be held responsible. She starts a series of talk shows around issues involving women. She listens to the stories of resilient, strong women, who, like Scheherazade in "A Thousand and One Nights," tell their stories to stay alive. The movie screened before at the 2009 Venice International Film Festival and at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival.

The movie "The Worthy" is by the British-Emirati filmmaker, director and producer Ali Faisal Mostafa.  The film tells its story in a dystopian future where the water supply has been poisoned. A group of unlikely survivors have taken refuge in an abandoned airplane hangar. Having formed a small community in this new fortress, they struggle to stay alive and to protect one of the only remaining sources of uncontaminated water. One night, a group of bandits successfully infiltrates the compound to access the precious water tanker. After a deadly altercation, two strangers appear to help fight off the bandits. To thank them for saving his life, the survivors’ leader agrees to host them. When one stranger betrays the group’s trust, the compound descends into madness, upsetting all trust. In the end, one question remains: who is worthy to live and to lead?

Today is the last day of the Arab Film Festival. I hope you enjoyed watching movies at the Arthouse Momo in Seoul. "Gaza Surf Club" will screen at 11 a.m., "Mimosas" will screen at 2 p.m. "Brooks, Meadows and Lovely Faces" will screen at 5:30 p.m. and "The Worthy" will screen at 8 p.m. 

In Busan at the Busan Cinema Center Cinematheque, you can see "Solitaire" at 3 p.m., "Clash" at 5 p.m. and "Heidi" at 7 p.m. 

wisdom117@korea.kr

Share this post