Arabian Sights Film Festival 2009

DC Internationals is proud to sponsor this year’s
   Arabian Sights Film Festival!

 

Enter for your chance to win two tickets to the film of your choice! 
To submit your information click here. Be sure to include which film 
you're entering to see along with the appropriate date and time as 
well as how you heard about this DCI sponsored event. Good Luck!

Click on the links below for a complete summary of each film. For dates,
times and location, Check out DCI's Calendar.

The Washington, D.C. International Film Festival 

Presents

 October 9 - 18, 2009 

 

The Arabian Sights Film Festival returns for its 14th year, featuring a diverse and engaging collection of films from the Arab world.

Featured at Arabian Sights

Click on film titles below  for synopses and screening times.

 

Fawzeya's Secret Recipe (Egypt)

Q&A with Director Magdi Ahmed Ali
A charming comedy-drama by one of Egypt's leading directors. Fawzeya has been married four times and enjoys a friendly relationship with all her ex-husbands, gathering them together for dinner every week to serve her secret recipe - her love of life.

A Fiance for Yasmina (Morocco/Spain)

A romantic comedy about marriages of convenience, social commitment and couples living together.  Audience Award winner at the Malaga Film Festival.
    
Francaise (Morocco/France)  

Precocious and sassy tomboy Sofia, born in France from North African parents, lives a happy childhood. When her father makes a snap decision to return to Morocco, she retains an independence and resolve to return to France. Issues of identity, origin and family are deftly observed in this poignant feature.
 

Hassan & Morcos (Egypt)

Starring Omar Sharif. When a Christian theologian Imam falls afoul of violent extremists, the government places him and his family into a sort of witness protection program where he must not only change his identity, but also his religion. 
 
Laila's Birthday (Palestine)

A wry, comedic vignette tracing a day in the life of an experienced judge-turned-taxi driver as he tries to go home early for his daughter's birthday. 
 

London River (Algeria/France/UK)

A timely and moving drama of a Muslim father and a Christian mother searching for their children in the aftermath of the July 2005 London bomb attacks. Winner of awards at the Berlin Film Festival and starring Brenda Blethyn.
 

The Long Night (Syria)

 Winner of the top prize at Italy's Taormina Film Festival, this film is an elegant political drama following the release of three artists who had been imprisoned for several years.
  

The Losing Bet (Yemen)  
Yemen's first locally produced movie features an intriguing and compelling exploration on the price of terrorism.
 

Masquerades (Algeria/France)         

*Special Event October 17* 

An award winning comedy of errors. Lovable but egotistic Mounir creates a tangled mess for his family when he fabricates a story that his narcoleptic sister is engaged to a rich foreign businessman. Masquerades is co-presented by the Global Film Initiative and is part of the 2010 Global Lens film series. For more information, visit www.globalfilm.org

 
Number One (Morocco)

A comedy hit tackling gender, class and power with humor and a feast of laughs. Aziz, a macho boss of a clothing factory becomes a newly transformed man after his wife sneaks a magical potion into his dinner. 
  

Open Shutters Iraq (Iraq)

 Q&A with Director Maysoon Pachachi

An extraordinary documentary about a group of women from 5 cities in Iraq who participate in an exceptional photography project in Syria. They reveal memories and stories that have remained buries for years. Upon their return home, they shoot hundreds of photographs. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at Rotterdam Arab Film Festival.
  

A Road to Mecca: The Journey of Muhammad Asad (Austria)  

In the 1920s Leopold Weiss, a Viennese Jew, visited the Middle East, studied the Koran, and converted to Islam. Changing his name to Muhammad Asad, he became one of the leading scholars of Islam in the 20th century. 
  
Welcome (France) 

Winner of multiple prizes, this outstanding drama features Bilal, a young 17-year-old Kurdish boy, who has travelled through the Middle East and Europe to join his girlfriend in England. His journey comes to an abrupt end when he is stopped on the French side of the Channel. Having decided to swim across, Bilal goes to the local swimming pool to train.