Film, Literature, & Spoken Word
"Women Writing Men, Men Writing Women"Authors on this panel discuss the challenge of writing from the perspective of another gender and how they see literature as a way to create a dialogue between men and women in the region. |
"Migration, Exile, and the Search for Identity"Panelists discuss the physical and existential trauma of migration and exile that is exemplified by the Palestinian experience of diaspora, but also witnessed among other Arab populations. |
Heather Raffo & Amir El Saffar: In Concert: The Sounds of DesireAward-winning author and actress Heather Raffo teams with accomplished jazz trumpeter and Iraqi santoor player Amir El Saffar for a dramatic evening of spoken word and melodic solos. |
"Literature and the 'Real' Arab World"Some of the Arab world's boldest authors speak about the challenges and opportunities of addressing current political and social concerns. |
"Books and Readers in the Arab World"Noted authors and cultural critics share their perspective on the situation of books and reading and publishing in the Arab world. |
"In Other Words: Expatriate Arab Literature"Arab authors who have found a home in English and French discuss literature that manages to cover vast tracts of time and space and to address multiple audiences in various languages. |
Shakespeare in the Arab WorldThis discussion examines Arab-Islamic interpretations of Shakespeare and why the Bard's stories work so well within a cultural context so seemingly far removed. |
Suheir Hammad: An Evening of Breaking PoemsA Palestinian-American poet, author, and political activist, Suheir Hammad was born in Amman, Jordan to Palestinian refugee parents and immigrated with her family to Brooklyn when she was five. She was discovered by hip hop entrepreneur Russell Simmons when he read her reaction to the 9/11 attacks; he signed her to a deal with HBO’s Def Poetry Jam. She has since performed her poetry around the world. |
"Arab Literature and the World of the Spirit and the Imagination"Novelists and poets address the role they assign to fantasy and the magical as a means of creating relevant art. |
"Containing Multitudes: A Conversation with Arab American Writers"Arab American writers of different generations and national backgrounds discuss their writing process, their relationship with their audiences, and their role as cultural bridge-builders. |
"Poetry, the Diwan of the Arabs in its Fourth Millennium: A Tribute to Mahmoud Darwish"A panel of Arab poets discusses the state of their society's most venerated art form and pay tribute to the legacy of Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish. |
A Literary Celebration: Ahdaf SoueifAuthor Ahdaf Soueif provides insight into how to approach cultural differences and contemporary issues in our world today. |
Tamim Al BarghoutiTamim Al-Barghouti’s “In Jerusalem” became something of a street poem. The poem, which describes an aborted journey to the city, became the basis for number of performances around the world. |
Nathalie HandalThis multimedia evening features Handal reading her poetry; a monologue about a woman storyteller, traditionally a male-only role; and a short film. |
Arab Film Festival: A Summer in La GouletteIn this delightful comedy, three teenage girl friends--one Muslim, one Jewish, and one Christian--are determined to lose their virginity amidst the excitement of Claudia Cardinale coming to visit her hometown. |
Arab Film Festival: The One Man VillageThis lyrical film is the director's homage to his elderly uncle, the only remaining inhabitant of a village from which everyone fled during Lebanon's 15-year civil war. |
Arab Film Festival: Pomegranates and Myrrh (Al Mor Wa Al Rumman)When a dancer's husband is arrested, she finds herself drawn to the new dance choreographer. |
Arab Film Festival: Adhen (Dernier Maquis)Set in a run-down repair yard, a group of Muslim workers are not entirely happy when their boss establishes an on-site mosque and appoints an Imam for them while denying them reasonable wages. |
Arab Film Festival: Le Grand VoyageIn this Arab road movie, a young French Moroccan, is reluctantly forced to drive from France in an old, battered car to take his elderly father on a pilgrimage to Mecca. |
Arab Film Festival: Wedding in Galilee (Noce en Galilee)A village elder receives permission for his son to have a traditional Arab wedding but only if the local Israeli commander attends. |
Presenting Underwriter
HRH Foundation
Major Contributors
A. Huda and Samia Farouki
The State of Kuwait
The State of Qatar
The United Arab Emirates Embassy in Washington, D.C.
Additional support is provided by the Ministry of Culture and Information, Kingdom of Bahrain; the Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center; The Qatar Foundation for Education, Science, and Community Development; the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art; Alice and David Rubenstein; Saudi Aramco; the Ford Foundation; Elizabeth and Michael Kojaian; Elaine and Steve Wynn; Ambassador Elizabeth Frawley Bagley and Mr. Smith Bagley; The Laura Pels Foundation; and the Kennedy Center International Committee on the Arts.
Presented in cooperation with the League of Arab States.
