At the core of the Oscar-nominated filmmaker’s first feature is a clear understanding of the power of the perpetually perpetrated injustice on the Palestinian people.
Read MoreSaleh Bakri in a still from Farah Nabulsi's 'The Teacher'
Freida Pinto and Hiam Abbass in a scene from ‘Miral’
Six films to help explain the current Gaza/Israel conflict
While festivals throughout the Region, and beyond, senselessly cancel their latest edition “in support” of the Palestinian cause, the best thing they could do would be to finally showcase cinema from Palestinian and Israeli auteurs, as well as one American filmmaker, who can collectively help explains the situation and smother the fire of warmongers with culture and education.
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'Backstage' - Venice review
At the start of ‘Backstage’, the first feature directorial collaboration between Moroccan filmmaker Khalil Benkirane and Tunisian star Afef Ben Mahmoud, the unthinkable happens. And we, the audience, are along for the ride of a lifetime.
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Five indie films to watch at this year's Venice Film Festival
It may be a Netflix world and we’re just living in it, as the streaming giant is hot on the Lido this year with Bradley Cooper’s ‘Maestro’, Pablo Larrain’s vampire dictator romp and Wes Anderson’s latest — but there are a couple of indie titles that you need to watch.
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Farah Nabulsi on her haunting film 'The Present' and the "misrepresented Palestinian stories" she was born to tell
The discovery of Farah Nabulsi’s stunning, honest and beautiful film ‘The Present’ I owe to Palestinian favorite actor Saleh Bakri. I mean, as soon as I saw his name on the Brooklyn Film Festival line-up page, I was hooked. But while his presence is undeniably a wonderful pull into the film, Nabulsi’s perfect oeuvre stands on its own.
The title ‘The Present’ could refer to a gift, the one Yusuf, Bakri’s character goes to buy for his wife on their wedding anniversary. But it also means, to me, the current state of affairs, the here and now, for the Palestinian people.
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