From the 12th to the 16th of April, Florence will be holding a special film festival showcasing over 30 films and documentaries depicting life and the revolution in contemporary Middle East. The organizers are pleased with the attention created as it is the 3rd anniversary of the festival. Directors, actors and script writes will be present at the premiers and previews, unlike that of regular screenings; thus creating a personal approach for the audience. Several young people have become involved in volunteering within the festival and are helping to raise awareness in schools and universities as well as being broadcast on social networking sites such as Facebook.
The title ‘Middle East Now’ highlights the importance of the issue of revolution taking place and creates an understanding as several people are un-educated on the situation taking place in the Middle East. To correct this, the festival aims to hold several large events such as gallery exhibitions, world premiers and many more. The Institute of Stensen, in another part of the city, is also involved in the festival. They are interested in promoting new ideas about the topic similar to that of the festival.
The festival will contain several other forms of media including cartoons and pictures to create a dynamic event to attract people of all ages. It has already generated a lot of attention receiving many requests to view the works. The festival aims to highlight the similarities and differences between life in the Middle East and the rest of the world, focusing on ordinary people and their day to day lives. In addition, this helps the audience to relate to the storylines and grasp the concept of their behavior. Everyone involved feels passionate about getting the message across as most of them have experienced it firsthand; several of the workers from the institute being from Pakistan and Iran.
The ambassador for Iran, lived in the Middle East and has witnessed the tribulations that have shattered lives. During her time there, she wrote several books about her experience and was subsequently contacted by the organizers offering her the chance to collaborate on the project. She is looking forward to the project and has high hopes for its impact on the public. She will be presenting the final film of the festival. The film outlines the story of a man, Husham, who manages a house for 32 orphans; taking them into his care despite his poor financial situation. He is then given 2 weeks to evict the house, this film outlines his struggle to find a place to stay to care for the orphans.
‘The Reluctant Revolutionary’ is a documentary set in Yemen about the revolution. It features an Englishman’s journey across the Middle East with the aid of a tour guide who lost his profession as a result of the revolution and who continuously risked his life due to his passionate views of the political world. We witnessed him comment on how the revolution is aimed at getting the attention of the president as its primarily based on the president himself. He was reluctant to join as he believed it would be violent, bloody and dangerous; however, after having no choice but to join the protest, to his amazement he found it very peaceful and without weapons. This film emphasizes the message that revolutionary actions are not all brutal.
‘Beirut Hotel’, a love story between a French business man and a Lebanese woman is another of the films to be showcased during this period directed by Danielle Arbid. Set in Beirut, it follows the lives of Zoha and Mathieu who meet and fall in love. The romance the two share is constantly on edge which mirrors the country in which the story is set, Syria, at that moment in time. Due to political messages inside the film, parts have had to be censored to create a contemporaneous dialogue.
One of the greatest documentary makers according to the film festival organizers created a piece about a young woman who committed suicide. The real life story is set on a small Iranian Island, Qeshm, where the poorest people reside, relying on the men to fish for food. Due to the strong religious beliefs, women are unable to help with the day to day work and therefore feel extraneous. Since the islanders are so underprivileged, the children often turn to theft, petty crime and drugs as a method of coping with the trials and tribulations.
‘Felicity Land’ is a contrast to the other films in the festival as it focuses on the breakdown of a marriage of two affluent members of their society. Directed by Maziar Miri and produced by Homayoun Asadain, it aims to educate the audience of the crises of middle class people.
‘Listen’ is a photo exhibition about Syrian women. In Iran, due to religion, it is forbidden for women to sing in public. They are only permitted to sing in privacy or in front of other women. 6 covers of their CD’s are available and in the exhibition powerful videos of them singing can be seen, but not heard. This communicates a resounding message about how women have little freedom in the Middle East. One of the singers later became a photojournalist to enlighten others on the issue.
‘The boy Mir’ is a documentary following the life of an 8 year old boy over 10 years. It documents him living and working in Afghanistan and the effect the war and revolution play in his world. It shows how he himself witnessed the country change over the years and his reaction to this alteration.
‘Wikisham’: Included in the festival are several different cartoons, one of which depicts the most famous works by one of the best cartoonists in Lebanon, Khormaloo of Farshid Shafie, who tragically committed suicide in 2004. They are satirical cartoons that joke about politics and how none of the country leaders are able to solve the issues concerning the issues in the Middle East. In the cartoon they are shown asking each other for help and seeking advice to no avail.
To conclude, the organizers of the festival will be holding 2 meetings where they will discuss what will happen next in terms of keeping the public informed and interested in the situation. These will take place during the weekend and significant journalists and other professionals are set to attend. The 5 day festival is certain to be a great success.
Click here for trailers:
‘Beirut Hotel’ http://youtu.be/SVDTNgM9eEM
‘The boy Mir’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqSCqXA6u7Q
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