Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Arab Nasser | Tarzan Nasser
Starring: Hiam Abbass | Ibrahim Altoubat | Maisa Abd Elhadi | Namil Alraee
Chris says: “Ostensibly a romance between Issa (Salim Dau), a lifelong bachelor who announces, ‘I’ve decided to get married’ and Siham (Hiam Abbass), a seamstress with an adult daughter, this plays out with a slight surreal twinge, almost like a
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Rating: 2.75
Director: Julian Schnabel
Starring: Alexander Siddig | Freida Pinto | Hiam Abbass | Vanessa Redgrave | Willem Defoe
Michael says: “Julian Schnabel, director of the acclaimed THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY, tackles the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in this ambitious historical tale told from the point-of-view of an idealistic, but naive young Arab woman named Miral. In 1948, Hind
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Starring: Alex Descas | Bill Murray | Gael García Bernal | Hiam Abbass | Isaach De Bankolé | Tilda Swinton
Chris says: “Few films baffle me as much as this one initially did. Jim Jarmusch has always been a particularly austere auteur: his narratives tend to unfold at a zen-like pace and the films’ structures possess as much weight as the stories
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Rating: 3.3 cats
Director: Eran Riklis
Starring: Ali Suliman | Doron Tavory | Hiam Abbass | Rona Lipaz-Michael | Tarik Kopty
Michael says: “In its examination of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict LEMON TREE doesn’t say anything new or surprising, but by focusing on how it changes the lives of two women on opposite sides of that conflict, it speaks deeply and effectively.
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.6
Director: Michel Ocelot
Starring: Cyril Mourali | Hiam Abbass | Karim M'Riba | Patrick Timsit | Rayan Mahjoub
Thom says: “AZUR & ASMAR was the 1st of the new screeners that I watched and it’s always cool to start off with a winner. God bless Jeff Pike for being responsible for this fabulous service! “While I had to
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Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Cherien Dabis
Starring: Alia Shawkat | Hiam Abbass | Joseph Ziegler | Melkar Muallem | Nisreen Faour
Bruce says: “Muna (Nisreen Faour) is a single parent raising her son Fadi (Melkar Muallem) in Bethlehem. Each day they spend considerable time negotiating checkpoints, often humiliated by Israeli soldiers. Muna works at a bank and Fadi attends private school
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Thomas McCarthy
Starring: Danai Jekesai Gurira | Haaz Sleiman | Hiam Abbass | Marian Seldes | Richard Jenkins
Michael says: “THE STATION AGENT was no fluke. Thomas McCarthy has delivered a sophomore effort that holds the possibly fleeting distinction of my favorite film of the festival so far. THE VISITOR is a ’cause’ film, focusing on the tragic
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Rating: 4.25 cats
Director: Eran Riklis
Starring: Adnan Tarabshi | Ashraf Barhom | Evelyn Kaplun | Eyad Sheety | Hiam Abbass | Makram Khoury
Bruce says: “The setting of THE SYRIAN BRIDE is the Golan Heights where the Syrian population numbered 147,000 when captured by Israel in1967. Held under military authority until 1981, Israel offered citizenship or permanent residency to the residents. Today the
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Amos Gitai
Starring: Carmen Maura | Hana Laszlo | Hiam Abbass | Natalie Portman
Michael says: “FREE ZONE is Amos Gitai’s latest film, illuminating life in Israel and all its strife from a decidedly female point of view. The story revolves around three women, an Israeli, an American living in Israel, and a Palestinian
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Hany Abu-Assad
Starring: Ali Suliman | Ashraf Barhom | Hiam Abbass | Kais Nashef | Lubna Azabal
Bruce says: “This simple story is about two Palestinian childhood friends who decide to become suicide bombers. The story may be simple but the issues are not. For over thirty years terrorism has been a major issue in Israel. Israel
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