Film catalogue (Palestinian/Arab/Muslim side)

If you have stumbled upon this site somehow, and if you find it interesting, please note that it is no longer being maintained or updated on this platform. Due to Blogger's many shortcomings, I moved everything to my own site. Over there you will find a larger number of posts than you see here, and some nicer features.
Find the full site here.

The full list of Palestinian/Arab and Iranian films. As stated on the accompanying page, some of the Palestinian films were made in Israel and primarily with Israeli money. But since they speak of the Palestinian perspective, they can be found here. I think that it's also clear that the Egyptian and Iranian film industies, in particular, are much bigger than what is seen here, but of course they are not at the centre of my focus.

I am hoping at some point that I will be able to create one small list, which will belong on both pages, containing films which describe respectful and equal relationships involving Israelis and Palestinians. There are a couple of candidates, which I still haven't got around to watching at the time of writing.

Palestinian films from/about Gaza and the Occupied Territories

I used the word "normal" in the corresponding Israeli section, to describe films which depict everyday life, situations which are perhaps not specifically Jewish, and whose themes could therefore be adapted into another cultural context. Most notably, the majority of those Israeli films contain little or no reference to Arabs. Maybe it's wrong for me to describe that as at all normal. It's of course delusional to pretend that you can ignore what's going on. Then again, why fuss over these words? Of course nothing is normal in the whole situation. Conversely, it is of course virtually impossible for a Palestinian film to contain no references to Israel, because normal life for Palestinians is the life under occupation.

  • Chronicle of a Disappearance (سجل اختفاء) (1996)
  • Divine Intervention (Yadon ilaheyya - يد إلهية) (2002)
  • Paradise Now (al-Janna alaan - الجنّة الآن) (2005)
  • Salt of this Sea (Milh hadha al-bahr - ملح هذا البحر) (2008)
  • Pomegranates and Myrrh (2008)
  • The Time That Remains (2009)
  • Five Broken Cameras (Khams Kamīrāt Muḥaṭṭamah - خمس كاميرات محطمة ; Hamesh Matslemot Shvurot - חמש מצלמות שבורות) (2011)
    • Habibi (إحبيبي) (2011)
  • When I Saw You (Lamma Shoftak - لما شفتك) (2012)
  • Omar (عمر) (2013)
  • Giraffada (2013)
  • Born in Gaza (2014)
  • Eyes of a Thief (Aiyun al-Haramiya - عيون الحرامية) (2014)
  • 3000 Nights (٣٠٠٠ ليلة) (2015)
  • Tel Aviv on Fire (Tal Abib 'a Nar - تل ابيب ع نار ; Tel Aviv Al Ha'Esh - תל אביב על האש) (2018)
  • It Must Be Heaven (2019)
  • 200 Meters (٢٠٠ متر) (2020)
  • Amira (أميرة) (2021)
  • Huda's Salon (صالون هدى) (2021)
  • The Stranger (لغريب) (2021)

(Strictly speaking, The Stranger isn't a Palestinian film, being about Arabs in the Golan Heights, who of course identify as Syrian rather than Palestinian; but since it's set in Israeli-occupied territores I've put it in this section.)

Films about 1948, and about exile

Very hard stuff. These films are all documentaries, apart from Farha, which caused quite a controversy when Avigdor Lieberman (a far right Israeli politician who is now a bit of a moderate compared to some people in this government) condemned Netflix for streaming the film in Israel. Uncomfortable viewing for him, no doubt, but I'm here for honest and open discussions.

Palestinian films from inside the 1948 borders

A very small section, of course - simply because most productions made inside those borders are of course Israeli productions. I'm assuming that at least some of the funding for some of these films was Israeli, but they're very much Arab directed and Arab-acted. Only one of these films, Ajami, has a Jewish Israeli character foregrounded in the story. Fair enough - it's about carving out a space.

  • Wedding in Galilee (Urs al-Jalil - عرس الجليل) ) (1987)
  • Ajami (عجمي) (2009)
  • Junction 48 (2016)
  • Sandstorm (Asifat Ramliya - عاصفة رملية; Sufat Chol - סופת חול) (2016)
    • Wajib ("Duty" :واجب) (2017)

Palestinian short films (from the Occupied Territories, and from exile)

Netflix is a bit annoying in a couple of ways, as I've mentioned elsewhere, but I really do have to commend them for the selection of Palestinian films which they make available, and there are a few little gems here which you would really struggle to find anywhere else. Several of these films come from Mahdi Fleifel. I'll have to devote a post to his works at some point.

  • Like Twenty Impossibles (Ka'inana Ashrun Mustaheel - كأننا عشرون مستحيل) (2003)
  • Xenos (2014)
  • Ave Maria (2015)
  • Bonboné (2017)
  • The Crossing (العبور) (2017)
  • A Man Returned (2017)
  • A Drowning Man (2018)
  • 3 Logical Exits (2020)
  • The Present (Al Hadiya - الهدية) (2020)

Egyptian and other North African films

At the moment of writing, I have still watched fewer than half of these films, simply because Israel-Palestine (by extension Lebanon, and by further extension to that: Iran) have been the priorite so far. I'll have more to say later, but anyway the work of Mohamad Diab (Cairo 678 and Clash) is pretty interesting. Also, The Unknown Saint is good if you're in the mood for something quirky, away from the eye of the Middle East storm.

  • Cairo Station (aka Bāb al-Ḥadīd - The Iron Gate - باب الحديد) (1958)
  • Chitchat on the Nile (Thartharah fawqa al-Nīl - ثرثرة فوق النيل) (aka Afrift on the Nile) (1971).
  • Days of Sadat (Ayaam al-Sadat - أيام السادات) (2001)
  • Cairo 678 (2010)
  • Rock the Casbah  (2013)
  • As I Open My Eyes (À peine j'ouvre les yeux ; Ala Hayat Ayni - على حلة عيني) (2015)
  • Clash (Eshtebak - اشتباك) (2016)
  • Undercover Egypt (2016)
  • The Flower of Aleppo (Zahrat Halab - زهرة حلب) (2016)
  • Aya (2017)
  • Yomeddine (Judgement Day - يوم الدين) (2018)
  • The Unknown Saint (Sayid al-Majhul - سيد المجهول) (2019)
  • The Hunt for Gaddafi's Billions (2021)

Films from/about Iraq, Syria and Lebanon

I've already written one very long post about three of these films, and a shorter one about one other. I'll be coming back to it soon enough. I've never been to Lebanon, but Lebanon very much lives inside my heart. As for the films about Iraq and Syria, God help me.... It's hard. I'm some way off writing that post yet.

    • West Beirut (Beirut Al Gharbiyya - بيروت الغربية) (1998)
  • The Kite (Le Cerf-volant; ṭiyyāra min waraq -  طيّارة من ورق) (2003)
  • Felafel (فلافل) (2006)
  • Caramel (Sukkar banat - سكر بنات) (2007)
  • Twelve Angry Lebanese (2009)
  • Here Comes the Rain (Shtty ya Duni - Get Lost, My World - شتّي يا دني) (2010)
  • Where Do We Go Now? (w halla' la wayn - وهلأ لوين) (2011)
  • Layla M (2016)
  • The Flower of Aleppo (Zahrat Halab - زهرة حلب) (2016)
  • Born in Syria (2016)
  • In Syria (aka Insyriated) (2017)
  • Last Men in Aleppo (Ākhir al-Rijāl fī Ḥalab - آخر الرجال في حلب) (2017)
    • The Insult (Qadiyya raqm 23 - Case No. 23 - قضية رقم ٢٣) (2017)
  • Capernaum (Cafarnaüm - كفرناحوم) (2018)
  • City of Ghosts (2018)
  • Haifa Street (Shari' Haifa - شارع حيفا) (2019)
  • Under The Wire (2019)
  • Limbo (2020)
  • An Army of Sons (2020)

Films from/about the Arabian Peninsula

I gotta be honest. Before I started this project it had not occurred to me that there was the possibility of a film coming out of Saudi Arabia. I was wrong. There are two lovely Saudi films on this list - Wadjda and Barakah Meets Barakah. However, I should point out that they were made before MBS's hostile takeover. I imagine the possibilities for expression are severely reduced now from what they were when those films were made. If the sportswashing is working on you, your probably not reading this anyway. Two of the films are about a conflict which we have mostly forgotten in the last decade - Yemen. I don't know anything about it, other than that the Houthis are there. I'll try to learn something. 

Don't get the wrong idea, by the way. I'm WELL aware that Al-Kameen is a propaganda film. I'm going to watch it alongside Hunger Ward, a warts and all documentary about the war in Yemen. Theeb was made in Jordan, but it's very much about the Hejaz, and is pretty much the only film on either list which harks right back to the pre-1948 historical roots of the Israeli-Arab conflict (albeit only its only a quite oblique reference).

  • Wadjda (وجدة) (2012)
  • Theeb ("Wolf" - ذيب) (2014)
  • Barakah Meets Barakah (Baraka yuqabil Baraka - بركة يقابل بركة) (2016)
  • Hunger Ward (2020)
  • Al-Kameen (2021)

Films from/about Iran

Apologies for any inconsistent transliteration of the Farsi - I'm just lifting them from Wikipedia. Nothing much else to say. Iran versus Israel - we can all see what's going on. Apart from all that shitty geopolitics and the horrible internal politics of both countries, Iran produces beautiful and deeply contemplative films which are worth watching for their own sake, and not only for the sake of political or historical commentary. I've already written briefly about one of these, and will certainly come back for more soon.

  • The Cow (Persian: گاو, Gāv, Gaav, or Gav) (1969)
  • Downpour (Persian: رگبار, translit. Ragbār) (1972)
  • The Runner (Davandeh - دونده) (1984)
  • Where is the Friend's Home? (Khane-ye dust kojast - خانه دوست کجاست) (1987)
  • Close Up (Klūzāp, nemā-ye nazdīk - کلوزآپ ، نمای نزدیک) (1990)
  • The Color of Paradise (Rang-e Khodā - The Color of God - رنگ خدا) (1999)
  • Taste of Cherry (Ta’m-e gīlās - طعم گیلاس) (1997)
  • Blackboards (Takhté siah - تخته سیاه, ; Textê Reş - تەختێ رەش) (2000)
  • A Time for Drunken Horses (Dema hespên serxweş ; Zamāni barāy-e masti-e asbhā - زمانی برای مستی اسب‌ها) (2000)
  • Baran (Rain - باران) (2001)
  • Marooned in Iraq (Gomgashte i dar Aragh - گم‌گشته‌ای در عراق) (2002)
  • Turtles Can Fly (Lakposhtha Parvaz Mikonand - لاک‌پشت‌ها هم پرواز می‌کنند) (2004)
  • Fireworks Wednesday (Čahâršanbe-Suri - چهارشنبه‌سوری) (2006)
  • Persepolis (2007)
  • The Song of Sparrows (Âvâz-e gonjeshk-hâ - آواز گنجشک‌ها) (2008)
  • No-one Knows About Persian Cats (Kasi az Gorbehaye Irani Khabar Nadareh - کسی از گربه های ایرانی خبر نداره) (2009)
  • About Elly (Dar bāre-ye Elly - درباره الی) (2009)
  • Circumstance (Šar'ayet - شرایط) (2011)
  • A Separation (Jodâyi-e Nâder az Simin - The Separation of Nader from Simin - جدایی نادر از سیمین) (2011)
  • My Stolen Revolution (2013)
  • The Salesman (Forušande - فروشنده) (2016)
  • Zero Days - Nuclear Cyber Sabotage (2017)
  • Holy Spider (Ankabut-e moqaddas - عنکبوت مقدس) (2022)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts