Arabic Language, Literature & Media

Capernaüm tells the story of Zain (Zain al-Rafeea), a Lebanese boy who sues his parents for the "crime" of giving him life. The film follows Zain as he journeys from gutsy, streetwise child to hardened 12-year-old "adult" fleeing his negligent parents, surviving through his wits on the streets, where he meets Ethiopian migrant worker Rahil, who provides him with shelter and food, as Zein takes care of her baby son Yonas in return. Zein later gets jailed for committing a violent crime, and finally seeks justice in a courtroom.

5 Broken Cameras is a deeply personal, first hand-account of non violent resistance in Bil'in, a West Bank village threatened by encroaching Israeli settlements. Shot almost entirely by Palestinian farmer Emad Burnat, who bought his first camera in 2005 to record the birth of his youngest son, the footage was later given to Israeli co-director Guy Davidi to edit. Structured around the violent destruction of each one of Burnat's cameras, the filmmakers' collaboration follows one family's evolution over five years of village turmoil. Burnat watches from behind the lens as olive trees are bulldozed, protests intensify and lives are lost.

Tells the story of a Palestinian father and daughter who united Arab and Israeli factions to create a non-violent movement and save their village from destruction by Israel's Separation Barrier.

Shakespearian in its scope and themes; revenge, loyalty, hope and despair, draws us into the lives of two brothers fearing assassination; a young refugee working illegally to cover his mother's medical expenses and a cop obsessed with finding his missing brother. Through this dramatic collision of different worlds, we witness cultural and religious tensions simmering beneath the surface and the tragic consequences of enemies living as neighbors in modern-day Tel Aviv.

A Beirut beauty salon becomes a treasured meeting place for several generations of women from various walks of life to talk, seek advice and confide in one another.

Farah, eighteen years old, has just graduated and her family already sees her as a future doctor. She doesn't think the same way. She sings in a political rock band. She has a passion for life, gets drunk, discovers love and her city by night against the will of her mother Hayet, who knows Tunisia and its dangers too well.

The Speed Sisters are the first all-woman race car driving team in the Middle East. Grabbing headlines and turning heads at improvised tracks across the West Bank, these five women have sped their way into the heart of the gritty, male dominated Palestinian street car racing scene. Weaving together their lives on and off the track, this takes viewers on a surprising journey into the drive to go further and faster than anyone thought they could.

A drama about loss and reconciliation, it illustrates a day in the life of a woman and her son, both permanently scarred by the Lebanese Civil War of 15 years ago. Claudia and her son, Maleks' morning turns sour when the topic of conversation turns to the family's patriarch. Claudia's husband and Malek's father has been missing since the war, and they debate over whether to have him declared legally dead.