North African & Middle-Eastern
A collection of coming-of-age films from Tunisia, Morocco, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Iran.
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As I Open My Eyes
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Leyla Bouzid • 2015 • Tunisia
Farah struggles to pursue her singing career during a revolution.
While her parents have traditional aspirations for her, Farah is spending her summer performing in a political rock band, while carrying out a clandestine affair with one of her bandma...
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Horses of God
Nabil Ayouch • 2012 • Morocco
Based on the 2003 Casablanca bombings, Nabil Ayouch's fourth film was selected as Morocco's official submission to the 86th Academy Awards.
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Of Fathers and Sons
Talal Derki • 2017 • Germany-Syria • A father trains his sons to join the global jihad.
Aged twelve and thirteen respectively, Ayman and Osama live with their father in Idlb province, Syria. Their father, an avowed al-Nusra fighter, is training them to join the global jihad. Feigning fundamenta...
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Salt of This Sea
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Annemarie Jacir • Palestine • 2008 • A portrait of a woman's determination to reclaim her birthright.
Sixty years after her grandparents' exile from Jaffa, Soraya feels something is not right. Departing Brooklyn for a homeland she has never known, she is greeted instead with susp...
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Tehran Taboo
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Ali Soozandeh • Germany, Austria • 2018 • A gorgeously animated portrait of contemporary Tehran.
Pari is a prostitute in Tehran. She wants to leave her husband, but needs a judge to sign the court order. Her arrangement with a corrupt magistrate leads to other favors she earns i...
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The Idol
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Hany Abu-Assad • Palestine • 2016 • A teen smuggles himself across borders to audition for Arab Idol
Gaza, 2005. Despite the despair of their suroundings, ten-year-old Mohammed and his sister, Nour, spend their days immersed in childhood games and music, playing in a band with tw...
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When I Saw You
Annemarie Jacir • 2012 • Palestine-Jordan
Annemarie Jacir’s second film observes the effects of the Six Day War on a young boy who has been displaced to a Jordanian refugee camp.