North African & Middle-Eastern

North African & Middle-Eastern

A collection of coming-of-age films from Tunisia, Morocco, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Iran.

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North African & Middle-Eastern
  • 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...

  • 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.

  • 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...

  • Omar

    Hany Abu-Assad • 2014 • Palestine

    A baker gets caught by Israeli authorities crossing the wall.

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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.