São Paulo – Arab-themed films will be shown during Rio Festival, set to begin next Wednesday (24th) in Rio de Janeiro, featuring 350 productions from 60 countries. At least six films will be shown that were produced or co-produced in Arab countries, apart from another five shot in other countries, including Brazil, but which address Arab-related issues.

Palestinian filmmaker Najwa Najjar, the director of Eyes of a Thief, will make an appearance at the festival, according to the organizers. Najjar has award-winning films under her belt, including her debut, Pomegranates and Myrrh, from 2008, which won the Cinema in Motion Prize at the San Sebastián Film Festival. Eyes of a Thief is her second feature film.

The movie tells the story of the mysterious Tareq, who gets wounded and arrested by Israeli soldiers during the Palestinian uprisings of 2002. Ten years later, he returns to his city to search for his daughter and the place is changed. Little by little, Tareq’s past begins to resurface. The film is inspired in a true story. The director will present her production on September 27th, 5 pm at Estação Rio 2. Najjar will be in Brazil from September 24th to October 1st.

Another Arab film to be featured is Silvered Water, Syria Self-Portrait, a 90-minute Syrian-French co-production directed by Ossama Mohammed and Wiam Simav Bedirxan. An exile in Paris since 2011, Mohammed collected thousands of online videos depicting the daily atrocities of civil war in his country.

Another Arab film in the program is Iraqi Odyssey, a 162 minute co-production from Iraq, Switzerland, Germany and the United Arab Emirates. The film’s director and scriptwriter, Samir, tells stories of his relatives, of departures and lost roots, showing how the Iraqi dream of building an equitable, modern society has gone astray. Samir was born in Baghdad, but has lived in Switzerland since his childhood, and has family all over the world.

The festival will feature yet another production about Iraq: Whispers of the Cities, a 62 minute documentary co-produced by Iraq and the United Kingdom and directed by Kasim Abid. The movie features footage taken by Abid of the windows of his former houses in three different cities: Erbil, in Kurdistan, Ramallah, in Palestine, and Baghdad, the Iraqi capital. The footage is a ballet of men and machines, a testimony to the Arab people’s ability to resist.

In Fishing Without Nets, a co-production between the USA, Kenya and Somalia – the latter is an Arab country –, young Abdi becomes a pirate to provide for his family. As he sets sail to capture a French oil tanker, his son and wife await him in Yemen. The film is directed by the USA’s Cutter Hodierne.

A French-Moroccan co-production will also be shown: Travelling at Night With Jim Jarmusch. The 50-minute documentary is an intimate portrait of the American filmmaker Jarmusch as he worked on his feature film Only Lovers Left Alive, in which a vampire couple journeys across several cities, from Detroit to Tangier, Morocco.

The Arab world is also the subject of the documentary First to Fall, a British-American co-production about two Libyans living in Canada who leave the country to go to war in Libya; of The Revolution of the Year, a Brazilian-made documentary about the Arab Spring; Las Hijack, another documentary about a Somali pirate who must decide whether to start a new life with his fiancée; and Les terrasses, a French fiction film telling five life stories from five Algiers rooftops.

The films will be featured in different thematic sections and contests within the festival. During the festival, industry fair RioMarket Film Show will also be held, featuring panels, seminars, workshops and matchmaking. This year, RioMarket will be divided into two sections: television and film. The former will run from September 24th to 26th and the second, from September 29th to October 3rd. The festival ends on October 9th.

The films will be shown at different theaters across Rio, but the main venue is Armazém 6, aka Armazém da Utopia, on the port zone, where RioMarket will take place. The festival is sponsored by the group Cinema do Rio and by Centro de Cultura, Informação e Meio Ambiente (Cima – Centre for Culture, Information and Environment), with backing from government and private organizations.

Service:
2014 Rio Festival
September 24th to October 9th
At several venues across the city – Rio de Janeiro – Rio de Janeiro
Program: www.festivaldorio.com.br/en/
Presales: www.ingresso.com

*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum

São Paulo – Qatari music, dancing, art and cuisine will be on show for São Paulo audiences from this Thursday (18th) until next Sunday (21st) at the city’s Villa Lobos Park. The attractions are part of the Qatari Week SP, which will bring a sample of the Gulf country’s cultural and social life to Brazil.

“Over the next few days we will present part of the culture of Qatar. We will also present other parts in upcoming events,” said Faleh Al-Hajri, the Qatari deputy minister of Culture during a visit to the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce this Wednesday (17th). Al-Hajri, Rafah Barakat, the head of the Brazil-Qatar 2014 Year of Culture, and a delegation of 16 artists were welcomed by the Arab Chamber’s CEO Michel Alaby and Culture director Silvia Antibas.

“The Arab Chamber has implemented a very active Culture department because it is aware of the importance of showcasing the culture of Arab countries in order to strengthen ties with Brazil,” said Antibas. Alaby offered the Arab Chamber’s full support to the Year of Culture events.

The deputy minister said that the best artists in her country have been chosen to come to Brazil, and music is a highpoint. “Our music is different. Our artists have created many beautiful works, and Qatari food will also be showcased during the event. Our music will sound amazing to the Brazilian people. It resembles samba, but with an Arab twist to it,” she said.

According to Barakat, the Qatari culture week took three months to prepare. “We will display a lot of Qatar’s culture: how coffee is prepared, the handicraft, a workshop about wedding parties. We will serve food and showcase jewels. We will hold many fun activities, such as henna painting and show cooking,” she said.

She also underscored how successful the Year of Culture activities are being in other Brazilian cities. “We have had great success in Belém, Brasília and Rio de Janeiro. Now, in São Paulo, we want more and more,” she remarked. The week in São Paulo is part of the Brazil-Qatar 2014 Year of Culture, involving similar actions in various municipalities across Brazil.

Barakat also expounded on the interest her country’s culture commands from Brazilians. “People are very curious about how Arab weddings take place. They ask a lot of questions. We have held seminars at schools in Belém and it was a very interesting experience to us. We discussed women in Qatar. People think that in Qatar, all women do is tend to children, but our women work. I, for one, am the manager of a big project involving Qatar and Brazil,” she said.

Science for students

Another event of the Brazil-Qatar 2014 Year of Culture is set to begin this month in the state of São Paulo: Programa 1001 Invenções (Portuguese for 1001 Inventions Program), an educational project showing the science produced by Ancient Arab and Islamic civilizations.

The program will be launched in Brazil on the 23rd this month at São Paulo’s Instituto Butantã, with the attendance of state governor Geraldo Alckmin (affiliated with political party PSDB). The educational project is designed to showcase inventions created by Muslims over 1,000 years ago, and tell the story of these creations and their creators.

“There will be a live presentation where a group of volunteers will play the role of scientists and discuss Arab inventions of the past,” said Malak Hassan, the projects specialist for the Qatar Museums Authority, which organizes the Year of Culture.

Following the guests-only launch event, the program’s presentations will be taken to several state schools.

Service
Qatari Week SP
September 18th to 21st
Villa-Lobos Park
Avenida Professor Fonseca Rodrigues, 2001 – Alto dos Pinheiros, São Paulo – SP
The activities are free of charge and will take place from 11am to 5pm

*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum