Country: Palestine
Director: Wisam Al Jafari
Length: 15 mins
Synopsis: Despite the noise and chaos of the refugee camp, two young Palestinian refugees discover a creative way to record music in order to meet a competition deadline.
FILMS//أفلام
Ambiance//امبيانس
Amphitheater//المسرح المكشوف
Country: Qatar
Director: Mahdi Ali
Length: 16 mins
Synopsis: A professional Qatari photographer is intrigued by the rebellion of a teenage girl from her conservative family as they take pictures of the frescoes in a cultural village. She pursues the teenage girl, documenting her rebellion until the family rebukes her. After discovering the girl’s hideout, the photographer follows her into an amphitheater, where she finally has a chance to express her inner voice.
An Evening with Laila//سهرة مع ليلى
Country: Kuwait
Director: Haya Alghanim
Length: 10 mins
Synopsis: A short documentary about the life and true story of Laila Abdulaziz, a pioneer of music in the Arabian Gulf and staple of Kuwaiti history who had a vision for the future that no one was ready for, not even herself.
Ana Wa Enti (Me and You)//أنا و أنت
Country: United States
Director: Alexandra Muhawi-Ho
Length: 17 mins
Synopsis: 33-year-old Amira struggles to find her place in between her Arab and American identities while living with and navigating her relationship with her culturally traditional, yet loving mother.
And If Not Now, When?
Country: Belgium, Morocco
Director: Guy De Troyer
Length: 28 mins
Synopsis: This essay documentary makes an intimate journey into the world of Paulette, one of the last remaining Jews in Marrakech who decided to stay and is reflecting on a universal question: where do you feel at home?
And The Night Will Carry Us
Country: Tunisia
Director: Koudhai Amine
Length: 11 mins
Synopsis: A dog walks at night.
Anxiety
Country: Germany
Director: Alshafee Abby
Length: 22 mins
Synopsis: A young refugee struggles with learning the German language while being existentially at the mercy of the bureaucratic system.
April 21//٢١ نيسان
Country: Syria
Director: Houssam Jlelati
Length: 3 mins
Synopsis: During the ongoing war in Syria, and the outbreak of coronavirus disease which resulted in a global quarantine, there are some ideas to get rid of all this noise.
Ave Maria//السلام عليك يا مريم
Country: Palestine, France, Germany
Director: Basil Khalil
Length: 15 mins
Synopsis: The silent routine of 5 nuns living in the West Bank wilderness is disturbed when an Israeli settler family’s car breaks down right outside the convent just as the Sabbath comes into effect.
Ayam Zaman (The Old Days)
Country: Canada
Director: Hassib Hani
Length: 7 mins
Synopsis: Hadi finds himself an unexpected guest at Adam’s engagement party decades since they last spoke, and at last come face-to-face with the events that tore them apart.
Aziza//عزيزة
Country: Syria, Lebanon
Director: Soudade Kaadan
Length: 13 mins
Synopsis: Ayman, Syrian refugee in Lebanon, teaching his wife how to drive his car, the only thing left for him from his country. The lesson takes a wrong turn into madness and nostalgia.
Back//العودة
Country: Netherlands, Syrian Arab Republic
Director: Yazan Rabee
Length: 7 mins
Synopsis: What it is like to be confronted in the dead of night with mortal fear, trauma and displacement.
Beneath a Mother’s Feet//تحت أقدام أم
Country: United Kingdom, Morocco
Director: Elias Suhail
Length: 15 mins
Synopsis: A single mother in Morocco, trapped in a mundane existence, confronts her dreams and fears, leading to the agonising decision to forsake all she knows, even her children.
Better//باتر
Country: France, Morocco
Director: Kamal Ourahou
Length: 92 mins
Synopsis: Between 2009 and 2011, I filmed and edited Nassim Lachhab’s very first skateboarding videos in Rabat, Morocco. In 2020, after having lived in France and Spain, Nassim became the first Moroccan and African professional skater in history. Ever since then, I kept wondering: What had it been like for Nassim to rise to the forefront of the international skate scene, all the while wrestling with the challenges of immigration? In what way did his groundbreaking trajectory resonate with the current state of Morocco’s skateboarding scene? – Kamal Ourahou
Blaxites
Countries: Canada
Director: Josh Lyon
Length: 12 mins
Synopsis: Jai’s celebratory social media post affects her access to vital medication. Her attempts to circumvent the system leads to even more dire consequences.The Surveillance Studies Center and the Big Data Surveillance Project present A Screening Surveillance Film. For more information, visit: screeningsurveillance.com.
Blooming Dalia
Country: France
Director: Holy Fatma
Length: 24 mins
Synopsis: Dalia (25), a french ex-reality TV starlet, is at her lowest point. Depressed and overweight, she tries to reconnect with her estranged mother, who still refuses to talk to her because of her seedy tabloid fodder past. Deeply hurt, Dalia accepts to be part of a new TV show booked by Coco, her agent, on the one condition that she loses weight. But as Coco strives to make her the IT-girl she once was, Dalia’s repressed Algerian origins resurface unexpectedly.
Bottles
Country: Morocco, Italy
Director: Yassine El Idrissi
Length: 18 mins
Synopsis: Said, a 13 year old boy in the old Medina of Rabat, has a side job collecting empty beer bottles to buy food for a dog he is hiding. Said finds keeping the dog he rescued conflicting with his family, friends, and religious tradition.
Brotherhood//اخوان
Country: Canada, Tunisia, Qatar, Sweden
Director: Meryam Joobeur
Length: 25 mins
Synopsis: Mohamed is deeply shaken and suspicious when his estranged eldest son returns home to rural Tunisia with a mysterious young wife in tow. Every moment in Meryam Joobeur’s wrenching drama is infused with the emotional complexities of a family reunion, and the consequences of past wounds and misunderstanding.
Brown Bread & Apricots
Country: Jordan, Canada
Director: Serene Husni
Length: 8 mins
Synopsis: In the absence of his parents, an unruly teenager is presented with a crucial test of character devised by his eldest sister. Instead of being punished for skipping school, he is entrusted with managing the family allowance for two weeks. To feed his siblings, he resorts to something he knew in his heart: in a Palestinian house, the pantry is never bare. Borrowing from classic elements of Palestinian storytelling—namely repetition, trickery, and an obsession with food—Brown Bread & Apricots is a story about a Palestinian family in exile.
Buzz
Country: Sudan
Director: Mohamed Fawi
Length: 20 mins
Synopsis: As her health deteriorates, a mother watches her son and daughter prepare for her inevitable passing and their new reality.