USA: The "Arab Sights" film festival showcases powerful films and documentaries in Washington D.C.

For the eleventh consecutive year, The Arabian Sights Film Festival was held in Washington D.C., offering people a chance to watch some of the latest, most provocative and inspiring films from the Arab World. The Festival ran for ten days, and included a wide and diverse selection of films ranging from comedy to groundbreaking documentaries about Islamic fundamentalism and the U.S.-led war in Iraq. The films were also shot in a variety of locations such as Lebanon, Egypt, Yemen, France and Belgium. Organisers of the film festival say they were pleased with this year's turnout, and that many of the films were sold out. One of the organisers said there was a "strong hunger" for Arab films. Some directors were present at their screenings and introduced the films. Some even participated in a question-and-answer session afterwards with the audience to talk about issues relating to film production and subject matter. Mohammad Amin, director of one of the most recent hit films out of Egypt called "The Night Baghdad Fell," travelled from Cairo for the screening. He was in New York before visiting Washington D.C., and said he was very happy with feedback he has been receiving in the United States. "Truthfully, the reaction was very good and excellent," Amin said after his film was screened at the Arabian Sights festival. "The American audience accepted this in a welcoming spirit and was not bothered by the criticism of U.S. involvement in the Arab world -- and I was very happy that my goal to make this film was achieved. I showed this film in the United States and the audience heard my message, saw this message, and some aspects they agreed with, some they opposed. A very good reaction as far as I am concerned," he added. "The Night Baghdad Fell" (2005) is intended to be a dark comedy with jabs at Egyptian political languor and American foreign policy in the Middle East. The film opens with the historical event after which it is named. The film then portrays Egyptians glued to their televisions, paralysed in shock and gripped with the fear - how much time do they have until the Americans invade Cairo, they ask themselves. Shakir, a school headmaster with an eccentric family, commissions his former genius student, Tarek, to engineer a defence weapon with which to defend Egypt from such an attack. Bassam Haddad, director of a documentary on militant Islam and the Middle East called "Arabs and Terrorism," was also available at the festival to talk to viewers and discuss his film. Haddad is Assistant Professor in the department of political science at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Pensilvania and Visiting Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. Haddad is the co-founder of the Quilting Point production company and director and executive producer of the documentary "Arabs and Terrorism." In the film, Haddad explores the discourse linking Arabs and Muslims to militant Islam. He interviews over 100 individuals from a wide range of backgrounds, including political figures, media personalities, scholars and people from the US, Europe, Israel and the Arab world. Interviewees include leaders of organisations such as Hezbullah's leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas' Khaled Meshaal. Haddad traces the evolution of the media coverage, perceptions and definitions of militant Islam and terrorism. Haddad said that even people who disagree with his views have expressed interest in watching the documentary. He said he was very proud "Arabs and Terrorism" was screened in Washington D.C. "I am very happy not just because we were able to make this film but because it is being shown in Washington which is the city, the capital, the centre or the source of the war on terrorism, and it is showing thoughts and pictures that are contradictory to what we generally see by the media in the United States," Haddad said. The Arabian Sights Film Festival is presented by the Washington D.C. International Film Festival. This year's festival ran from October 27 until November 5.

ITN Source | November 15, 2006

Tags:. .diverse. .opposed. .intended. .evolution. .traces