Freedom is a Combat Sport: On Tatami
Karim Goury reviews "Tatami," a sports combat film depicting the conflict between suppressive male law and individual female empowerment.
Film Reviews
Depictions of Genocide: The Un-Imaginable Visibility of Extermination
A bleak and sobering account for those who may still have wanted to believe in the enlightening power of the image.
Dune in 2024: A World Beyond Saving
The meta-narrative in Frank Herbert's Dune trilogy foresees the modern disaster of never-ending colonialism and a planet destroyed by oil.
Asmae El Moudir’s The Mother of All Lies
Brittany Landorf reviews the first major film of director Asmae El Moudir, Morocco’s entry for the 2024 Academy Awards.
Hollywoodgate—New Doc Captures the Post-American Taliban
Iason Athanasiadis reviews a documentary of an Egyptian's observations of the first year of the Taliban's new regime.
Israeli & Palestinian Filmmakers Accused of Anti-semitism at Berlinale
Viola Shafik addresses the controversy at the 2024 Berlinale, following the screening of a Palestinian-Israeli "solidarity film."
Human Rights Films on Ownership of History, Women’s Bodies & Paintings
Malu Halasa offers an overview of three Middle Eastern films screening at the 2024 Human Rights Watch Film Festival in London.
Cyprus: Return to Petrofani with Ali Cherri & Vicky Pericleous
Arie Amaya-Akkermans talks to Lebanese and Cypriot artists about their work on the divided island of Cyprus.
Religious Misogyny Personified in Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider
Bavand Karim reviews the film "Holy Spider" by Ali Abbassi which coldly deconstructs the brutal nature of Iran’s religious patriarchy.
Clashing Cultures and Gender Politics in The Persian Version
Bavand Karim reviews "The Persian Version," a 2023 American comedy drama film directed and written by Maryam Keshavarz.
Sofia Alaoui’s Animalia is a Supernatural Thriller Shot in Morocco
As she nears the end of her pregnancy, Itto and her in-laws find their lives turned upside down by a supernatural event.
The Soil and the Sea: The Revolutionary Act of Remembering
Daniele Rugo's documentary investigates Lebanon's devastating civil war and ruminates on the conflict's unmarked mass graves.
A Deaf Boy’s Quest to Find His Voice in a Hearing World
In Edward Lovelace's new documentary, a refugee's handicap becomes a source of inspiration in the struggle for survival.
The Majesty and Mystery of Nature: Ali Cherri’s Dam in Sudan
Karim Goury reviews Ali Cherri's haunting feature film The Dam, set in Sudan before the outbreak of the war this year.
The Refugees by the Lake, a Greek Migrant Story
Iason Athanasiadis reviews the film of a migrant story set in Greece that has just been nominated for 17 Greek Cinema Academy Awards.