The Centennial of Arab Cinema november 1 - december 5, 1996
		photo: NIGHT OF COUNTING THE YEARS

An historical event--The largest presentation of Arab cinema ever shown in the U.S. The Centennial of Arab Cinema aims to introduce American audiences to the rich filmmaking of the Arab world, past and present, and to promote greater understanding of our respective cultures. highlights * Films from Egypt, Algeria, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine and Syria * Contemporary and classic dramas, comedies, documentaries, musicals and more * Most films never-before-seen in the U.S. * All films subtitled into English plus special events * Free panel discussions with leading Arab filmmakers and scholars * Publication of Screens of Life: Critical Film Writing from the Arab World * Exhibit of classic film photos and press kits more on program special events program notes and times more on program The Centennial of Arab Cinema was made possible by a major grant from the FORD FOUNDATION. Initial funding for the program was provided by the ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION. Series curated by Richard Peña, Program Director of the Film Society, and Alia Arasoughly, Director of August Light Productions. Introduction and film descriptions by Alia Arasoughly and Richard Peña. We thank the following for their generous support: The Egyptian Cultural Development Fund; The Egyptian National Film Center; and The Syrian National Film Organization. Special thanks to: Andrea Taylor, Kristina Davies, Salim Nasr, Dr. Madkour Thabet, Samir Gharib, and Marwan Haddad for their support of "The Centennial of Arab Cinema." Advisory Council: Ibrahim al-Ariss, Hussein Kalla, Mouny Berrah, Diana Jabbour, Walid Atallah, Mustafa Messnaoui, Ali Abu-Shadi, Kusai Darwish and Ada Griffin. August Light Productions is an Arab-American media organization devoted to exhibiting, distributing and educating about Arab film and video. August Light will tour several films from "The Centennial of Arab Cinema," which will also be available on VHS. For information on booking the tour and about our 35mm, VHS and publication holdings, please contact us at the address below. August Light Productions P.O. Box 420751, San Francisco, CA 94142-0751 Phone and fax: (415) 436-9809 e-mail: AugLight@aol.com Web site address: http://www.augustlight.com For other Arab related web information check out cafearabica at http://www.cafearabica.com They've also got our schedule up in their "culture" section. special events PANEL DISCUSSIONS Free admission. Tickets required, available at box office starting October 18. "Colonialism, Post-Colonialism and National Identity in Arab Cinema" Chair and Discussant: Alia Arasoughly, co-curator of "The Centennial of Arab Cinema" (as discussant will highlight issues of gender in the construction of national identity) 1. "Algerian Cinema and Algerian National Identity(Evolution and Crisis" (Mouny Berrah, Algerian sociologist and film) 2. "Lebanese Cinema and Lebanese National Identity(Whose Vernacular?" (Ibrahim al-Ariss, Lebanese film critic) 3. "Colonialism, Post-colonialism and Egyptioan Cinema in Moroccan National Identity" (Mostafa al-Messnaoui, Moroccan literary writer and film critic) November 2, 10am, Walter Reade Theater Filmmakers Round Table: "Arab Cinema: Crisis, Co-Production, Distribution and Exhibition" (Moderator and Discussant: Richard Peña, Program Director of the Film Society and series co-curator) November 2, 2 pm, Walter Reade Theater "Culture, Gender and Ideology in Arab Cinema" (Chair & Discussant: Samira Abu al-Haj, NYU History Department) 1. "Public Sector Film Production and Genres. The Relation of the Classical to the Modern in Arab Cinema" (Ali Abu Shadi, Egyptian film critic) 2. "Ideology and Politics in Arab Cinemas" (Kusai Darwish, film and political journalist) 3. "The Multiple Identities of Palestinian Cinema(The Horizon, the Abyss, and the Land" (Alia Arasoughly, film historian and scholar) November 3, 2 pm, Kaplan Penthouse, 10th floor of the Rose Building, adjacent to Walter Reade Theater SCREENS OF LIFE: CRITICAL FILM WRITING FROM THE ARAB WORLD A new two-volume anthology of film scholarship by historians and scholars from eight Arab countries, edited and translated by Alia Arasoughly. Volume I will be on sale at the Walter Reade Theater throughout the series. For mail orders, contact World Heritage Press, 1270 St. Jean St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada J23 8M. Phone: (514) 771-0213, Fax: (514) 771-2776 DIRECTORS SCHEDULED TO APPEAR Burhane Allaouie, Lebanon Farouk Beloufa, Algeria Ferid Boughedir, Tunis Hussein Kalla, Egypt Rashid Mashrani, Palestine Raafat al-Mihi, Egypt Usama Muhammad, Syria Tawfiq Saleh, Egypt Khalid Siddiq, Kuwait Abderrahmane Tazi, Morocco Moufida Tlatli, Tunis