For the 16th annual Arabian Sights Film Festival, the district gets a dose of Egyptian cinema–and culture.
By Shira Karsen
Shot from film "Man Without a Cell Phone".
Although it is never unusual to have a film festival in D.C., this particular one caught our radar. Beginning October 27th at the French Embassy, FilmFestDC is hosting Arabian Sights, a 16th annual fest devoted to premiering award-winning Arab films in the US. The first reel is an Arab-French film titled The Italian, and is the one and only showing at the French Embassy (as well as one of two French films in the fest). And while you won’t get to enjoy the French swag, the next 10 films–shown at the AMC Mazza Gallerie and Goethe Institut-Washington–are just as impressive: Cairo Exit was chosen for the TriBeCa Film Festival, Microphone is the winner of Best Arab Film at the Cairo Film Festival, The Source which is in competition at the Canes Film Festival, and there are even some swedish selections such as “Operation Casablanca” and “Balls”. Never heard of these? Neither have we. So dust off that magic carpet and bring your own popcorn, because $11 is a small price to experience the Arab world in 11 nights.
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