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SAFAR Dispatch: 19B

07 July '23

It transpires that she has attended almost every screening at this year’s SAFAR. I am so impressed; I have found a comrade in the land of film festival marathons. We compare our respective bookings for the remainder of SAFAR, before we say goodbye. I almost say out loud, “see you at the pictures!”

SAFAR Dispatch: Birdland

04 July '23

By the time the credits roll, I find myself tearing up like a couple of people seated next to me.

Our statement on Palestine and the Barbican

04 July '23

We followed closely developments with regard to freedom of expression for Palestinian artists and attempts to censor them, and were very concerned at the handling of an event with Radio Al Hara which was scheduled as part of RESOLVE Collective’s them’s the breaks wider public programme at the Barbican on Thursday 15 June.  

SAFAR Dispatch: An evening with Cairo

01 July '23

The filmmaker’s bond of trust with her subjects allows the viewer to hear what feels like an internal monologue in which Heba and Aya, respectively, explore their relationships with their bodies.

SAFAR Dispatch: Opening Night

30 June '23

Throughout the film festival, we’ll be bringing you bitesize, behind-the-scenes, blogs to read. Written by Ja’far ‘Abd al-Hamid, a writer-director, with a focus on Arab British stories. His latest feature film, Kal & Cambridge, is scheduled for release next year. Explore the full programme here, SAFAR Film Festival runs from 29 June to 9 July […]

REVIEW: Raven Song

28 June '23

Absurdly funny and loaded with visual metaphors, the film is part of an emerging Saudi national cinema arising from a place where film as a medium has long been neglected. For lovers of Saudi poetry and the oud, there are beautiful moments in the film’s soundtrack. It is most of all a film by and for Saudis, riddled with culturally specific jokes and references, unified by a satirical love story fit for any audience.

Welcome to the Arab Film Development Workshop participants!

16 June '23

Mabrook, congratulations, to all six participants selected for this year's Arab Film Development Workshop from a record number of applications. You can read more about them here, so have a look at their work, and show them your support as they develop their next projects.

REVIEW (LONG READ): Palestinian Literature NOW

24 May '23

On Saturday 11th March, a small audience at Rich Mix saw a discussion where the jumping off point in situating discussions of Palestinian literature in the contemporaneous moment was breaking from pasts, to focus on presents.  At AWAN festival: Palestinian Literature Now, to define the present for the panellists was not a question of what but exploring whose present, reframing the discourse of literature in an awareness of contemporary fiction and self-representation. They discussed how possible it is to do this, setting discussions apart from iconic Palestinian writers from the 60s-70s, apart from the Global North, apart from trauma. It felt important that all of the panellists came together from different representations of Palestinian identity to navigate this complex discussion in this open forum.

SAFAR Futures Open Call: Arab Film Development Workshop

04 May '23

In collaboration with the SAFAR Film Festival, Palestinian filmmaker Saeed Taji Farouky will lead a free two-day project development workshop on 24 and 25 June 2023 for up to six early-career Arab filmmakers (or filmmakers working on projects connected to or inspired by the Arab world.) Applicants must apply with a film idea in mind, but it […]