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 across 9 cities in the UK.
For me, the first day of every film festival I attend is touched with magic; magic in the unwrapping of a film programme that is the result of months of film viewings and shortlisting; in being part of the ceremony of attending a festival screening, from the buzzing energy in the ticket hall, full of viewers clutching their tickets or phones with electronic entry codes; festival organisers, keeping calm under pressure; and the youthful energy of festival volunteers, probably unaware of the memories they’re creating here for decades to come.
Walking to South Kensington, for the opening film of the 2023 SAFAR Film Festival, I reflect on the current golden age of Arabic film viewings in London, thanks in no small part to SAFAR. Back when I was younger, I had to wait for the annual BFI London Film Festival’s world cinema section to see if any films from the Arab world were scheduled.
At Cine Lumiere, I push the heavy iron frame door, all too aware of my late arrival for the opening reception. Ascending the wide marble staircase to the first floor, I hear the voice of the chairperson of the Arab British Centre, Sir Derek Plumbly, through loudspeakers in the library.
Surrounded by shelves stacked with French classics, as well as French language textbooks, I am drawn to an on-display paperback of Zazie dans le Métro by Raymond Queneau, one of my favourite books, with its out-of-the-blue reference to the eighth century Arab ruler Harun Al-Rashid.
Focusing back on Sir Derek’s speech, I catch his words of thanks to the numerous sponsors of the festival and to the organising team. He’s followed by a representative from the British Council (BC). She talks about the work of BC and its collaboration with the festival. She mentions that she has a favourite seat at Cine Lumiere. I almost say out loud, that I have a favourite seat at the venue too; fortunately no one hears me.
Amani Hassan, Programme Director at the Arab British Centre, celebrates the arrival of the festival at its eighth edition, having been launched back in 2012. She talks about the festival’s expansion in recent years from London to other cities in the country, all the way north in Glasgow, and down south in Plymouth, taking in nine cities.
Back for a fourth edition, festival curator Rabih El-Khoury introduces the programme, shedding some light on the festival line-up, which includes works from Sudan, Morocco, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Algeria and more.
The opening night film, The Last Queen, is a remarkable undertaking by husband and wife co-writers and co-directors Damien Ounouri and Adila Bendimerad, as they retell a story touched by legend from 16th Century Algeria.
The Last Queen centres around the legendary princess Zaphira, wife of the 16th century king of Algiers Salim Toumi, and her going up against the pirate Barbarossa and his men, after her husband’s assassination.
The epic production, which co-director Ounouri explained in the Q&A, was achieved with a relatively small budget, will undoubtedly join the oeuvre of Algerian cinema, alongside Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina’s Chronicle of Years of Fire (1975), Rachid Bouchareb’s Days of Glory (2006), Djamila Sahraoui’s Barakat (2006), Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers, among others, partaking in the narration of the nation’s history.
It is only when the lights come back on that I realise I am sitting directly across the isle from the British Council representative; we both like the same row.
On the way out, I say hello to festival curator Rabih El-Khoury, and share with him my picks from the festival’s line-up:
Cairo As Seen by Youssef Chahine (June 30th, Cine Lumiere)
My Lost Country (July 1st, Cine Lumiere)
Birdland (July 3rd, The Garden Cinema)
19B (July 4th, The Garden Cinema)
The Damned Don’t Cry (July 6th, Cine Lumiere)
Shorts: A Journey Through Time (July 7th, ICA)
The Blue Caftan (July 8th, Barbican)
Beirut the Encounter (July 8th, Barbican)
Notes on Displacement (July 9th, Barbican)
A great Safar night.
Images: London Event Photographer, Kevin Moran