The UK’s largest festival of Arab cinema screens at Midlands Arts Centre, presenting fiction and documentaries from North Africa and Palestine, plus two special live events.

Hounds (21 June, 19:45)
Kamal Lazraq | Morocco, France, Belgium, Qatar, Saudi Arabia | 2022 | 94’ | Darija, Berber and French
Feature fiction

Kamal Lazraq‘s first feature is a trim, unsparing crime tale that pits social desperation against a nagging spiritual conscience.
In the suburbs of Casablanca, Hassan and Issam, father and son, live from day to day by carrying out small trafficking jobs for the local mafia. One evening, they are tasked with kidnapping a man. Trapped in a long night, they have no idea what awaits them…

Dirty Difficult Dangerous + I Promise You Paradise (22 June, 20:15)
Dirty Difficult Dangerous
Wissam Charaf | France, Italy, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia | 2022 | 83’ | Arabic, Amharic, Bengali, English
Feature fiction

An impossible love story between an Ethiopian housemaid and a Syrian refugee whose body is witnessing mysterious changes. Wissam Charaf’s Dirty Difficult Dangerous offers an intimate vision of today’s Lebanese society steeped in sweet and sour magical realism.
Presented alongside Morad Mostafa’s I Promise You Paradise (2023), a short which has won over 40 international awards. Following a violent incident, Eissa, a 17-year-old African migrant in Egypt, strives to beat the clock to save his loved ones whatever it takes.

Dirty Difficult Dangerous will be preceded by Morad Mostafa’s short film I Promise You Paradise (2023), winner of over 40 international awards. Following a violent incident, Eissa, a 17-year-old African migrant in Egypt, strives to beat the clock to save his loved ones whatever it takes.

Wedding in Galilee + Palestinian cultural event (23 June, 17:00)
Michel Khleifi | Palestine, Belgium, France | 1987 | 115’ | Arabic
Feature fiction

Wedding in Galilee is a lyrical, passionate tale of a wedding that takes place in an occupied village, and the contemporary tensions, contradictions and hostilities that surround it.
Released in 1987 to much critical acclaim, it is the first feature film entirely shot in Palestine by a Palestinian director.

Presented in partnership with Falasteen on Film, the screening will be followed by an interactive event inspired by Wedding In Galilee, with Palestinian food, music and a collective discussion about the film and Palestine.

Bye Bye Tiberias + Q&A (26 June, 19:00)
Lina Soualem | France, Palestine , Belgium, Qatar | 2023 | 82’ | French, Palestinian Arabic
Closed captions and Audio Description available
Feature documentary

In her early twenties, Hiam Abbass left her native Palestinian village to follow her dream of becoming an actress in Europe, leaving behind her mother, grandmother, and seven sisters.
Thirty years later, her filmmaker daughter Lina returns with her to the village and questions for the first time her mother’s bold choices, her chosen exile and the way the women in their family influenced both their lives.
SAFAR Film Festival is delighted to present an exclusive Q&A preview tour of Bye Bye Tiberias ahead of its UK release by T A P E Collective.

Find more information and tickets for Birmingham Screenings here.

SAFAR Film Festival, the UK’s largest festival of Arab cinema, screens in 9 UK cities from 18-30 June and is supported by the British Film Institute, awarding funds from the National Lottery, British Council, Bagri Foundation and Barjeel Art Foundation.
Explore the full programme on www.safarfilmfestival.co.uk