The Arab Film Festival(AFF) which will be held in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area in October has received an overwhelming response to its call for entries. The festival celebrates its 15th anniversary this year and audiences can expect to watch some very unusual independent films. Speaking about the entries received, Michel Shehadeh, […]
The Arab Film Festival(AFF) which will be held in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area in October has received an overwhelming response to its call for entries.
The festival celebrates its 15th anniversary this year and audiences can expect to watch some very unusual independent films.
Speaking about the entries received, Michel Shehadeh, AFFs executive director told BroadcastPro Middle East: The films poured in from all over the Arab world and Arab immigrant communities. The range and level of sophistication that these films engendered is so heartening. You could feel that there is a filmmaking renaissance in Arab filmmaking.
Shehadeh added that the recent events in the Arab world have brought an increased level of excitement around the region and audiences want to see it captured on film with images and stories.
He pointed out that: The subject matters, the issues the films are dealing with, the stories, the cinematography and the experimentation are all an indication of the fusion of the past and the present, the interconnectedness and diversity in this years collection.
AFFs mission is to enhance public understanding of Arab culture and to provide alternative representations of Arabs that contradict the stereotypical images frequently encountered in the (North) American mass media.
Shehadeh stated: It has become more difficult for Hollywood to present negative images and narratives about Arabs, and Arab films have played a central part in presenting an alternative.
