Days of Glory,
(France-Morocco-Algeria-Belgium, 2006)
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(Oscar nomination and Cannes Best Actor & Francois Chalais Awards)

Rachid Bouchareb's heartfelt Oscar-nominated Days of Glory is a tribute to the sacrifices made by hundreds of thousands of North Africans drafted into the French army to help liberate France from the clutches of the Nazis in World War 2. (more)

Friday 30 March
8pm screening followed by Q&A with director

Ahlaam
(Iraq, 2005)
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Filmed in Baghdad in the aftermath of the U.S. invasion, its cast and crew subject to kidnappings from both sides, Ahlaam is one of the first feature films from post-Saddam Iraq. (more)

Saturday 31 March
12pm followed by Q&A with director

Zozo
(Lebanon-Sweden, 2005)
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Zozo lives in Beirut with his family. He's a dreamer, living a normal life despite the civil war raging around him. However, when tragedy eventually strikes, Zozo is forced to go it alone, his only hope being to find his grandparents who have recently emigrated to the 'distant paradise' of Sweden. (more)

Saturday 31 March
3pm

Le Dernier Homme
(Lebanon, 2006)
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Hugely resonant given current events, Ghassan Salhab's Le Dernier Homme updates the vampire legend onto the shadowy streets of Beirut. (more)

Saturday 31 March
6pm

The Yacoubian Building
(Egypt, 2006)
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The long-awaited resurgence of Egyptian cinema finally arrives in the guise of The Yacoubian Building. Adapted from Alaa Al-Aswany's blockbuster novel, director Marwan Hamed's debut feature is a breathtakingly audacious examination of contemporary Cairo. (more)

Saturday 31 March
8pm screening followed by Q&A with director

Reel Bad Arabs, How Hollywood Vilifies a People
(United States, 2006)
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This groundbreaking documentary dissects a slanderous aspect of cinematic history that has run virtually unchallenged form the earliest days of silent film to today's biggest Hollywood blockbusters. (more)
(Palestine, 2005)
Sunday 1 April
12pm

BARAKAT!
(Algeria-France, 2006)
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Amel is an emergency doctor working at a hospital in an Algerian coastal town during the civil war in 1990. She returns home one evening to discover her husband, a journalist, has disappeared. (more)

Sunday 1 April
3pm

What a Wonderful World
(Morocco-France, 2006)
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A million miles from the contemplative tone of his award-winning debut Mille Mois, Faouzi Bensaidi's What a Wonderful World is a dizzyingly inventive and witty take on life in modern day Casablanca. At its centre is the lovelorn assassin Kamel, played with near-silent insouciance by the director himself. (more)

Sunday 1 April
6pm

Chased by the Dogs, Naguib Mahfouz Tribute, (tbc)
(Egypt, 1962)
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This film is based on the novel by Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz, Nobel prize winner for literature. It tells the story of a thief who acquires notoriety after a journalist in a newspaper makes him front page daily news. (more)

Sunday 1 April
8:30pm