Middle East Studies Film Series 2014-2015

November 11, 2014

Middle East Studies is pleased to announce its second film series entitled “Dreaming of Tomorrow: Youth Culture in the Middle East”. This year, the series will feature four leading films from Iran, Jordan, Palestine and Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia.

Screenings are open to all and are followed by a discussion facilitated by Sa’ed Adel Atshan, Postdoctoral Fellow in International Studies at the Watson Institute for International Studies.

Middle East Studies 2014-2015 Film Series
Dreaming of Tomorrow: Youth Culture in the Middle East

 Four Friday Screenings, Each @ 5:30pm
Joukowsky Room, Watson Institute

FALL 2014

Friday, October 17
IRAN

 No One Knows About Persian Cats–This film follows young musicians as they attempt to evade Iran’s state-sanctioned cultural repression for a rock band performance in Tehran.

Friday, November 7
JORDAN

 Captain Abu Raed–This is the first feature film produced in Jordan in more than 50 years. It explores the relationship between a charismatic elder in a poor neighborhood of Amman and the children who grow to admire him.

SPRING 2015

Friday, February 6
PALESTINE & LEBANON

Frontiers of Dreams and Fears–This documentary traces the (pen pal) friendship between two Palestinian refugee girls, one based in Bethlehem, and the other in Beirut. It provides an intimate window into their lives, hardships, and hopes for the future.

Friday, April 3
SAUDI ARABIA

Wadjda–This is the first feature film shot entirely in Saudi Arabia and the first Saudi film submitted for an Academy Award. It tells the moving story of Wadjda, an 11-year-old girl on a mission to own a bicycle.