Festivals

Cinemaayat, The Arab Film Festival

The 13th annual Cinemayaat, the Arab Film Festival, returned to Camera 12 Cinema in downtown San Jose, Oct. 17-18, 2009. The only independent showcase in the U.S. for cinema produced by and about the Arab World, Cinemayaat presented numerous short films, videos, documentaries and full-length features from countries around the globe, including Morocco, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, Palestine, France and the United States, in venues throughout the Bay Area (in many cases, with the filmmaker in attendance).

The festival's schedule at the Camera 12 was as follows:

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17

1:30pm -- Gaza London / Lesh Sabreen / Noor / Fatenah / Phatwa (short films/99 min)
4:00pm -- Henna / Absence (dir. Saleh Karama/UAE/86 min)
In Henna, an 8-year-old girl living in a traditional fishing village loses her father when her mother's illness leads to a divorce, and her only remaining father figure, a Bedouin relative, is driven from the village. Preceded by Absence, a poignant short film on loneliness in a fast moving society.
6:00pm -- Salt of This Sea (dir. Annemarie Jacir/Palestine/104 min)
Soraya, born in Brooklyn to Palestinian refugees, discovers that her grandfather's savings were frozen in a Jaffa bank account when he was exiled in 1948, and goes to Palestine to reclaim her birthright.
8:30pm -- Basra (dir. Ahmed Rashwan/Egypt/94 min)
In Paris, Tarek decides to stop studying law to pursue his passion for photography, and returns to his native Egypt, just as the US and Britain invade Iraq.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18

12:30pm -- Remnants of War / Stranger in My Home Jerusalem (dir. Jawad Metni/Lebanon-USA/76 min) / (dir. Sahera Dirbas/Palestine/31 min)
In Remnants, the men and women of south Lebanon work to clear their land of unexploded cluster munitions left after the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. Stranger relates the stories of eight Palestinian Jerusalemite families that have been turned into refugees in their own city.
3:00pm -- Laila's Birthday (dir. Rachid Mashrawi/Palestine/72 min)
Abu Laila, a former judge, is forced by the economy to become a taxi driver. On his daughter's birthday, his wife insists he be at home early, but the challenges of daily life in Palestine change his plans.
5:00pm -- On A Day Like Today (dir. Amr Salama/Egypt/92 min)
After a period of mourning following her lover's death, May falls in love again, but when she discovers uncanny similarities in the two relationships, she begins to look for ways to save her new lover's life.
7:00pm -- Casanegra (dir. Nour-Eddine Lakhmari/Morocco/124 min)
Two childhood friends, Adil and Karim, try to make a living as small-time crooks on the streets of modern day Casablanca. When both men decide to make a better life for themselves, they are hired by a local mobster to perform one last job to earn their ticket out of Casablanca, and their friendship faces the ultimate test.

The Arab Film Festival was sponsored by the Arab Women's Solidarity Association. For more info, check out the THE ARAB FILM FESTIVAL website.