Curatorial Statement
Past.
Present.
Perspectives…
Since 2012, SAFAR has focused on Arab cinema in very singular journeys through space and time, screening plenty of its genuine and remarkable stories, addressing the hopes, dreams and realities of its eclectic populations, and the generational encounters between them. SAFAR has celebrated Arab cinema by showcasing contemporary art-house standouts, audience favourites, and also revisiting restored classics of the Arab film heritage.
With this 10th edition, SAFAR cements all of the above and more. We seek to remain a welcoming bridge between the yesterdays and the tomorrows and this year’s programme is shaped around this interplay. Reinforcing the important presence of classics in our programmes as a revisiting for some and a discovery for others, we are delighted to open with a beloved treasure of Egyptian cinema, the much celebrated WATCH OUT FOR ZOUZOU, in its restored version, a premiere in the UK. Legends of the golden age will also be reimagined by new generations in a residency with Bahia Shehab, creating new video essays exploring the history of Arab stardom.
But what role does the past play in contemporary cinema? How do we reclaim it when the archives are in the hands of the colonisers? And how might cinema help us take action to avoid reproducing the same alarming patterns of the past in the future?
Many of the chosen films are in constant dialogue between the past and the present. In AGORA, an investigator is left reeling when three people, presumed dead, suddenly return to their small Tunisian town. In ACROSS THE SEA, we follow Nour from 1990 to 2000 and from Morocco to France as he learns to live, love and dream. Other films put the present in immediate perspective: in A STATE OF PASSION, Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah works around the clock in the emergency rooms of Gaza’s Al Shifa and Al Ahli hospitals under the constant bombings of Israel to save as many Palestinian lives as possible.
One can’t be silent to the horrors that Palestine has been enduring. At the heart of this edition are several screenings dedicated to Palestinian film culture: a Masterclass with celebrated Palestinian artist Mohammad Bakri, a cine-concert exploring rarely seen archival footage of Palestine from the early 20th century, as well as an array of feature and short fiction, documentary and essay films about Palestine.
SAFAR is also offering a space of contemplation on today’s Syria and what impact the war has left on its inhabitants (MY MEMORY IS FULL OF GHOSTS). We also reflect on 50 years since the eruption of the civil war in Lebanon (1975-1990) through a special month-long online programme curated by the Lebanon-based nonprofit cultural organization AFLAMUNA and the presentation of the newly restored enigmatic modern classic PHANTOM BEIRUT.
The connection and attachment to the land plays also an integral part of this year’s programme, through a debate on colonialism (AFTER THE SUN) but also through a full programme of shorts dedicated to biodiversity, organized in partnership with the REEF Film Festival and programmed by returning SAFAR Futures alumni Amina Ali and Sally Zarzour, who join the festival this year as Assistant Curators.
SAFAR co-founder Saeed Taji Farouky offers a reflection on the thread of ghosts running throughout the programme (which also includes a special screening of the Egyptian horror classic FANGS), and proposes a tea-making and sharing ritual as an act of solidarity.
SAFAR is not only about screening films within its festival period. It also supports the growing number of Arab films released theatrically across the UK. It enables the public to catch up with films they might have missed (incuding LAYLA and its very vibrant queer setting) but also to discover exclusive previews of films before they hit UK cinemas (the poignant closing documentary SUDAN REMEMBER US, and the reflective Tunisian feature fiction RED PATH).
So come and meet Daye, a teenage Nubian albino with a golden voice, as he faces his community to become a singer (THE TALE OF DAYE’S FAMILY);
Share the dreams of Araweelo who defies her immediate surroundings in Somalia to bounce back on her feet (THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE);
Follow sisters Mariam and Noura who put their differences aside to get their fair share of inheritance in today’s Palestine (THANK YOU FOR BANKING WITH US);
Embark on a journey across Cairo as Hassan dissects every corner of his city to find a safe home for his beloved dog, Rambo (SEEKING HAVEN FOR MR RAMBO);
And follow the mastermind of troubled Saify, who believes he has found a solution to his financial troubles, in the 90’s of Saudi Arabia (SAIFY).
Rediscover the past, reassess the present and reflect on perspectives of the future,
SAFAR welcomes you to its 10th edition.
Rabih El-Khoury
Festival curator