America.gov-The Arts: Film

Iranian Filmmakers Grab Attention at American Film Festival

Steve Holgate — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 09:33:28 -0400

Documentaries by two Iranian filmmakers attract favorable attention at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The films provide a window into a world unfamiliar to most Americans, and now the filmmakers are hoping for a wider audience throughout the United States.

New Jordanian Movie Makes History

Meghan Loftus — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 10:23:11 -0400

Writer-director Amin Matalqa was in Washington to talk about his first movie, Captain Abu Raed. The movie is also a first for Jordan — its first movie in 50 years and its first submission to the Academy Awards. The film was screened as part of the Arabian Sights Film Festival on November 1 and 2.

Muslim Filmmaker Looks at Social Issues with Humor, Warmth

Serena Kim — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:00:37 -0400

Although she defies expectations of what a Los Angeles filmmaker should look like -- she is young, female, devoutly Muslim and Indian American -- 24-year-old Lena Khan writes and directs music videos, commercials and award-winning short films. She addresses social issues with humor and youthful sensibility.

More International Films Shown at U.S. Documentary Film Fest

David Minckler — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:56:45 -0400

The Silverdocs documentary festival in suburban Washington has steadily grown into the premier U.S. showcase for nonfiction filmmakers from around the world. This year’s festival was the biggest and most international yet, with 108 films from 63 countries. More than 22,000 people attended.

Sports Films Celebrate American Brand of Perseverance

Yvette Ridenour — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:52:24 -0400

For more than 60 years, U.S. sports movies have celebrated the never-say-die spirit that emerges in the heat of athletic competition. The best of these films have illuminated the American tradition of finding a way to overcome overwhelming obstacles, sometimes even using the obstacles themselves as a path to victory.

Egyptian-American Exchange Is Theme of TV Reality Show

Ralph Dannheisser — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 13:47:30 -0400

After an exchange of visits arranged for a pioneering television program, the participants -- two Americans and two Egyptians -- sharply revised their views of each other’s culture. During the reciprocal two-week visits in the United States and Egypt, camera crews followed the four as they immersed themselves in the other country’s culture.

Independent Films Encourage Self-Expression

Kenneth Turan — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 11:22:31 -0400

The modern U.S. independent film industry was born when a few courageous directors spent their own money to produce movies that Hollywood studios were not interested in financing. Public appreciation for these usually low-budget, high-quality films, however, has enabled the independent film industry to grow and thrive.

Afghan Women’s Struggles, Triumphs Highlighted in Documentaries

Lauren Monsen — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 08:39:38 -0400

Sahar Adish and Malalai Joya are young Afghan women with dramatic personal histories. They share another distinction: each is the subject of an award-winning documentary film that examines the plight of people who live in a repressive society. The films were shown at SilverDocs 2007.

Documentaries on Social Relations, Politics Win at Film Festival

Carolee Walker — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 12:46:25 -0400

Films about social and political relations take home audience and jury awards at the Silverdocs 2007 international documentary film festival near Washington. The top award winners are Please Vote for Me, by Chinese director Weijun Chen, and Enemies of Happiness, by Danish filmmaker Eva Mulvad.

Afghan-born Filmmaker Raises Awareness To Help Her Native Land

Lauren Monsen — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 17:09:34 -0400

When filmmaker Sonia Nassery Cole first saw 9-year-old Farouk, an Afghan boy selling newspapers and calendars on the streets of Kabul, Afghanistan, she was determined to share his story with audiences around the world. Cole, an Afghan-born U.S. citizen who was forced to flee her native land in 1979 during the Soviet invasion, long has been active in fundraising efforts to facilitate the reconstruction of Afghanistan. As a philanthropist and a filmmaker, she seeks to focus public attention on the severe problems facing the country.

U.S. Audience Applauds Latest Film from Iranian Director Panahi

Judy Aita — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 17:35:18 -0400

A New York screening of famed Iranian director Jafar Panahi's film Offside plays to a packed theater. In a discussion following the screening, Columbia University professor Hamid Dabashi, author of new book, Iran: A People Interrupted, Offside "the crowning achievement of Iranian cinema over the last two decades" that has become part and parcel of a body of spectacular presentations of Iranian social and political concerns by Iranian filmmakers.

Musical Film on Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Wins Academy Award

David Shelby — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 17:23:26 -0400

When University of Southern California film student Ari Sandel set out to make a musical comedy about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, many people warned him that the tragic circumstances in the Middle East are not appropriate material for a comedic venture. But since Sandel’s West Bank Story premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2005, it has played more than 100 festivals on five continents and won 25 prizes. This winning streak was capped with the award for best live-action short film from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In accepting the Oscar at the Academy Awards ceremony, Sandel says the award shows how many people support the notion of peace in the Middle East. “I truly believe that peace between Israelis and Arabs will be achieved and don’t believe it is a hopeless endeavor,” he says.

Personal Stories Win at 2007 Sundance Film Festival

Carolee Walker — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 18:56:04 -0400

Stories crossing cultural and geographical borders took audience and jury awards for documentaries and dramas at the Sundance Film Festival 2007. The grand jury prize winners for dramas and documentaries also crossed the cultural divide: U.S. directors told personal stories involving Latin America.

U.S., International Filmmakers Tell Contemporary Stories

Sehreen Noor Ali — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 17:04:44 -0400

The story of a Pakistani woman’s courageous search for justice after being gang-raped by her neighbors in a remote village in Pakistan in the summer of 2002 is among four films screened at the American Film Institute’s Silver Theater in Silver Spring, Maryland. USINFO looks at AFI Project: 20/20, part of the Global Cultural Initiative launched by first lady Laura Bush and Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Karen Hughes in collaboration with public and private cultural organizations.

Film Explores Intersecting Lives of Journalist and Jihadi

Lea Terhune — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 17:31:14 -0400

The lives of Wall Street Journal correspondent Daniel Pearl and British-born Omar Sheikh, an accessory in Pearl's kidnapping, and the fateful intersection of their paths is the focus of The Journalist and the Jihadi: The Murder of Daniel Pearl, a documentary film directed by South Asia-based Ahmed A. Jamal and Ramesh Sharma in partnership with HBO Documentary Films.

Hollywood Festival Showcases Works of U.A.E. Film Students

Chris Thornton — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 11:38:52 -0400

“Through a Different Lens,” a festival at the University of Southern California’s prestigious School of Cinema showcases films of 15 students from American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Five of the students travel to Los Angeles to attend the screenings. The films that generated the most interest were not those that mimicked the Hollywood style but rather those that captured something of the character and flavor of the Middle East, the students say.

Global Talents Take Honors at 78th U.S. Film Industry Awards

Michael J. Bandler — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 11:26:12 -0400

Filmmaking talent from around the globe is recognized in the United States’ pre-eminent movie competition -- the Academy Awards, known as Oscars, presented by the U.S. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The list of winners and nominees underscore the fact that the U.S. film industry -- rather than being a monolith -- actually is quite decentralized, with independently financed films a solid segment of the mix and foreign artists and craftsmen primary contributers.