D.C.’s Arabian Sights Film Festival //

11.23.09

bylgoode

Arabian Sights rides again! Washington D.C.’s Arab film festival returned for its 14th year. And once again the smart selections of Festival Director Shirin Ghareeb paid off to showcase the broad spectrum of Arab cinema. This year’s selections ranged from Egyptian melodrama to cynical Palestinian comedies, to stark European-style realism and engaging documentaries from every corner of the Arab world.

Lyes Salem’s Masquerades won this year’s audience award after having already won Best Film at the Dubai International Film Festival. But the buzz generated during the screenings FEN attended skewed towards the Festival’s comedies. The viewers we spoke with highlighted the absurdity of Laila’s Birthday and gushed over Sanaa Alaoui’s performance in A Fiancée for Yasmina. Personal favorites included Rachid Bouchareb’s sobering London River, as well as the documentary A Road to Mecca: The Journey of Muhammad Asad which chronicled the fascinating life of one of the 20th century’s most influential Muslims.

For more on Arabian Sights, check out the Festival’s website.