Film fans get cutting-edge view of Middle East life at Arab movie fest in Michigan

Held in Detroit, the event introduced a series of films, movie shorts and documentaries focusing on marginalized voices in communities, including gender, identity, social justice, activism and community building.

Showcasing movies from Arab countries in North Africa and the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, the festival ran for nine days, from June 7 to 16, and featured Michigan premieres and prizewinners from several film festivals, including Sundance and Cannes.

This year’s festival offered more than 15 premieres, four programs of short films, free workshops, an opening reception and a curated selection of the best Arab and Arab-American films of various genres.

Movies spanned various subjects, including stories about a Tunisian son running away from his parents, a man in an Israeli prison who must deal with his ordeal, and a 17-year old Arab and Muslim girl in Arkansas who deals with being an outsider.

The AFF showed a block of seven shorts from the Arab World, including the comedy “Dunya’s Day,” which is a 2018 Saudi movie about Dunya who, on the day of her college soiree, is abandoned by her domestic help but must still throw the perfect party.

Rita Khalifah, from the US city of Melvindale, attended the festival and saw the block of Arab World shorts. She feels that the festival was important for “everyone, not just metro-Detroit,” and gave “a different outlook and perspective on what’s really happening” and “a more personal understanding of people as individuals and what they are going through. I look forward to (the festival) every year and enjoying the creative side of it all.”

The festival ended by showcasing seven shorts that involved Arab-American producers, directors, and/or actors. The films portrayed a broad array of images and messages and were specially selected for screening as they were unlikely to be seen in larger or commercial theaters.

“Generation One” told the tale of Arab-Americans attempting to gain independence while living in the heavily Arab and Muslim community of Bridgeview, Illinois.

“Yallah Habibi” seemed like an Arab version of “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” telling a humorous story of an Arab-American family which owned a restaurant specializing in falafel.

One of the most moving shorts was “Bodega,” which centered on a lovable Arab- and Muslim-American grocery store owner whose daughter was getting married.

All AFF films were subtitled in English and screened in three venues: the Aliya Hassan Auditorium at the Arab American National Museum, in Dearborn; the Michigan Theater, in Ann Arbor; and the State Theater, also Ann Arbor.

Throughout the film festival, the art and paintings of Mayssa Fakih, a local teenage artist whose works touch on some of the topics, were on display for attendees.