Propagandin

AFF (ARAB FILM FESTIVAL) biting at the heels of AFI

Tahani Rached's THESE GIRLS

This entry is embarrassingly overdue. Not only did this film come out in the beginning of 2006, but I saw it in 2006! That said, I'm still thinking about it, and still thinking that others should see it. THESE... More »

By Propagandin

DUBAI FILM FESTIVAL - WWW: WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD

This Moroccan film premiered at the Venice Film Fest last September and despite its off-putting title, I was surprised at how much I liked it. The second feature film from director Faouzi Bensaidi, it follows the intertwining lives of four... More »

By Propagandin

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2006 - V.H.S. KAHLOUCHA

Greetings from the Dubai International Film Festival! As promised, I have seen almost exclusively Arabic language films while here, (often sadly having to pass up some good-looking Bollywood fare) and I am pleased to say there are a few... More »

By Propagandin

ARABIC SHORTS AT DIFF

There is much to be excited about now that the Dubai Int'l Film Festival has posted their entire program on their website. This whole event is going to be one big ol' love fest for me. I sorta feel... More »

By Propagandin

DUBAI INT'L FILM FEST BEGINS ANNOUNCING LINE-UP

The Dubai International Film Festival (Dec 10th - Dec 17th) has begun announcing it's line-up and there are a number of Arab films of note. Premiering at the festival is director Khaled Youssef's KHIYANA SHAREYYAH (Justified Cheating), whose work... More »

By Propagandin

INTERVIEW WITH JOHN SINNO - PRODUCER OF IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS

I got a bit of flak from y'all about saying there were too many docs about Iraq. Come on, guys. I KNOW it's important. Perhaps the MOST important political issue out there today. But that doesn't mean we have... More »

By Propagandin

IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS

Think there are already too many documentaries about the war in Iraq? Yeah, me too. Except finally there is one actually worth seeing. This weekend, IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS will be released in art houses across America. Not only is... More »

By Propagandin

ARABIAN SIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL

While my little Hollywood world is in the midst of AFI madness, another, not so glamorous festival is already underway. The Arabian Sights Film Festival hosted by the Washington DC International Film Festival is happening Oct. 27th through Nov.... More »

By Propagandin

ARABIC DVDS AND FILM POSTERS

As much as I'm excited about new developments in Arab film, as a cinephile, it's hard not to feel nostalgic for what is referred to as "The Golden Era of Egyptian Cinema." Although it's little known in the Western... More »

By Propagandin

Bio-Pic of Hassan Al-Banna

Remember how I mentioned in an earlier post the two varieties of Arab cinema? High-brow art films for Western audiences and low-brow Egyptian films for Arab audiences. Well, here comes the unfortunate addendum to that list. Religious Propaganda films... More »

By Propagandin

Arab Films Take Over The Oscars!! (Well...not exactly)

I realize that Twitch has covered the foreign-language official Oscar submissions previously this month but since five of them are from Arab countries, I thought I'd take this opportunity to examine those more closely. For the record, five films... More »

By Propagandin

Khaled El-Hagar Brings Back Egyptian Musicals with MAFEESH GHEIR KIDA

According to this article, Egyptian director Khaled El-Hagar, is in post-production with Egypt's first musical film, MAFEESH GHEIR KIDA (Nothing But That). Now, just to set the record straight, that's a lie. Admittedly, there haven't been many musicals in... More »

By Propagandin

Interview w/ Rachid Bouchareb of INDIGÈNES

Speaking of... From Time Europe Edition: "Rachid Bouchareb is the director and co-writer of Indigènes, a film opening in France this week that tells the little-known story of soldiers from the French colonies who fought to liberate France from... More »

By Propagandin

INDIGÈNES: Still Battling for Algiers

Gillo Pontecorvo, director of THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS, died this week. I didn't see this movie about the Algerian resistance against French occupation when it came out in 1967 (when it was banned in France), but I did see... More »

By Propagandin

Good News for Egyptian Film?

As the new Twitch representative of Arab film, I'm going to take this opportunity to assume that nobody knows anything about Arab cinema and without me you would forever live in the dark. Please forgive the condescention if this is... More »

By Propagandin

Arab Film Festival Caravan

Tis the season for Arab film! Or rather, tis the season for Arab film festivals. In an unprecedented gesture of foresight and cooperation, four Arab nations organized their respective international film festivals to coincide during the months November and... More »

By Propagandin

Leading Voices in Global Cinema

Todd Brown, Founder & Editor Toronto
Peter Martin, Managing Editor Dallas
Ryland Aldrich, Festivals Editor Los Angeles
James Marsh, Asian Editor Hong Kong
Brian Clark, European Editor Paris

Twitchvision: Talking STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS, MUD and THE ICEMAN

Another Twitchvision chat with Scott Laurie, this time me gushing about J.J.'s latest Star Trek film, which I unabashedly loved.Also talked about he fabbo Mud, and the less fabbo The Iceman, both with Michael Shannon doing his thing.Video embedded below.... More »

Learning from the Masters of Cinema: Henri-Georges Clouzot's THE MURDERER LIVES AT 21

While Henri-Georges Clouzot is best remembered for many of his later films, including The Wages of Fear and Diabolique, the French filmmaker's 1942 debut has gone largely unseen by Western audiences until now. The Murderer Lives at 21 (L'Assassin Habite au 21), based on the novel by Belgian author Stanislas-Andre... More »

China Beat: What did China See in IRON MAN 3?

Much has already been written, both on these pages and many others, about the landmark Hollywood-China co-production that is Marvel and DMG Entertainment's Iron Man 3. The film, directed by Shane Black, is the third solo outing for Robert Downey Jr's Tony Stark, and has proved a phenomenal success around... More »

FEAR & LOATHING AT CANNES, PART 2: I'M IN LOVE WITH EVERYBODY'S GIRL

CHAPTER 4: THE PHILOSOPHY OF ANNA KARINA AND BUTT PLUGSI'm sitting outside at a small Café that my editor told me to meet him at. I'm a 10 minute walk from the Marche Du Film convention hall and I'm still waiting for my editor to arrive so he take guide... More »

CINEMA HOLOCAUST ON THE FRENCH RIVIERA, PART 1: THOSE GOD DAMN FILM BLOGGERS

MIKE'S JOURNAL. MAY 13. MORNINGI wake up sometime around five AM. My flight to France doesn't leave until five PM. I should be there for security check in sometime around 3PM. There is no reason for me to be up this early but I'm feeling anxious. I have an itch... More »