Seeing is Believing
Put the words Arabic and Film together and they instantly conjure up images of Lawrence of Arabia and other sand-based epics. But all that’s about to change; at a pivotal time for Arabian cinema, with film-making flourishing across Northern Africa, and the Middle East, post 9/11 film-makers are creating some of the best, and most inventive, films in the world.
To celebrate this, the second Mirage Film Festival, taking place in Birmingham this weekend, is bringing these inspirational films to life for a wider audience. Festival co-ordinator Tasawar Bashir, talks about the ascendance of Arabian cinema, and the importance of its existence.
Q: How does this year’s festival differ from Mirage 2006?
A: For 200,7 Mirage is focusing on the Middle East. That’s a lot of territory, from Tunisia all the way to Afghanistan. In light of all the media coverage, the Arab world has become the focus of many international film festivals too, which made my life slightly easier in terms of identifying interesting films to show.
Q: Why did you choose to stage the festival in Birmingham?
A: Birmingham is an extremely multi-cultural city, with many people living there who are from the Middle East. They formed a big chunk of our audience last year.
Q: How do you choose the films to be shown?
A: The films chosen illustrate the different types of films being made at the moment, from love stories to experimental documentaries, from raw and edgy political commentary to philosophical road journeys. It’s about surprising the audience, and trying to break down people’s preconceptions of the Middle East. This year’s selection of films illustrates the region’s range and depth of identities and cultural differences.
Q: What do you believe is driving this exciting new wave of Arabic film-making?
A: There’s no doubt that Arab cinema is in ascendancy at the moment. It’s much easier, and much more practical now to make a film there than it was four or five years ago, and there’s more of an international audience. Lately the Arabic world has been at the receiving end of a huge amount of speculative new coverage, and I suppose a reaction, at some level, was inevitable. Large independent news channels such as Al Arabiya, and Al Jazeera, are commissioning documentary films, and film-makers themselves are finding it easier to secure co-production deals with overseas film companies. Everything is interconnected.
Q: How do you think the social climate in the Arabic world is affecting the films coming out of there at the moment?
A: Arabian Directors are concentrating on intimate stories instead of the big political issues. This is partly due to budgets, but also in order to defend themselves against the way news coverage can dehumanise people.
Q: Over the last five years we’ve seen the Asian film industry really explode onto the western scene. Do you believe Arabic films are poised to do the same, and do their film-makers want them to?
A:The state-of-the-world in film is undergoing some seismic shifts, and although they’re still the biggest players, the Americans are losing a lot of money. In contrast, the Far East is turning out some of the slickest films we’ve ever seen, winning over more audiences every year, and India is also aiming to challenge American dominance in the not too distant future.
In terms of Arab aspirations, Dubai has signalled its intent to be a major centre for film production. In 2008 the city will inaugurate four state of the art Hollywood style film production studios. This is an extremely ambitious move and reflects the aspirations of the whole Middle East region.
A number of distinguished international film festivals have also recently championed the work of Arab film-makers, giving a much needed confidence boost to these fledgling industries. All artists seek the approval of as many different audiences as possible. When an Arab filmmaker is nominated for an Oscar it’s a big deal.
Q: Why should we see these films?
A: There are some great films in this festival. Mirage 2007 attempts to capture the sheer diversity of the Middle Eastern region. Some of the films are light-hearted, others are profound and philosophical. They are all quite accessible and I hope to encourage audiences to try a different dish, if I can use a food analogy.
Q: What are you hoping to achieve with Mirage 2007, and what do you hope the outcomes will be?
A: This is a very small festival so I’m hoping that people who come along will feel relaxed enough to take part. I hope we get new audiences who will enrich the discussions that some of these films will generate, and I hope that people will feel passionate enough to tell us about the films they didn’t like as well as the ones they loved.
The Mirage Film Festival 2007 kicks off on Thursday 19th April with Jafar Panahi’s touching tale of football and patriotism, Offside (The Drum, 1.00pm). For all times and listing, plus a brief overview of each film, visit www.fiercetv.co.uk/mirage/
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