Photo from Under the Fig Trees
Photo from The Intruder
Photo from The Monster
Contemporary Arab Cinema Series - 6th Season
CinemaNa
Presented by the NYUAD Film and New Media Program in partnership with The Arts Center
Provocative discussions centered on diverse films from the Arab world
Provocative discussions centered on diverse films from the Arab world
Curated by the NYUAD Film and New Media Program, this ongoing series showcases groundbreaking films alongside discussions with the filmmakers and faculty. Each screening is followed by a live Q&A with the creatives behind the films.
In its 6th season the lineup is:
Black Box Cinema – March 13th
Enjoy a series of Arab short films curated by Black Box Cinema. Founded and managed by filmmaker Nawaf Al Janahi (Before We Forget, Sea Shadow), Black Box Cinema has been a landmark in Abu Dhabi International Book Fair since 2014, focused on presenting Arab short films, spreading film culture to new circles and giving different audiences the chance to come closer to Arab cinema.
Emirati Short Film Program – April 4th
A series of short films by Emirati filmmakers featuring Eman Al Sayed’s “Hamam Zakiya,” Sarra’a Al Shehhi’s “A Small Dream, ” Shereen Abu Ouf’s “Hayya,” and Abdulrahman Al Madani’s “The Monster.”
Under The Fig Trees – May 16th
Followed by a live online conversation with filmmaker Erige Sehiri
Taking place over the course of a day, Under The Fig Trees presents an intergenerational dialogue between a group of teens and older folk as they work the summer harvest, catch feelings, attempt to understand each other, and navigate the complicated terrain of building deeper ties.
Presented by the NYUAD Film and New Media Program.
Previously in this Event Series

Contemporary Arab Cinema
Foragers by Jumana Manna
Presented by the NYUAD Film and New Media Program
Film Screening of Contemporary Arab Cinema

Contemporary Arab Cinema
Of Fathers and Sons - Screening
Presented by Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and the NYUAD Film and New Media Program
Talal Derki returns to his homeland, where he gains the trust of a radical Islamist family, sharing their daily life over two years.

Contemporary Arab Cinema
Huda’s Salon by Hany Abu-Assad
Presented by the NYUAD Film and New Media Program
A live conversation with Palestinian filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad, accompanied by his film, Huda’s Salon.

Contemporary Arab Cinema
Mafak (Screwdriver) - Screening
Presented by Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and the NYUAD Film and New Media Program
A man experiences a physical and emotional toll when he returns home after spending 15 years in an Israeli jail.

Written and Directed by Nawaf Al Janahi
CinemaNA - The Circle Screening
Presented by Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and NYU Abu Dhabi
Ibrahim, a poet and journalist discovers that he is dying soon from a fatal disease. He confronts his crook partner, Bader, and demands his share to make sure that his wife has a better life after he's gone. Shihab, a professional thief, forced by his boss to do jobs for him in order to pay off a huge debt, plans to quit the crime world to take care of his younger sister. They both meet accidentally and begin to see the world with different perspectives.

Contemporary Arab Cinema
CinemaNA: Three Films by Jocelyne Saab
Presented by Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and the NYUAD Film and New Media Program
A live talk with Dr. Mathilde Rouxel on Jocelyne Saab’s films. Before the talk, we invite you to watch three of Saab's films.

Contemporary Arab Cinema
What Comes Around - Screening
Presented by Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and the NYUAD Film and New Media Program
In one of the poorest neighborhoods of Cairo, the community is the only way for hope.

Directed by Sophie Boutros
CinemaNA - Mahbas
Presented by Paris-Sorbonne University and NYUAD
In a Lebanese village, Therese joyfully prepares for an overnight visit of her daughter's suitor and his parents. She shares the happy news with pictures of her brother who died 20-years-ago in the Lebanese-Syrian war, but is still alive in every corner of her life, reminding her of her hatred towards Syrians. The guests are at her doorstep: they are Syrian! This proposal will only happen over her dead body.

Written and Directed by Mohamed Ben Attia
CinemaNA - Hedi Screening
Presented by Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and NYU Abu Dhabi
Hedi is a young Tunisian man trying to figure out his place in the world. Plagued by indecision, he routinely submits to the wishes of his mother, including agreeing to her desire to place him in an arranged marriage and take a job as a car salesman. Things change, however, when he encounters Rim, an intriguing woman with an independent streak who inspires Hedi to take charge of his own life.
Contemporary Arab Cinema
Daughters of Abdul-Rahman by Zaid Abu Hamdan
Presented by the NYUAD Film and New Media Program
A live conversation with Jordanian filmmaker Zaid Abu Hamdan, accompanied by his film, Daughters of Abdul-Rahman

Written and Directed by Annemarie Jacir
CinemaNA - Wajib Screening
Presented by Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and NYU Abu Dhabi
Abu Shadi is a divorced father and a school teacher in his mid-sixties living in Nazareth. After his daughter’s wedding, in one month, he will be living alone. Shadi, his architect son, arrives from Rome after years abroad to help his father with delivering the wedding invitations to each guest, in hand, as per local Palestinian custom. As the estranged pair spend the day together, the tense details of their relationship come to a head challenging their fragile and very different lives.

Contemporary Arab Cinema
CinemaNA: Films by Mohamad Malas and Nezar Andary
Presented by Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and the NYUAD Film and New Media Program
A conversation with influential Syrian filmmaker Mohamad Malas and Abu Dhabi filmmaker Nezar Andary, accompanied by three films by and about him that provoke audiences to contemplate loss, memory, and home.

Written & Directed: Abu Bakr Shawky
Yomeddine
Presented by Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and the NYUAD Film and New Media Program
A Coptic Christian leper, his 10-year-old Nubian Muslim sidekick, and their loyal donkey, leave the confines of their leper colony for the first time.

Contemporary Arab Cinema - Screening & Q&A
Three Palestinian Short films
Presented by Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and the NYUAD Film and New Media Program
Three Short Films by Palestinian Filmmakers

Directed by Amer Shomali and Paul Cowan
CinemaNA – The Wanted 18
Presented by Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and NYU Abu Dhabi
Through a clever mix of stop-motion animation and interviews, The Wanted 18 recreates an astonishing true story: the Israeli army's pursuit of 18 cows, whose independent milk production on a Palestinian collective farm was declared "a threat to the national security of the state of Israel."

Contemporary Arab Cinema
Capernaum - Screening
Presented by Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and the NYUAD Film and New Media Program
While serving a five-year sentence for a violent crime, a 12-year-old boy sues his parents for neglect.

Contemporary Arab Cinema
Emirati Short Film Program
Presented by the NYUAD Film and New Media Program
A series of short films by Emirati filmmakers

Five hit Arab short films that made it to the Oscars
Arab Shorts Program
Presented by Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and the NYUAD Film and New Media Program
Five hit Arab short films that made it to the Oscars

Contemporary Arab Cinema
Three short films by Emirati filmmaker Abdulrahman Al Madani - Screening
Presented by Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and the NYUAD Film and New Media Program
Screening of Three Short Films: Nagafa, Beshkara, & Laymoon

Contemporary Arab Cinema
Before We Forget by Nawaf Al Janahi
Presented with Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and the NYUAD Film and New Media Program
A live conversation with Emirati filmmaker Nawaf Al Janahi, accompanied by his film, Before We Forget.

Contemporary Arab Cinema
Black Box Cinema
Presented by the NYUAD Film and New Media Program
Enjoy a series of Arab short films curated by Black Box Cinema

Written and Directed by Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani
CinemaNA - Ajami
Presented by Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and NYU Abu Dhabi
This Academy Award-nominated film is Shakespearean in its scope and themes - revenge, loyalty, hope, and despair.

Contemporary Arab Cinema
The Stranger (Al Garib) by Ameer Fakher Eldin
Presented with Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and the NYUAD Film and New Media Program
A screening of Syrian filmmaker Ameer Fakher Eldin'sThe Stranger (Al Garib), followed by a live conversation with the filmmaker.

Contemporary Arab Cinema
Between Two Seas - Screening
Presented by Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and the NYUAD Film and New Media Program
A dramatic story of a forgotten society driven by a search for redemption, revenge, and hope.

Written by Rami Alayan. Directed by Muayad Alayan
The Reports on Sarah and Saleem
Presented by Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and the NYUAD Film and New Media Program
Set in Jerusalem, Sarah and Saleem are having an extramarital affair that ignites a dangerous game of deceit between those who hold power and those who don't.

Written and Directed by Annemarie Jacir
When I Saw you
Presented by Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and the NYUAD Film and New Media Program
1967. The world is alive with change: brimming with reawakened energy, new styles, music and an infectious sense of hope.

Directed by Mohamed Al-Daradji
The Journey
Presented by Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and the NYUAD Film and New Media Program
Baghdad, 30 December, 2006. Sara, an unassuming young woman, enters Baghdad’s central train station with sinister intentions.

Directed by Karim Moussaoui
Until the Birds Return
Presented by Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and the NYUAD Film and New Media Program
Three stories that plunge us into the human soul of a contemporary Arab society.

Written, Directed, and Produced by Humaid Alsuwaidi
Musk
Presented by Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and the NYUAD Film and New Media Program
A cynical divorced man tries to reconcile with his 12-year-old aloof son.

Contemporary Arab Cinema
Scales - Screening
Presented by Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and the NYUAD Film and New Media Program
A dystopian story of a young strong-willed girl, Hayat, who lives in a poor fishing village governed by tradition in which every family must give one daughter to the sea creatures.

Contemporary Arab Cinema
Sofia - Screening
Presented by Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and the NYUAD Film and New Media Program
Sofia, 20, lives with her parents in Casablanca. Following a denial of pregnancy, she finds herself illegally giving birth to a baby out of wedlock.

Contemporary Arab Cinema
You Will Die at Twenty - Screening
Presented by Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and the NYUAD Film and New Media Program
Prophesied to die at 20, a teen seeks to escape fate.

Directed by Mahmoud Al Massad
CinemaNA - Blessed Benefit
Presented by Paris-Sorbonne University and NYU Abu Dhabi
Ahmad, a construction worker gets tangled up in an unfortunate business deal leading him to prison. He meets fraudster Ibrahim, who ruins his last hope to prove his innocence. Ahmad is awakened by the realization that life in prison might be better than his life on the outside.

Directed by Mahmoud Al Massad
CinemaNA - Recycle
Presented by Paris-Sorbonne University and NYU Abu Dhabi
A Jordanian family man living in the hometown of Muslim leader Al-Zarqawi.

Directed by Fadi Haddad
CinemaNA - When Monaliza Smiled
Presented by Paris-Sorbonne University and NYUAD
A romantic comedy about a love story between Jordanian Monaliza, and Egyptian Hamdi, set in present day Amman among a community of nosy stereotypes and quirky characters.