A Journey Through Popular Arab Cinema At The ICA

The Arab British Centre in partnership with the ICA and Dubai International Film Festival presents Safar: A Journey Through Popular Arab Cinema, the most ambitious programme of popular Arab film ever seen in the UK.
This week-long series of classic and contemporary popular cinema will take audiences on a journey of gripping dramas, subversive comedies and exaggerated melodramas, taking in an array of re-mastered cinematic masterpieces and new releases, many never before seen on British screens.
The programme explores a fifty-year period of filmmaking that demonstrates the diversity and complexity of Arab cinema. Focusing on Egyptian cultural production (as the historical epicentre of Arab cinema), the programme also includes recent popular hits from Lebanon and Jordan.
The series avoids presenting cultural stereotypes of the conflicted present without shying away from controversy. Instead, Safar: A Journey Through Popular Arab Cinema invites audiences to experience local popular culture and debate film’s effectiveness in conveying social histories.
With so many Arab countries in the midst of restructuring themselves both politically and socially, it seems more urgent than ever to give these films a platform in the UK. Including literary adaptations such as The Yacoubian Building and box office smash-hits such as Bosta, as well as films starring cinematic icons such as Adel Imam, a pre-Lawrence of Arabia Omar Sharif, and contemporary stars Nadine Labaki and Khaled Abol Naga, Safar: A Journey Through Popular Arab Cinema offers a rich programme that is accessible to both mainstream British audiences and fans of World Cinema alike.
See www.arabbritishcentre.org.uk