Arabic cinema to be highlighted at Pera Museum

ISTANBUL

‘Date Wine’ is among the Arabic movies that are to be shown at Pera Film.

Pera Film parallels the Pera Museum’s temporary exhibition “Between Desert and Sea: A Selection from the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts” as it presents “Arabian Nights: A Journey into Arab Cinema.” The program includes the celebrated 1975 film “Chronicle of the Year of Embers,” as well as important classics from the 1960s, 70s, 80s and recent productions. 

The ten-film selection of fiction and documentary genres exemplifies some of the best films of Arab cinema from countries such as Jordan, Algeria, Lebanon, Egypt and Palestine. 

The program starts with “Chronicle of the Year of Embers,” the winner of the prestigious Palm d’Or at the 1975 Cannes Film Festival. The movie portrays Algeria’s struggle for independence from French colonial rule. 

Algerian war stories
The story follows a peasant’s migration from his drought-stricken village to his eventual participation in the Algerian resistance movement just prior to the outbreak of the Algerian War of Independence. Filmed in rich CinemaScope, this stunning epic from director Mohamed Lakhdar-Hamina is one of world cinema’s rarely seen gems. 

“A Suspended Life” will be the second screening at Pera Film. The first film shot in post-war Lebanon, “A Suspended Life” is set in Beirut ten years into the conflict. Hala, a child of the war, finds relief from the chaos around her through Egyptian movies she watches on television. Karim, an artist in retreat from life, remains in his apartment in war-torn West Beirut, confident that he is safe in his familiar neighborhood. An unlikely bond is formed between the two as they face the challenges of the devastating civil war. A tale of poetic truth, “A Suspended Life” examines the ways in which war brings people together as well as tears them apart. “I’ve invented places,” wrote director Jocelyne Saab, “as if by making a work of fiction about them, I could preserve them.”

“Date Wine,” “Homage to Youssef Chahine,” “Omar Gatlato,” “Umm Khultum” and “The Broken Wings” are the other movies that will be screened as a part of the event.