ArteEast is proud of the success of our four-year long flagship program: CinemaEast. Since 2003, CinemaEast has worked hard to bring the most important films from the Middle East to New York City audiences. We’ve collaborated with important venues in the city including Tribeca Institute, The Lincoln Center and New York University. If you are a film programmer and interested in any of our programs, please contact us at: filminfo@arteeast.org.
CinemaEast Fall Series 2008
ArteEast, the Department of Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies and the Kevorkian Center at New York University are pleased to present a new season of films from the Middle East and its diasporas. September 24 - December 3, 2008
Cantor Film Center
36 East 8 Street
New York, NY 10003
Touring Program - Beur is Beautiful ArteEast is pleased to announce the launch of its new international touring program of Maghrebi-French cinema, a flourishing trend that reflects upon the legacy of colonialism and the challenge of integration and assimilation that 'immigrant' populations face in France. Curated by Carrie Tarr. February 5 - December 31, 2008
Premiering at ArteEast’s 2007 CinemaEast Film Festival.The term beur is a French slang derivation of the word Arabe, and refers to the French-born children of North African (Maghrebi) immigrants --of Arab as well as Amazigh and Kabyle origin -- who, for the most part, grew up in the concrete wastelands of the low-income housing projects in the working-class suburbs (banlieues) of France. While beur has been part of the European lexicon for over 20 years, the term and the culture it describes remain largely unknown in the United States. When violent riots erupted in the banlieues of Paris and other French cities in fall 2005, however, questions of beur immigration and assimilation thought long buried suddenly burst back into the light, given a new urgency by the post-9/11 politics that designate Middle East and West as enemies and fan the flames of nationalism and mutual intolerance.
Although the story of Beur cinema since its beginnings in the 1980s banlieues is very specific historically, socially and politically to France, its essence is animated by themes universal to all contemporary experiences of migration, and particularly apt in our current climate: political, social, economic and cultural dislocation and adaptation, alienation and assimilation, bridging and disruption, inclusion and marginalization. “Beur” is Beautiful: A retrospective of Maghrebi-French Cinema explores these themes in 12 selected films for this unique traveling tour.
Engage your audiences in banlieue film by exploring the intriguing world of Maghrebi-French cinema.
ArteEast, the Department of Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies and the Kevorkian Center at New York University are pleased to present a new season of films from the Middle East and its diasporas. The Spring season opens with an all-time 1944 classic of Egyptian cinema lovingly restored by Rotana TV, Love and Revenge. One of the earliest masterpieces of the Egyptian screen, the film is usually known for the tragic death of its star Asmahan before its completion. A special guest of CinemaEast this season is Swiss video artist Ursula Biemann, who will be presenting her award-winning work – Sahara Chronicle, a video collection documenting the present sub-Saharan exodus towards Europe and the interdependence of migrations with international politics of mobility. Recently selected and restored by Martin Scorcese and the World Cinema Foundation, Trances by Ahmed El Maanouni, a captivating exploration of the musical group Nass El Ghiwane, will be the focus of our March program. The season concludes in April with Caught in Between Two Worlds and Voices, highlighting the work of directors Persheng Sadegh-Vaziri and Simin Farkhondeh about the experiences of being Iranian in the United States today.
The term beur is French inversion-slang (verlan) for the word arabe, and refers to the French-born children of North African (Maghrebi) immigrants of Arab as well as Amazigh and Kabyle origin. For the most part, this generation grew up in the concrete wastelands of France’s low-income housing projects in the suburbs (banlieues). While beur has been part of the European lexicon for more than 20 years, the term and the culture it describes remain largely unknown in the United States.
CinemaEast Film Festival 2007 Celebrating the Independent Spirits of Filmmakers from the Middle East, North Africa, and their Diasporas. November 8 - 15, 2007
Recognized around the world for being a premier venue for bringing cinematic voices from the Middle East, North Africa and their diasporas to international crowds, the 2007 CinemaEast Film Festival selections continue to break new artistic and political ground.
For close to a decade now, a generation of Turkish auteur filmmakers has been cultivating an increasing audience of admirers and followers, both homegrown and across the world. Their cinema is distinctly original while deeply conversant with master-filmmakers as diverse as Bresson, Bergman and Kiarostami, not claiming lineage from any school or filmmaker per se. The constellation of names that have acquired renown includes Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Zeki Demirkubuz, Reha Erdem, Dervis Zaim and Yesim Ustaoglu.
With seven films in thirteen years, Zeki Demirkubuz is already a major auteur in Turkish cinema. Tackling questions of morality and faith, Demirkubuz meditates on eternal themes through his characters and their intricate relationships of love and loss. This retrospective features all seven films. We are honored and delighted that Demirkubuz will join us throughout the week for several of the series’ screenings.
In the past few years digital video technology has been credited with quietly generating a revolution in film production. During the summer 2006 Israeli assault on Lebanon, it allowed filmmakers, artists and activists to record what they were witnessing and experiencing and offered a forum to create work immediately related to the war. The compulsion to construct an audio-visual document of the violence came not only from a desire for an alternative to broadcast media; but also from an eagerness to compile an archive of the assault, because both the 17-year civil war and the numerous Israeli military campaigns since the 1960’s have scant records.
Palestine, 2006, 35 min, 2006, Beta SP PAL/NTSC and DVD PAL/NTSC
In Arabic with English subtitles
Both established as well as new Palestinian filmmakers came together in a project that reflects the “mood” of the summer of 2006 when Israel carried out military assaults in Gaza and Lebanon. In three minutes or less, filmmakers were asked to tell their stories in a single shot. Despite the fact that Palestinians have been dispersed across the globe, with the majority of them unable to return to their homeland, “Summer 2006, Palestine”, initiated by the Palestinian Film Collective, was limited to those filmmakers who live in Palestine.
Fall Season 2007 Presented by ArteEast, the Department of Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies and the Kevorkian Center at New York University September 12 - October 18, 2007
The Fall Series includes:
Arabs in American Cinema and Media Co-Presented by ArteEast and ADC-NY Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People. By Sut Jhally Planet of the Arabs. By Jackie Salloum What is Said About...Arabs and Terrorism. By Bassam Haddad
All screenings begin at 6:30 PM
Box office opens 30 minutes prior to screening
Ticket prices:
general public: $10
students (with valid ID) and senior citizen: $8
NEW: ArteEast members: $6
Advance tickets are available beginning September 1, 200
