Cinema
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Award-winning Iranian film director Asghar Farhadi
Watching the foundations crumble
How does human fragility express itself in a rigid social system? Oscar-winning filmmaker Asghar Farhadi′s "The Salesman" reveals the precariousness of urban middle-class life in the Islamic Republic. By Jasmin Astaki-Bardeh
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Merzak Allouache′s ″Tahqiq fel djenna″
Seventy two grapes
In his film ″Tahqiq fel Djenna″ (Investigating Paradise), which was awarded the Panorama 2017 prize at this year′s Berlinale, Merzak Allouache investigates the sexualised idea of Paradise as spread by Salafist preachers. By Rene Wildangel
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Raed Andoni's "Ghost Hunting" at the Berlinale
The ghosts that lurk
Raed Andoni's film functions as both trauma therapy and as an opportunity to discuss the political problem of prisoners. First and foremost, though, the film works as an impressive piece of cinematography dealing with the basic questions of the human condition. By Rene Wildangel
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Udi Aloni′s ″Junction 48″
Other or brother?
The winner of the Audience Award at last year′s Berlinale film festival is a story from Lod — or Ludd, as it′s pronounced in Arabic — a small town with a mixed Jewish-Arab population just a few kilometres away from Tel-Aviv, where Kareem and his girlfriend Manar use music to fight both the discrimination by the State of Israel and the violent patriarchal conservatism in their own community. Daniel Tkatch caught up with its director, Udi Aloni
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Turkish documentaries at Dok Leipzig 2016
Resilience in the face of adversity
The spotlight at the 59th Festival for Animation and Documentary Films in Leipzig was on Turkey. Numerous films and discussions showed how the cultural and film scene is coping with a country that is currently being torn apart by fierce social and political conflicts. By Madeleine Prahs
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″Cinema Clubs″ in Egypt
Rediscovering the silver screen
Since the revolution of 25 January 2011, Egypt has seen a resurgence of its cinema clubs: places where fans of the "seventh art" (Alain/Schelling) meet, mostly in cultural centres, to watch films together and discuss them afterwards. Islam Anwar reports from Cairo
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Pakistani film ″Dukhtar″
Arthouse with a conscience
Afia Nathaniel's first full-length feature film "Dukhtar", has been enjoying a great deal of success on the international festival circuit – and causing quite a stir in her home country too. By Marian Brehmer
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″Angry Indian Goddesses″
Fighting back
You don′t expect a film about seven young women getting together for a hen-party the night before a wedding to turn out to be a moving political statement concerning equal rights and sexual freedom. But the Indian film ″Angry Indian Goddesses″ is exactly that: a hilarious and entertaining story about seven girls and, at the same time, a bold and loud outcry against sexual harassment and rape – still all too common in India. By Sheila Mysorekar
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Kurdish film-maker Ali Kemal Cinar
The power of tenacity
The Kurdish filmmaker Ali Kemal Cinar from Diyarbakir caused a small sensation when his zero-budget production "Vesarti (Hidden)" won him the 2016 Most Inspiring Director of the Year award at the !f Independent Film Festival in Istanbul. With his experimental, absurdly comic films, Cinar represents a new way of thinking in Kurdish filmmaking. By Sonja Galler
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"Raving Iran" - a film documentary
Agents provocateurs
The film "Raving Iran" tells the story of the Iranian DJ combo "Blade & Beard". Anoosh and Arash produce house music and organise wild parties in Tehran and other more isolated locations in Iran. By Rene Wildangel
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French films on terror
Should this be shown?
Fictional depictions of terrorism are sometimes a little too close to reality. After the horrific attack in Nice, two films, "Bastille Day" and "Made in France," fuel the debate on the media's role in glorifying terror. By Jochen Kürten
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The filming of Rumi
Everybody's darling
A Hollywood film project and a joint attempt by Iran and Turkey to register the principal works of the poet Rumi with the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list have recently caused political turmoil, above all, in Afghanistan. By Waslat Hasrat-Nazimi