Middle Eastern Studies

Arriving at the heart of an emerging revolution after living abroad for ten years, a young female filmmaker redefines her place in Yemeni society, as well as her relationships with her father and grandfather. In a unique examination of the uprisings in Yemen, The Mulberry House shifts the focus from events on the streets to the impact of the revolution on the lives of one family. An incredibly moving and intimate story by the director of Academy Award nominated Karama Has No Walls.

A gripping and moving story that illustrates the impact cosmopolitan recognition has on an isolated population, From Iran: A Separation details the reception of the speech Asghar Farhadi (About Elly) gave when his film A Separation won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

With the return of their friend Ahmad from Germany, a group of old college pals (two married couples and a brother and sister, along with three young kids) decide to reunite for a weekend outing by the Caspian Sea. The fun starts right away as they quickly catch on to the plan of lively Sepideh, who has brought along Elly, her daughter’s kindergarten teacher, in hopes of setting her up with recently divorced Ahmad.

Mixing personal stories, political history, revolutionary propaganda and film theory, artist Eric Baudelaire illuminates the idealism and radicalism of left-wing extremist movements of the 1970s by interweaving the stories of two of its protagonists: May Shigenobu, daughter of the founder of the Japanese Red Army, and Masao Adachi, the revered Japanese director who gave up cinema to take up arms.

Filmed in an unofficial Palestinian Bedouin camp that was established in 1948 on a stretch of beach in South Lebanon, Terrace of the Sea uses a collection of family photographs taken over three generations as a prism through which to reflect on memory, loss and history.

"The Arab governments pushed us out of our homes… I was twelve years old… I’ve been here for 60 years." A beautiful, poignant, documentary, Still Life examines the effect a collection of personal photos showing life in Palestine before the 1948 displacement have on an elderly Palestinian fisherman living in exile in Lebanon.

A provocative look at the complexities of Arab identity in post 9/11 America, American Arab interweaves filmmaker Usama Alshaibi's own story, and that of his family, as well as other Arab Americans to thoughtfully explore the values, passions, hopes and perceptions of his community, from inside and out.

2014 Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary Short Subject, Karama Has No Walls is a gripping, eye-witness account of a tragic day that changed the course of the revolution in Yemen; when pro-government snipers opened fired on a peaceful gathering of protesters, sparking national outrage and ultimately leading to the end of 33 years of autocratic rule.

What is legal and what is just? Through candid, first-ever, interviews with Israeli judges, prosecutors and legal advisors, The Law In These Parts - winner of the Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival - is a gripping and revelatory investigation into the legal framework put in place by Israel in 1967 to govern the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Executive produced by renowned filmmaker and journalist Laura Poitras.

A fascinating account of Egypt post-revolution, Words of Witness follows a 22-year-old female reporter, an incredible, fearless young woman, as she covers her country's unsteady transition to democracy. From the director of Garbage Dreams, a dynamic portrait of the youth movement that sparked the revolution and its continued reliance on social media.

On December 17, 2010, 26-year-old Mohamed Bouazizi set fire to himself on the streets of Tunis sparking a popular uprising that toppled a dictator and developed into the Arab Spring. With remarkable never-before-seen footage of the demonstrations and celebrations, Rouge Parole chronicles the revolution in Tunisia and its immediate aftermath.

In her Oscar nominated documentary Promises, filmmaker Justine Shapiro took us into the lives of Palestinian and Israeli children in and around Jerusalem. Her new documentary, Our Summer in Tehran, transports us into the seldom seen realm of middle class family life in Iran, transcending overt politics for a perspective Western media has little interest in showing.