Middle Eastern Studies

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.

For generations, Cairo has relied on the Zabelleen or "garbage people" to collect the city's trash - resulting in the world's most efficient recycling program. A multiple award-winning documentary, Garbage Dreams considers the environmental and social repercussions when the city suddenly decides to outsource their trade to multinational waste disposal companies.

A behind-the-scenes look at the dangerous world of wartime news gathering, this incisive documentary tells the story of 24-year-old Ajmal Naqshbandi, a 'fixer' - someone hired by foreign journalists to gain access for their stories - who was kidnapped, along with an Italian reporter, by the Taliban in 2007.

The educational version of the 2008 Academy Award® winner for Best Documentary Feature, Taxi to the Dark Side is the definitive investigation into the introduction of torture as an interrogation technique in U.S. facilities and the role played by key figures of the Bush Administration in the process.

Filmed across the Middle East, Bloody Cartoons looks at how and why 12 drawings in a Danish newspaper drew a small country into a confrontation with Muslims all over the world. Featuring interviews with key players, this documentary goes behind the controversy to investigate the roots of the crisis.

On an abandoned beach off the coast of Israel, against all odds, Israeli and Palestinian fishermen live and work together. Men on the Edge: Fishermen's Diary documents four years in their lives, an eclectic group of men brought together by a shared relationship with the sea.

Planted in Israel, harvested in Gaza, and exported to gourmet markets across Europe, the Gazan strawberry is the only product sold abroad as Palestinian produce. The amazing story of this little red fruit is a study in globalization and politics that offers a fresh perspective on the current Israeli-Palestinian crisis.

Afghan Muscles takes us inside the most popular sport in Afghanistan: body building. Suppressed by the Taliban, this thriving spectator sport now attracts thousands of young men across a country ravaged by war and poverty who dream of attaining a better life through muscles.

The tumultuous history of Afghanistan from the perspective of the country's female population, Afghan Women: A History of Struggle chronicles the stories of women who have risked their lives to achieve political, economic, and social equality.

When a group of Moroccan street children faced with the choice of emigrating illegally to Europe take part in a treehouse building workshop, they find themselves unexpectedly transformed. This wonderful documentary offers a timely and intimate window into the world of Arab youth.

The heroic story of the first woman to run for President of Afghanistan. Frontrunner introduces us to Dr. Massouda Jalal, a mother of three children, whose campaign inspired thousands of women across the country to participate in the democratic process.

A surprising and inspiring documentary about breaking gender and religious barriers in India. With no equipment or funding, a group of young Buddhist and Muslim girls work tirelessly to be the first female team to compete in the national ice hockey tournament.

From the director of the Academy Award® nominated Iraq in Fragments, this short powerful documentary follows an Iraqi mother struggling under U.S. occupation to care for her 10-year-old son, who is dying of AIDS.

In the 1980s, Paris was hit by a wave of deadly terrorist attacks. When the presiding judge unexpectedly released the suspected mastermind, he was vilified in the press, and several years later, took his own life. This powerful documentary explores the intersection of politics, ethics, media, and terrorism.

As they gather salt, two young girls talk about a fellow classmate, a 14-year-old girl who was forced to marry a 73-year-old man. An intimate look at the reality of arranged marriages in Iran.

A passionate and balanced documentary about the "Courage to Refuse" movement that looks at the political, ethical and moral choices facing Israeli soldiers.

Lessons in Fear compares the Israeli and Palestinian educational systems and looks at what young kids on both side are being taught.