Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
The prestigious Tribeca Film Festival of 2021 will feature five Arab films, many of which will be making their international debut.
The famed festival, set to take place from June 9-20, will be spread out across New York City with screenings at various outdoor venues.
To commemorate its 20th anniversary, the festival will welcome a range of live and virtual events as they celebrate documentaries, films, and podcasts from many global perspectives and voices.
Movies such as Souad, Simple as Water, Peace by Chocolate, No Longer Suitable for Use and The Ballad of a White Cow make up the list of Arab-centred stories set to premier in New York this month.
Souad
Competing in the International Narrative Competition, this film follows the ways in which social media and family expectations intersect in the life of young Egyptian protagonist Souad.
The movie is directed by Egyptian-born Ayten Amin, whose feature debut Villa 69 was screened at film festivals in Abu Dhabi, Malmo, and Cannes. Breakout actress Bassant Ahmed plays Souad, emotively capturing the opposing pressures placed on contemporary youth, who already face online and real-life expectations daily.
The film not only captures the complex inner turmoil of a single teenage girl, but it also manages to carefully spin a tale exposing unspoken Egyptian social dynamics.
Simple as Water
2021 World Premier and long-awaited feature documentary Simple as Water is set to screen on the final day of the Tribeca Film Festival. From Academy Award winning director Megan Mylan, this observational documentary follows stories of resilience in the face of war-induced displacement.
Focusing on the lens of parenthood, Simple as Water follows various Syrian families living in Turkey, Greece, the US, Germany, and Syria. Multiple intimate chapters reveal a timeless struggle to maintain a sense of belonging and familial love amidst undeniable hardship.
Peace by Chocolate
Peace by Chocolate is an uplifting dramedy that follows protagonist Tareq Hadhad and his Syrian family as they immigrate to the small town of Antigonish in Canada.
The film looks at the power of chocolate in uniting people as the family-run chocolate business takes off in Canada, after their shop in Lebanon was bombed.
Based on a true story, this feature tracks themes of immigration, the ‘Canadian dream’, and choosing between passion and family. The main character Tareq, played by Ayham Abou Ammar, struggles between his loyalty to his family business and his dream of becoming a doctor.
Peace by Chocolate will be an online world premier and the narrative feature debut of storyteller and director Jonathan Keijser.
No Longer Suitable for Use
In just 21 minutes, this short film exposes a snapshot of the hard choices that immigrants must make when coming to the US as they endeavor to maintain their fragile livelihoods.
The short focuses on Samir, a single father and Syrian-Egyptian immigrant to the US, who works as an informant for the FBI. He is faced with a chance to avoid deportation by setting up a target in a terrorism sting operation.
New York-based filmmaker Julian Joslin writes and directs based on his first-hand experiences working for New York City public defenders, assisting with the defence of 11 alleged terrorists.
The story chiefly features British-Syrian actor Laith Nakli, who plays Joslin’s protagonist with a weighty choice to make.
The Ballad of a White Cow
Iranian drama Ballad of a White Cow follows a grieving widow, Mina, who seeks justice after her husband is wrongly executed.
Mina learns in the movie, after her husband is posthumously cleared of all crimes, that she will be compensated “the full price of an adult male.” The film raises questions about an unreliable justice system and the persistent weight of wrongs that cannot be righted by money.
Exploring capital punishment and the loss of social power experienced by many widows in Iran, co-directors Maryam Moghaddam (who also plays protagonist Mina) and Behtash Sanaeeha spin a tale of resilience and strength.
The moving drama will be screened as part of the Tribeca Critics’ Week category.
