July / August 2009: screenings outside at 2035 St Laurent

Join Tadamon! for a summer film series exploring the best films of the Middle East. The Algerian revolution, the Lebanese civil war and the Palestinian struggle are the themes for this summer.

All screenings talking place at 2035 St. Laurent, near Ontario street and metro St. Laurent, all beginning at 9pm, free! Read below for the screening dates for each film. Feel free to bring your own chair or blanket! If it is raining, the film will be screened the week after at the same location.

* The Battle of Algiers
WEDNESDAY JULY 8, 21h
(1966) directed by Gillo Pontecorvo
Arabic with subtitles in English

preview film: view trailer

One of the most influential political films in history, Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers (La bataille d’Alger) vividly re-creates a key year in the tumultuous Algerian struggle for independence from the occupying French in the 1950s. As violence escalates on both sides, children shoot soldiers at point-blank range, women plant bombs in cafés, and French soldiers resort to torture to break the will of the freedom fighters. Shot in the streets of Algiers in documentary style, the film is a case study in modern warfare, with its terrorist attacks and the brutal techniques used to combat them. Rain date: July 15th. If it is a raining the film will be screened the week after at the same location.

* Paradise Now
WEDNESDAY JULY 22, 21h
(2005) directed by Hany Abu-Assad
Arabic with subtitles in English

preview film: view trailer

Paradise Now is the story of two Palestinian childhood friends who have been recruited for a major operation in Tel Aviv. It centers on what is presumably their final day on earth. They cannot utter a word of their plans to their families. The following day, the two are sent to the border. The bombs have been attached to their bodies in such a way as to make them completely hidden from view. However, the operation does not go according to plan and the two friends lose sight of each other, leaving each one up to their own fate, while struggling with their convictions. Rain date: July 29th. If it is a raining the film will be screened the week after at the same location.

* West Beirut
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 5, 21h
(1998) written and directed by Ziad Doueiri
Arabic with subtitles in English

preview film: view trailer

West Beirut is a drama by Lebanese filmmaker Ziad Doueiry that paints a dramatic picture of teenagers’ lives during the Lebanese civil-war. The film begins as the first events which sparked the Lebanese civil war begin in April, 1975. Doueiry represents the partitioned Beirut along sectarian lines through the lives of Tarek and his friend Omar. While Tarek makes Super 8 movies with his friend, the backdrop of war and division haunt the camera. As he comes of age, the war moves inexorably from adventure to tragedy. Rain date: August 12th. If it is a raining the film will be screened the week after at the same location.