Great Middle Eastern films you’ve probably never heard of
Director:
Circumstance family over two generations, The Time That Remains is, in many ways, a stylised, hyperbolic memoir. Writerdirector Suleiman recreates his and his father’s experiences under different waves of Israeli occupation in an edifying kind of self-deprecation. It is unsentimental, awkwardly funny and beautifully made.
Available: Netflix
Ali, the Goat and Ibrahim
Genre: Fantasy, drama
Writers: Ahmed Amer and Ibrahim El Batout (story)
Director: Sherif El Bendary
This Egyptian film tells a story of friendship and self-discovery through Ali, Ali’s friend Ibrahim and a goat — believed to be the reincarnation of Ali’s girlfriend. The questions about life, death, life after death and death before life posed by Ali, the Goat and Ibrahim cross cultures and oceans with a feel-good dash of absurdity. Besides, who doesn’t love a goat? Available: Putlocker
Bar Bahar
Genre: Drama
Writer: Maysaloun Hamoud Director: Maysaloun Hamoud
Bar Bahar (In Between) follows the lives of three Palestinian women living together in Tel Aviv who try to balance the conflict between their Palestinian roots and the West-leaning liberal culture in which they find themselves. A reflection of writerdirector Hamoud’s own story, the film shines a light on the particular experiences of women considered outsiders both in Tel Aviv and back home. Available: YouTube
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
Genre: Crime, drama
Writers: Ercan Kesal, Ebru Ceylan, Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan An unidentified victim of an unidentified crime, a group of ideological opposites and one long, rainy night: this is the stage for acclaimed Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s awardwinning Once Upon a Time in Anatolia. It is a dark, beautifully shot detective drama in which the crime itself is omnipresent — leaving the action to unfold among a motley crew of crime fighters.
Available: Netflix