Films with a focus on the Middle East have never been more prominent or more controversial. Movies such as Steven Spielberg’s “Munich” (www.munichmovie.com/splash.html) and “Syriana” (http://syrianamovie.warnerbros.com), for which George Clooney won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, have been much in the headlines. However, there are a host of others that have been less under the spotlight.
“Paradise Now” (http://wip.warnerbros.com/paradisenow/) is a controversial but widely acclaimed 2005 film about two Palestinian men preparing for a suicide attack. Co-written by Hany Abu-Assad and Bero Beyer, Abu-Assad also directed the movie. Recently, Paradise Now won a Golden Globe for best foreign language film and was nominated for an Academy Award in the same category. The film garnered considerable notoriety after The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences designated the film as a submission from The Palestinian Authority, rather than Palestine.
“Iraq in Fragments” (www.iraqinfragments.com) picked up three prizes at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival — more than any other film. The movie chronicles post-war Iraq through the lives of ordinary Iraqis struggling with their country’s reconstruction. Divided into three parts, the documentary follows the daily events of an 11-year-old boy working as an auto-mechanic, followers of Moqtada Sadr and Iraqi Kurds seeking independence.
James Longley accepted the Sundance Awards with Billy McMillin and Fiona Otway, editors of the film. Longley is also the director of “Gaza Strip” which was shown at the 2002 Chicago Palestine Film Festival (CPFF).
Submissions for the 2006 CPFF have already been received and the list of films to be screened will be announced shortly at www.palestinefilmfest.com. The festival will be held May 1-5 in Chicago, Illinois, a city known for its large Palestinian diaspora.