Florida State University’s Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics and the FSU Middle East Center will host the 13th annual Middle East Film Festival, showcasing films that provide insight into international cinema and share perspectives rarely seen in mainstream media.
The festival, which runs Feb. 25 through April 2, is sponsored by the FSU Middle East Center and the Student Life Cinema and features five films screening over the course of five weekends this spring.
“Our Middle East Film Festival aims to present films that spark discussion between family, friends, and colleagues about experiences outside their own perspectives. We choose films that help our audience make sense of a world that is unfamiliar to them, raise awareness and inspire social change,” said Zeina Schlenoff, Middle East Center director.
Participants are invited to join a kickoff celebration noon to 2 p.m., Friday, Feb. 25, on Landis Green, where the first 100 individuals to arrive can pick up a goodie bag of treats representing different regions of the Middle East, a limited-edition FSU Middle East Film Festival tote bag, and more.
The festival’s prestigious and lengthy history in Tallahassee has made it central to Modern Languages and Linguistics’ annual outreach activities within the university and to the wider community. FSU’s commitment to providing students and faculty with meaningful international engagement opportunities and nurturing a rich, multicultural environment on campus are key components of the university’s overall academic success.
“I am pleased to support the Middle East Film Festival and applaud the value it adds to our academic mission,” said Sam Huckaba, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “The event provides a truly outstanding opportunity to promote FSU’s rich cultural diversity.”
All events are free and open to the public, though a one-time registration is required. Register to receive links and sign-in information for each of the virtual screenings. Once registered, attendees can stream the films each weekend they are presented
To register, visit https://bit.ly/3I79WS8. For more information, visit mec.fsu.edu.
10 Days Before the Wedding (Yemen) — Feb. 26 | 5 p.m.
2018 | 122 min
Rasha and Ma'moon, a young Yemeni couple, have just 10 days to plan their wedding amidst the challenges and obstacles created by the country’s 2015 war.
A Revolution from Afar (Sudan and United States) — March 5 | 5 p.m.
2020 | 77 min
Sudanese-American performance artists share their identity struggles as they live in a world separate to the revolution in Sudan.
Sisters (Algeria) — March 9 | 7 p.m.
2020 | 99 min
Three French-Algerian sisters see their family fall apart when one of them decides to write a play about their dying father, whose choices scarred their early lives.
Shtetlers (Jewish Documentary) — March 26 | 5 p.m.
2020 | 80 min
In small shtetls in the former Soviet Union, traditional Jewish life has survived even as it disappears around the globe. This documentary follows nine people who once lived in these shtetls and how the experience impacted their lives.
200 Meters (Palestinian Territories) — April 2 | 5 p.m.
2020 | 96 min
Mustafa and Salwa, husband and wife, are separated by the Israeli-Palestinian border and a bureaucracy that won’t let Mustapha cross over. He sets out on a journey to find a way to cross the 200-meter distance and return to his family.