• Q & A
  
  

  'Lesh Sabreen?' On Red Vic Screen

  Robert Avila
  Mar 15, 2010

  Muayad Alayan, a 24-year-old filmmaker from the only remaining Arab neighborhood in West Jerusalem, was not even aware there was such a thing as Palestinian cinema until, as a teenager, he came to the Bay Area to visit his brother and sister.

  
• Festivals
  
  

  Local Makers Line Up Next Shot after SFIFF

  Michael Fox
  May 4, 2009

  The 2009 SFIFF has been a launching pad for the numerous Bay Area filmmaker

  
• Festivals
  
  

  12th Arab Film Festival

  Robert Avila
  Oct 20, 2008

  In its 12th season, the country's first and largest independent exhibitor of Arab cinema has gotten to be one of the bigger small fests in the Bay Area.

  
• Festivals
  
  

  12th Arab Film Festival

  Robert Avila
  Oct 20, 2008

  In its 12th season, the country's first and largest independent exhibitor of Arab cinema has gotten to be one of the bigger small fests in the Bay Area.

  
• Q & A
  
  

  A Talk With Arab Film Festival's Executive Director

  Michael Fox
  Oct 13, 2008

  We sat down with Michel Shehadeh, who joined the festival earlier this year, for a wide-ranging interview on Arab film.

  
• Q & A
  
  

  Eran Kolirin and "The Band's Visit"

  Judy Stone
  Feb 12, 2008

  Underneath The Band's Visit's poignant humor, the film subtly reflects the director's attempt to comprehend Israel's pull between the Middle East and the West.

  
• Festivals
  
  

  The 11th Arab Film Festival

  Robert Avila
  Oct 18, 2007

  The Arab Film Festival, now in its 11th year, is featuring not just 80 movies from 13 countries, but is also including screenings in LA, a first for a Bay Area-based fest.

  
• Reviews
  
  

  Abbas Kiarostami: "Image Maker"

  Robert Avila
  Aug 2, 2007

  An impressive PFA series runs alongside an exhibition at the Berkeley Art Museum of Kiarostami's striking photographic work.

  
• Reviews
  
  

  "Radical Closure" at the PFA

  Robert Avila
  Dec 7, 2006

  This series of cinematic responses to war, curated by Lebanese video artist Akram Zaatari, opens up possibilities for re-imagining the dehumanized landscape of violence.

  
• Festivals
  
  

  Arab Film Festival 2006

  Robert Avila
  Sep 7, 2006

  Executive director Bashir Anastas discusses this year's lineup.

  
• Reviews
  
  

  Masharawi Finds Palestinians In States of Suspended Animation

  Robert Avila
  Apr 20, 2006

  Palestinian filmmaker Rashid Masharawi's Waiting intricately and ingeniously intertwines irony, humor, and pathos.