VCU news

By Mike Porter and Jaime Stansbury

The 3rd annual Virginia Commonwealth University Arabic Film Festival will offer diverse perspectives of Arab life while presenting a selection of feature films from nine countries in the Middle East and Africa.

All the films have English subtitles and are free and open to the public. The screenings for the VCU Arabic Film Festival will be presented Friday, Sept. 22, through Saturday, Sept. 23, at Richmond's Grace Street Theatre, located at 934 W. Grace St.

Saturday's feature film, "Iraq in Fragments," to be released in select theaters November 2006, is a documentary of post-war Iraq from a variety of religious and ethnic viewpoints.  The film is divided into three acts, offering a glimpse of some of the country's Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish peoples.  The film won three awards at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, including Best Documentary Cinematography.

Another recent film, "The Syrian Bride," humorously shares the frustration of a young woman and her family from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights who are prevented from joining the groom in Syria.  Their story represents the physical, mental and emotional borders that must be crossed by people living in the Golan Heights.

"Paradise Now" is the story of two lifelong friends recruited for a strike on Tel Aviv.  The film looks at what could be their final days together and the impact of a young woman who discovers their plan and asks them to reconsider.

Fans of Arab cinema will be delighted to see Egypt's long-time favorite, Omar Sharif, in "Struggle on the Nile," shown Saturday morning. The film has been digitally remastered.  Sharif appeared in this film in 1959, three years before he achieved international acclaim in "Lawrence of Arabia."

"We try to find films that offer a different perspective about Arabic culture and people than what you typically see on the news," said Jaime Bennett Stansbury, Arabic Film Festival organizer.

New to the festival this year is a question-and-answer session with university experts from VCU and Randolph Macon after "Paradise Now," "All About Darfur," and "Iraq in Fragments."  And for the first time, artwork from students at VCU Qatar will be displayed in the lobby of the theater during the festival.

Films start at 6 p.m. on Sept. 22 and at 11 a.m. on Sept. 23. A reception will be held in the theater courtyard Saturday, Sept. 23 at 5:15 p.m. For more information, visit  www.arabicfilmfestival.com or call (804) 828-2020.