VCU hold first arabic film festival Sept. 17-18

By Malorie Burkett

Virginia Commonwealth University has announced its first VCU Arabic Film Festival, a two-day program featuring a collection of films from five countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

Sponsored by VCU's Office of International Education, the School of World Studies and the VCU Honors Program, the festival will take place Sept. 17-18 at VCU's Grace Street

Theatre, 930-934 W. Grace St. All films, which will be in Arabic with English subtitles, are free and open to the public. Tickets will be issued at the theatre prior to each screening.

The festival will include selections such as Moroccan landscapes contrasted by children living on Casablanca's harsh streets; stories of personal struggles faced in the tumultuous Gaza Strip; a classic Egyptian political thriller starring Omar Sharif; and a recent documentary about four Jewish Iraqis now residing in Israel.

For more information about the films, festivals and times please visit the group's Web site at www.arabicfilmfestival.com or email contact@arabicfilmfestival.com.