The festival’s programme features 60 screenings and events across four London venues, as well as cinemas in Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Hull, Liverpool, Manchester, Oxford and Plymouth.
The Arab British Centre has announced this year’s Safar Film Festival programme, curated under the theme “On Dreams, Hopes & Realities” by Rabih El-Khoury.
Now in its ninth edition, Safar stands as the preeminent platform for showcasing Arab cinema in the UK, offering a profound exploration of stories from the Arab world and its diaspora. This year’s festival, set against the backdrop of ongoing conflict in Gaza, places Palestine at its core while also delving into narratives from Sudan, the Gulf, and beyond, providing a multifaceted reflection on the dreams, hopes, and realities of the region.
The programme, which features a diverse selection of new releases, classics, archive films, and family-friendly screenings from 15 Arab countries, invites audiences to ponder how cinema serves as a catalyst for unity, connection, and the challenging of prevailing realities.
Kicking off the festival on June 18 at Ciné Lumière is the documentary Life Is Beautiful by Mohamed Jabaly, offering a poignant exploration of European solidarity amidst the Gaza war in 2014. The film follows the journey of individuals stranded in Norway as they navigate the complexities of closed borders and geopolitical upheaval.
Among the highlights of the festival are Q&A sessions with filmmakers, including Lina Soualem, whose Bye Bye Tiberias offers a touching portrayal of Palestinian women across four generations, and Amr Gamal, whose The Burdened delves into the complexities of family life in Yemen amidst societal challenges.
Adding depth to this year’s programme are films such as Inshallah a Boy from Jordan, which portrays a mother’s struggle for autonomy in the face of patriarchal structures, and Machtat from Tunisia, which shines a light on the lives of wedding musicians torn between tradition and personal desires.
Moreover, the festival pays homage to cinematic classics from the region, including Wedding in Galilee and Soraida, A Woman Of Palestine, offering audiences the opportunity to rediscover timeless narratives.
Nadia El-Sebai, Executive Director of the Arab British Centre, said: “Cinema has the remarkable ability to capture the essence of human experience from challenge and adversity to love and joy. The Festival forms a key part of our work to further understanding of the Arab world in the UK. Every year we share compelling stories from across region, from the everyday to the extraordinary, highlighting relatable and distinct societal issues and building cross-cultural understanding and solidarity.
“This year we are honoured to work once more with Rabih El-Khoury and our guest curators and partners across the UK, to present our biggest festival to date. Despite the shadows cast by the difficult realities faced across the region, SAFAR invites us to come together and find solace, hopes and dreams, in the universal language of cinema.”
Rabih El-Khoury, Curator, SAFAR 2024, added: “How does bearing witness to the realities of the Arab region empower us to confront them? Are we allowed to envision hope beyond these realities? And can we achieve our dreams individually, or must we collectively dream to ensure their realisation? By sharing stories and narratives from 15 Arab countries, including focuses on Sudanese and Palestinian cinema, audiences will encounter themes spanning family dynamics, loss, love, migration, and the harsh truths of war and politics. Within these stories, and through challenging and captivating cinema, we aim to facilitate exchange, reflection and share strength in solidarity.”
