proudly present

Middle East Movie  Night – Real vs Reel (alMaghreb)

The Middle East Institute and The Arts House are proud to present our fourth run of the Middle East Movie Nights.  This year, audiences will get to be even closer  to the Middle East when they attend the film screenings. Under the theme of Reel vs Real, we will not only present various regions of the Middle East via the artistic expressions of movie-makers, we will also showcase how everyday people in the regions live and express themselves via factual documentaries. Each double-bill, which will be screened in two consecutive nights, will consist of a feature movie on the first night and a documentary on the second night. As per previous runs of the series, audiences can share their opinions of each film and ask questions about the films during the post-screening discussion segment which will be facilitated by Middle East Studies experts provided by the Middle East Institute.

The first movie to be featured in the series that feature films from the North African region of Al-Maghreb is entitled Ali Zaoua – Prince of the Streets.

ALI ZAOUA – Prince of the Streets

Director: Nabil Ayouch | Writer: Nabil Ayouch and Nathalie Saugeon | Cast: Mounim Kbab, Mustapha Hansali, Hicham Moussoune, Abdelhak Zhayra

2000 |Morocco | 90mins| Drama | Arabic with English Subtitle | NC16

Ali, Kwita, Omar and Boubker are a group of streeturchins living on the hard streets of Casablanca. Their everyday lives are filled with violence, begging, and indifference. In order to survive, they create a bond of friendship and family between them.

The bond is cut short when Ali is senselessly killed at the beginning of the film by a blow to the head; his life taken by a single act of a rival gang. Ali’s friends decide not to report his death to the police, who would have the boy buried in a potter’s field. Instead, they decide to give him a worthy burial, to bury Ali on the private island he so often dreamed.

Free Admission via compulsory registration HERE

Registration Desk open from 7:00pm onwards

Do arrive early for registrations in order to avoid delay of the screening