- 30 Apr 2015
Film Screening: Middle East Movie Night – Real vs Reel (alMaghreb)
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 double-bill features films from the North African region of Al-Maghreb. One of the films from this region being screened is Gabes Labess; a documentary made by geographer, Dr Habib Ayeb. We are pleased to have Dr Ayeb personally present at the screening of this film to talk about the film as well as answer any queries you have about it or about the region in general.
GABES LABESS – All is Well in the Gabes
Director & Writer : Habib Ayeb | 2014
Tunisia | 47 min | Type of film: Documentary | Arabic and French with English Subtitles | Rating PG13
Gabes Labess (All is well in Gabes) questions current development models by focusing on the Oasis of Gabes, the only coastal oasis in the world. What was once considered “The Paradise of the World” has been transformed into an economic, social, and ecological catastrophe by the construction, in the 1970s, of an industrial chemical complex that has deprived local farmers of their water, arable land, economic well-being, and personal dignity. On site interviews testify to the multiple difficulties and problems to which residents are exposed: air, soil, sea, and ground water pollution;reduction of arable land and water resources; increase of serious diseases (osteoporosis, cancers, allergies); and the gradual extinction of an exceptional social and ecological heritage. “Gabes Labess” is a cry of alarm, a call to act before it is too late…
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
About the Speakers
American University of Cairo and University of Paris 8
Habib Ayeb is a Tunisian geographer, professor, researcher and film-maker at the University of Paris 8 (France) and the Social Research Center – American University in Cairo (SRC – AUC). His research focuses on the dynamic relationship between natural and material resources rights (including water and agricultural land) and the mechanisms of impoverishment and social marginalization. His research fields are mainly concentrated in Egypt and Tunisia, with some incursions in other areas such as India and Morocco. Among his publications are Ayeb H., & Bush R., 2012, Marginalities and Marginalization In Egypt; Zed Books, London (Arabic version is published by Dar al-Ain, Cairo, 2012) and Ayeb H., Water in the Arab Countries : Global Perceptions and Local Realities (Spanish version is published by Casa Árabe, Madrid, Spain, 2011).
