Film Talk, December 12

Arab directors from Nabil Al Maleh - saluted by DIFF this year - to Hala Alabdalla explore the relationship between the individual and society. Poetic, dramatic or realistic, most films follow the characters closely and capture flawlessly the images needed to describe the characters' worlds.

There is something I noticed when I watched two films from Syrian director Nabil Al Maleh. Both films, Al Fahd (Leopard) (1972) and Komparse (1993), start with almost identical scenes.

In the first, a man sits alone in his house, even though his wife is sitting by his side, which is something that can be felt from the way he looks. Someone knocks at the door, his wife opens the door, and some men enter the house.
In the second film, some twenty years later, we see the man sitting alone, someone knocks at the door, and his wife opens it. A man enters the house.

Perhaps I've missed a few details, as I was not registering the scenes in my mind when I saw these films. However, the similarity is there, and I don't know where it came from, as both movies go in totally different directions following this first scene.

The only thing they have in common is the idea of fighting domination. Both lead characters, played by Adib Qaddoura in the first and Bassam Koussa in the second, fight for a better world of their own.

Al Fahd talks about a rebel who fought against a power in the early 1920s. Komparse has a different kind of struggle. It is the struggle of the "small people" on more than one front.

The main character fights for his ideas and struggles to prove himself as an actor, and move on from secondary roles (Komparse, or extras). He also fights to meet the woman he loves, which is something that never happens.

Nabil Al Maleh is being honoured by DIFF with a special award, as he is as much a director as a fighter. Every film he makes is a struggle to do, as far as I know, and he could tell me if I was wrong.

His works over many years — few and far between — are proof of this.

A special seminar will be held on December 14 not just to meet Al Maleh, but to benefit from his experience as well. Many people are now going through what he has already gone through, and there must be a lot he wants to say.

All I can say is that my admiration for Al Maleh's films comes from my admiration of the man himself.

Double Elections

Kuwaiti director Walid Al Awadi achieved great success at the first screening of his documentary Storm from the South. I'm not talking about the panel, but the public who filled the theatre, and the Arab and Western media that attended and followed the director after the show.

The film touches a tender spot, which is not just the situation of women in Kuwait, but in the Arab world. It is about women's exercise of their democratic rights, and how they go through elections and face the unexpected results when their ambitions stumble.

The success of this film is a double election. It is a confirmation of the importance of the film, and of the existence of Kuwaiti women. It shows that they will participate in politics and fight more battles whether they have won this time or not.

Poetry on screen

There are many new Arab movies, some of which are shown here and others which are not, for reasons beyond our will. However, I have watched them.

Some of them have a poetic approach to their subjects, which are an expression of knowledge of Billa Tar and Theo Angelopoulos and Andre Tarkovsky's works. At least they have common concerns.

What they have in common is the way they worked on the space between the viewer's eyes and the film's object.
This space is the best expression of individual cases including loneliness, longing for the past or the homeland, the attraction between souls, the individual soul and nature.

One of these movies, titled I am the One Who Brings Flowers to Her Grave, is a documentary semi-feature film by two Syrian directors, Hala Alabdalla and Ammar Al Beik.

The film is a unique artistic and soulful situation, with memories and mind travel as if longing could be filmed.
Another film is the Moroccan WWW: What a Wonderful World by director Faouzi Bensaidi, which has a different visual approach.
In this film, the camera follows the characters closely, catching them as they walk, stop, and hold their breath behind some kind of bars.

The Algerian film Rome But Not You, by Tariq Taqiya, which is not being shown in DIFF, is also an example of a film that has been directed by an eye that catches every image needed to describe the characters' worlds.

Another documentary is The Colour of Olives, which I will talk about later. This is a film about the Palestinian situation in general. The issue is held together by silk strings with expressional filming by Mexican director Carolina Rivas.

I would also like to mention American film Iraq in Fragments by James Longley, which deserves attention, and is shown along with The Colour of Olives in the Arabian Nights section.