A festive celebration to kick off another amazing Arab Film Festival

Wednesday October 17th, 2007
Vanguard Properties
2501 Mission Street, San Francisco
6:00pm – 8:30pm
Valet Parking Available

$125 per person / $200 per couple

In its 11th year, the AFF will host a Preview VIP Reception at the beautiful Beaux Arts Vanguard Properties building to showcase this year’s film lineup. Please join us for Cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and live Arabic music.

Festival at the Schools

Festival at the Schools focuses on introducing high school students to the Arab world by challenging misconceptions and stereotypes about the region through film and discussions. To create a meaningful forum for education and cross-cultural dialogue, the 11th Annual Arab Film Festival is bringing films to a local high school in Los Angeles.

Thursday, November 1st
Boardner’s Club, Hollywood
1652 North Cherokee Ave.
9:30pm Kick-Off Party
$30 at door, $20 pre-purchased, Free for Festival Pass holders

Come kick off LA’s inaugural Arab Film Festival at Boardner’s Club in Hollywood! Join featured filmmakers, staff, volunteers and members as they show their support, and enjoy special guest DJ Nader.

Co-Sponsored by Network of Arab American Professionals (NAAP-LA)

In partnership with Los Angeles universities, AFF is committed to providing opportunities for students to expand their knowledge and understanding of the Arab world by presenting free screenings on the USC and UCLA campuses.

University of California, Los Angeles, James Bridges Theater
Wednesday, October 31st 7:00 pm
Tender is the Wolf
Screening and Discussion
Co-Sponsored by the UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies

University of Southern California, Annenberg Auditorium
Thursday, November 1st, 7:00pm
Mohammed Bakri’s documentary Since You Left
Screening and Discussion
Co-Sponsored by the USC Center on Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School and the USC Middle East Studies Program

Friday, November 2nd
Writer’s Guild Theater
6:00pm Centerpiece Reception
7:30pm Falafel / Kemo Sabe
$20 Screening and Reception

Don’t miss the Los Angeles Premiere of the Lebanese film Falafel. Come early to enjoy delectable Arabic mezzas and mingle with visiting filmmakers, community dignitaries, and the AFF Advisory Board members and staff. Filmmaker, Michel Kammoun, will be present for a Q&A following the screening.

Co-Sponsored by Wells Fargo, The LA Weekly, and Victory Bakery

Festival at the Schools focuses on introducing high school students to the Arab world by challenging misconceptions and stereotypes about the region through film and discussions with visiting filmmakers. To create a meaningful forum for education and a conversation about the differences and the shared values between cultures, the 11th Annual Arab Film Festival is showing free screenings for high school students in Berkeley, San Jose, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. If your school is interested in participating, please contact schools@aff.org.

In partnership with California universities, AFF is committed to providing opportunities for students to expand their knowledge and understanding of the Arab world by presenting free screenings on campuses in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose, Berkeley and Alameda.

University of California, Santa Cruz, Media Theater
Tuesday, October 23rd
Hosted by Prof. Peter Limbrick, UC Santa Cruz, this screening is part of the Film and Digital Media course, Film 20A: The Film Experience. For more information or directions, visit the course site.

University of California, Berkeley, Evans Hall
Tuesday, October 23, 7pm
Women, Resistance, and Political Participation: Film Screening of Leila Khaled: Hijacker and Panel Discussion
See full description on events page

San Francisco State University, Coppola Theater
Friday, October 26, 4:00pm
Screening and Panel
Arabs and Terrorism by Bassam Haddad

Friday October 26, 7:15pm
A Selection of Shorts from Lebanon
A Summer Not To Forget by Carol Mansour
A Journey by Lamia Joreige
Beirut: All Flights Cancelled by Katia Saleh
Ashura: Blood and Beauty by Katia Saleh

College of Alameda
Tuesday, October 23, 6:00pm
Questions of Immigration and Assimilation
Inside Outside by Osama Qashoo (Palestine/UK)
Detroit Unleaded by Rola Nashef (USA)
Amina, the Confused Feelings by Laurette Mokrani (France/Algeria)

Thursday, October 25th, 12:00pm
Representations of Arabs and Stereotypes
Reel Bad Arabs by Jack Shaheen (USA)
T for Middle Eastern by Merva Faddoul (Jordan/USA)
Kemo Sabe by Rana Kazkaz (USA/Palestine)

San Jose State University
Wednesday October 24, TBD
Representations of Arabs and Stereotypes
Reel Bad Arabs by Jack Shaheen (USA)
T for Middle Eastern by Merva Faddoul (Jordan/USA)
Kemo Sabe by Rana Kazkaz (USA/Palestine)

Friday October 26, TBD
Questions of Immigration and Assimilation
Inside Outside by Osama Qashoo (Palestine/UK)
Detroit Unleaded by Rola Nashef (USA)
Amina, the Confused Feelings by Laurette Mokrani (France/Algeria)

University of California, Los Angeles
James Bridges Theater
Wednesday, October 31st 7:00 pm
Tender is the Wolf (Tunisia)
Screening and Discussion
Co-Sponsored by the UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies

University of Southern California
Annenberg Auditorium
Thursday, November 1st, 7:00pm
Since You Left by Mohammed Bakri (Israel/Palestine)
Screening and Discussion
Co-Sponsored by the USC Center on Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School and the USC Middle East Studies Program

Thursday, October 18th
Clay Theatre
7:00pm Making Of
10:00pm Party at Medjool (Parking available)
$25 Screening and Party
$10 Party only

Join our Opening Night celebration with volunteers, staff, and board members of the Arab Film Festival! Don’t miss the West Coast premiere of Making Of by renowned director Nouri Bouzid winner of the Golden Tanit Award at the Carthage Film Festival. Honored guest, actor Lotfi Abdelli will be present for the occasion.

Thursday, October 25th, 2007
Castro Theater
6:15pm Noor Awards Reception & Ceremony
8:00pm Centerpiece Film Cut and Paste by director Hala Khalil
$25 Reception and Screeing
$15 Screening only

Join us for a very special evening at the historic Castro Theater for the first annual Noor Awards Ceremony and a screening of Cut and Paste.

From the Arabic word for “light,” the Noor Awards will celebrate filmmakers whose enlightened and original works outshine others in their category. The Noor Awards will be given for the following three categories: Outstanding Feature, Outstanding Documentary and Outstanding Short. Our emcee and special guest for the ceremony is Egyptian-born director, actor and performer Asaad Kelada.

Centerpiece Film: Cut and Paste
Following the ceremony, AFF presents the USA premiere of Cut and Paste, the latest romantic comedy by Egyptian director Hala Khalil, starring Hanan Turk and Sherif Mounir as two wanderlust young Egyptians, at odds with old friends and entrenched in less-than-ideal jobs, who decide to expatriate from Egypt to New Zealand by (what else?) getting hitched. Khalil exploits the hilarity of a marriage of convenience that unexpectedly turns into something more.

Producing a Film in the Arab World
Monday, October 22, 7pm
Film Arts Foundation
Free for AFF / Film Arts members, others $5

Over the past 10 years, local production of narrative and documentary film has increased significantly in the Arab world. Despite this fact, producing film in this part of the world is not without its challenges. Join a discussion addressing these issues with a panel of visiting filmmakers moderated by Samera Esmeir, Assistant Professor in the Department of Rhetoric at UC Berkeley.

Co-presented with Film Arts Foundation