Middle East Cinema Series Announces Spring 2018 Line-Up

From Turkey to Palestine, Iran to India, Nadi Cinema introduces viewers to the storytelling and vision of filmmakers across North Africa and the Middle East. All films — classics, cult favorites, recent hits, comedies, tragedies, political thrillers, social commentaries and romances, in black-white and living color — are subtitled in English.

The series is hosted by Joel Gordon, professor in the Department of History at the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.

All screenings are free and open to the public, and take place at 7 p.m. in the Hembree Auditorium, room 107E in the Agricultural Food and Life Science building (AFLS), next to the Pat Walker Health Center on Maple Ave.

Wednesday, Jan. 31 — Eshtibak/Clash (Mohamed Diab, Egypt 2016)

Set in the aftermath of the military coup of 2013 and shot entirely in the back of a police van in which pro- and anti-government demonstrators are collected, this explosive film — an opening feature at Cannes — depicts the descent of Egypt's Arab Spring into a nightmare. Arabic with English subtitles (97 minutes)

Wednesday, Feb. 28 — Under the Shadow (Babak Anvari, Iran 2016)

A malevolent spirit haunts an apartment building in Tehran caught amidst the terrible bombings of the 1980s Iran-Iraq war. Did little Dorsa — or her doll — become possessed? Is this nightmare or reality? Persian with English subtitles (84 minutes)

Wednesday, April 4 — Vizontele/Television (Yilmaz Erdogan, Turkey 2001)

Television finally reaches a faraway village in eastern Turkey in 1974 in this tragi-comedy by popular director Erdogan that features an all-star cast. Will the villagers achieve connectivity and at what cost? Turkish with English subtitles (110 min)

Wednesday, May 2 — What a Wonderful World (Faouzi Bensaidi, Morocco 2006)

A prostitute, a traffic cop, an assassin and a dark comedy-thriller about a doomed romance, all set in Casablanca — and by acclaimed Moroccan director Bensaidi. Arabic-French with English subtitles (94 min)

All four film screenings are free and open to the public, and all are subtitled in English. Nadi Cinema is sponsored by the King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies in the Fulbright College.

For film synopses, trailers and more information, follow the King Fahd Center on Facebook and Twitter.

About the King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies: The King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies is an academic and research unit in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas. An interdisciplinary and interdepartmental area studies center that offers diverse cultural, intellectual, and educational opportunities for the University of Arkansas community, the Center promotes research and teaching in interdisciplinary Middle East studies. The Center offers an undergraduate major in Middle East Studies through the Middle East Studies (MEST) Program and supports graduate studies in related departments with graduate assistantships, as well as summer language study, conference travel, and field research grants, and teaching and research by visiting scholars from affiliated universities and programs. More information about the King Fahd Center can be found at mest.uark.edu. For ongoing news, follow the Center on Facebook and Twitter.