BFI London Film Festival 2016: Films From The MENA Region

The BFI London Film Festival celebrates an impressive 60 years this year. Launching this week Britain’s leading film festival takes place over 12 days and will bring 249 feature films and 145 shorts, including features and documentaries, live action and animated works. With 74 countries participating, there will be 39 world, twelve international, 49 European and eight world restoration premieres. Up for grabs also are the prestigious LFF Best Film Award, the Grierson Award for Documentary, the Sutherland Award for First Feature and the Short Film Award.

The screenings can be viewed across fourteen London cinemas, including: the BFI Southbank, the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), the RItzy Cinema, the Curzon Cinemas, the Vue West End, the Embankment Garden Cinema and others. Part of the festival will also feature a stellar line-up of directors, cast and crew who are expected to take part in career interviews, screen talks, Q+As and Industry talks for those interested to learn more from behind the scenes.

Relevant to the MENA region, there are at least 20 titles that I picked out, with works from: Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Tunisia, Qatar, Morocco, Lebanon and Jordan. To help you easily navigate the BFI LFF website, I have listed below the film titles with names of directors, the country of production and the genre-category by which they are registered. I do advise early booking as many of these screenings include world premieres and sell out fast.

Barakah Meets Barakah

Director: Mahmoud Sabbagh

Production: Saudi Arabia (2016)

Genre: Laugh

Showing: Thu 6 October, 6.30pm at Curzon Soho

Showing: Sat 8 October, 8.30pm at Ciné Lumière

​Link: https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::lo…

Farouk, Besieged Like Me (Mouhassaron Mithli)

Director: Hala Alabdalla

Production: Syria-France (2016)

Genre: Debate

Showing: Fri 7 October, 6.15pm at BFI Southbank NFT2

Showing: Sat 8 October, 3pm at Ciné Lumière

Link: https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::lo…

In the Last Days of the City (Akher Ayam El Medina)

Director: Tamer El Said

Production: Egypt-Germany-UK (2016)

Genre: Debate

Showing: Sun 9, October, 8.45pm at Picturehouse Central

Showing: Tue 11 October, 3.30pm at BFI Southbank NFT2

​Link: https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::lo…

Hedi (Inhebbek Hedi)

Director: Mohamed Ben Attia

Production: Tunisia-Belgium-France-Qatar-UAE (2016)

Genre: First Feature Competition

Showing: Tue 11 October, 9pm at ICA

Showing: Wed 12 October, 1.15pm at BFI Southbank NFT3

Showing: Sat 15 October, 3.45pm at Ciné Lumière

Link: https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::lo…

Mimosas

Director: Oliver Laxe

Production: Qatar-Morocco-Spain-France (2016)

Genre: Journey

Showing: Thu 6 October, 9pm at BFI Southbank NFT3

Showing: Fri 7 October, 1pm at ICA

Link: https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::lo…

Tickling Giants

Director: Sara Taksler

Production: Egypt-UK-US (2016)

Genre: Laugh

Showing: Wed 12 October, 6pm at VUE West End Screen 7

Showing: Sat 15 October, 6.15pm at BFI Southbank NFT2

LInk: ​Link: https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::lo…

Tramontane

Director: Vatche Boulghourjian

Production: Lebanon-France (2016)

Genre: Journey

Showing: Sun 9 October, 1pm at Ritzy Cinema

Showing: Wed 12 October, 6.30pm at BFI Southbank NFT2

Link: https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::lo…

Clash (Eshtebak)

Director: Mohamed Diab

Production: Egypt (2016)

Genre: Official Competition

Showing: Wed 12 October, 8.45pm at Embankment Garden Cinema

Showing; Thu 13 October, 2.30pm at Embankment Garden Cinema

Link: https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::lo…

A Day for Women (Yom Lel Setat)

Director: Kamla Abouzekri

Production: Egypt (2016)

Genre: Debate

Showing; Thu 6 October, 8.45pm at Picturehouse Central

Showing: Fri 7 October, 1pm at BFI Southbank NFT3

Link: https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::lo…

Adieu Bonaparte

Director: Youssef Chahine

Production: Egypt-France (1984)

Genre: Debate

Showing; Fri 7 October, 8.45pm at BFI Southbank NFT2

Link: https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::lo…

The Worthy

Director: Ali F Mostfa

Production: UAE (2016)

Genre: Dare

Showing; Sat 8 October, 6pm at VUE West End Screen 7

Showing: Sun 9 October, 6.15pm at ICA

Showing: Sat 15 October, 9pm at Curzon Mayfair

Link: https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::lo…

Layla M

Director: Mijke de Jong

Production: Jordan-Netherlands-Belgium-Germany (2016)

Genre: Official Competition

Showing: Tue 11 October, 6pm at Embankment Garden Cinema

Showing: Thu 13 October, 12noon at Embankment Garden Cinema

Link: https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::lo…

Divines

Director: Houda Benyamina

Production: Qatar-France (2016)

Genre: First Feature Competition

Showing: Thu 6 October, 6.15pm at Haymarket Cinema

Showing: Fri 7 October, 3.30pm at BFI Southbank NFT2

Showing: Tue 11 October, 6.30pm at Ritzy Cinema

Link: https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::lo…

The War Show

Directors: Andreas Dalsgaard and Obaidah Zytoon

Production: Syria-Finland-Denmark (2016)

Genre: Documentary Competition

Showing: Thu 13 October, 6pm at VUE West End Screen 7

Showing: Sat 15 October, 12.45noon at Curzon Mayfair

Link: https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::lo…

9 Days – From My Window in Aleppo

Director: Issa Touma

Production: Syria-Netherlands (2015)

Genre: Debate

Showing: Sun 9 October, 3.45pm at ICA

Showing: Mon 10 October, 6pm at BFI Southbank NFT3

Link: https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::lo…

Battalion To My Heart (2016): Algeria-US-Western Sahara

Director: Elmi Imanishi

Genre: Debate

Showing: Sun 9 October, 3.45pm at ICA

Showing; 10 October, 6pm at NFT3

Link: https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::lo…

Letters from Baghdad

Directors: Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeya Oelbaum

Production: UK-US (2016)

Genre: Journey

Showing: Sun 9 October, 3.30pm at Haymarket Cinema

Showing: Mon 10 October, 8.45pm at BFI Southbank NFT2

Link: https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::lo…

Moderation

Director: Anja Kirschner

Production: Egypt- Greece-Italy-UK (2016)

Genre: Experimenta

Showing: Sat 15, October, 8.15pm at BFI Southbank NFT3

Link: https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::lo…

In the Future, They Ate from the Finest Porcelain

Director: Larissa Sansour

Production: Qatar-UK-Denmark

Genre: Experimenta

Showing: Fri 7 October, 6.30pm at BFI Southbank NFT3

​Link: https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::lo…

Ruins of Palmyra and Baalbeck

Director: Jack Cardiff

Production: (1938)

Genre: Dare

Showing: Sun 9 October, 12.30noon at BFI Southbank NFT2

Link: https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::lo…

Note: This article was first published circa October 2016