Running from the 13-18 September at The ICA, and for the first time, also at the Institut Francais in Kensington, SAFAR Film Festival offers a unique programme that highlights one of the most underexplored chapters of Arab film history, examining the myriad ways in which literature and storytelling can influence film, be it adaptation, story structure, folklore or autobiography.
Tickets for SAFAR Film Festival screenings are now on sale from the ICA and Institut Français websites. Book now to secure your seat for this selection of literary themed films, from the world premiere restoration of The Land, to Stories of Passers Through, the autobiographical documentary that took 30 years to makeHead to the Institut Francais and ICA websites for bookings.
NEW FILMS ANNOUNCED
ICA will be hosting the UK Premiere of Poisonous Roses (pictured above), a visceral and thought-provoking new film by Egyptian director Ahmed Fawzi Saleh.Set in the same milieu as his striking documentary debut Live Skin, Saleh’s sophomore effort centres on the obsessive relationship between a young sister and her apathetic brother who wants to flee from his destitute life to Italy. Based on Ahmed Zaghloul Al-Shiti’s 1990 cult novel Poisonous Roses for Saqr, Saleh’s bold adaptation transforms the novelist’s lucid text into an elliptical narrative. This is a portrait of modern lower-class Cairo by turns stark and humane, brutal and beautiful.
The director will be joining SAFAR curator Joseph Fahim for a Q&A after the screening on Friday 14 September @ 8:30pm.
Another fantastic new addition to the film programme is In the Land of Tararrani, adapted from the hugely popular and influential short story collection Sleepless Nights by master of the form Ali Douagi.
This anthology film – directed by Férid Boughedir, Hamouda Ben Halima and Hédi Ben Khalifa – comprises three of these stories set in the 1930s.
Rarely seen outside Tunisia, In the Land of Tararanni is among the handful of Tunisian literary adaptations made at the first creative peak of Tunisian cinema; an analytical look at a dysfunctional society that superbly balances bitterness and ire with charm and humour.
This 1973 classic will be screened at the ICA on Saturday 14 September @ 2pm. More info here.
