Arab Film Festival Australia 2014

Overview

It's a region in the throes of political and cultural upheaval, but now you can get a nuanced glimpse inside the contemporary Arab world at the 2014 Arab Film Festival Australia. With documentaries, narratives and a selection of shorts from countries including Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine, the films at this year's festival are connected by the theme of social change.

A Jordanian-Palestinian co-production, opening night film When I Saw You transports audiences to Jordan in 1967, as the nation was faced by a sudden influx of Palestinian refugees. Also from Jordan comes May in the Summer, an indie dramedy about a young Arab-American woman returning to Amman from New York, to inform her family of her engagement.

On a darker note, Lebanese documentary Scheherazade's Diary takes viewers inside the Baabda Women's Prison. Through dramatic therapy sessions organised by director Zeina Daccache, inmates recall harrowing personal tales of false imprisonment and domestic abuse.

For the full program, visit the Arab Film Festival website.

Image: May in the Summer.