ITALY / Focus on the Middle East at Florence

From April 5^th to 10^th Florence is hosting the seventh Middle East Now – a festival of film and culture. The programming looks at Middle Eastern culture, with screenings, exhibitions, concerts, food tastings and conferences.

44 films from across the Arab world will be screened, and for the first time a Saudi film-maker will be present: Mahmoud Sabbagh, who comes with his principle actors for the screening of one of his country’s first romantic comedies “Barakah Meets Barakah”.

Middle East Now offers several European, indeed world, premières in its selection, including the Turkish documentary “Baglar” by Berke Bas and Melis Birder, which follows a team of young Kurdish basketball players from Diyarbakir trying to win the Turkish championship.

Other screening events punctuate the festival’s seventh programme: Sean McAllister will show his multi-award-winning documentary “A Syrian Love Story” about a Syrian couple filmed over 15 years of political upheavals in the country. Palestine occupies a prominent place in the selection with Tarzan and Abu Nasser’s “Dégradé”, Najwa Najjar’s “Eyes Of A Thief” and “Speed ​​Sisters” by Amber Fares (winner of 3 Awards at the last PriMed), all being shown in Italy for the first time.

Click here to consult the complete programme of Middle East Now 2016.