Cinema
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Cinema in IranUnveiled women conquer the silver screen
More and more Iranian films are breaking taboos – the results are being met with amazement both in and outside Iran. "My Favourite Cake", which premiered at the Berlinale in February, is just the latest example
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Arab Film Festival in BerlinSpotlighting Palestinian voices
As the Israel-Hamas war impacts Germany's cultural sector, the organisers of the ALFILM festival fear for the future of their event
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Tunisian film "Four Daughters"Painful family ties
Two of Tunisian single mother Olfa Hamrouni's four daughters joined IS in Libya. For more than nine years now, Hamrouni has been fighting to be reunited with her daughters. Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania has made a moving feature-length documentary on her story
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Turkey"Red Buds" – a TV series divides the country
The Turkish media authority has imposed a two-week broadcasting ban and fine on the series "Red Buds", in which religious and liberal worlds collide. The series is apparently too close to the bone
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Culture unites where politics divideBollywood – bringing India and Pakistan closer together
Indian movie stars, especially from Bollywood, have huge fan bases in Pakistan – despite the bitter political rivalry between the neighbouring nations. What's driving this popularity?
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Sofia Alaoui's film "Animalia"Aliens land in Morocco
Moroccan terrain has long proved a popular backdrop for American film productions. In "Animalia", director Sofia Alaoui highlights Morocco's scenery from a local and personal perspective, focusing in particular on the Atlas Mountains
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"Iraq's Invisible Beauty"Pictures, not words
"Iraq's Invisible Beauty" is a documentary film depicting the journey of the late Iraqi photographer Latif al-Ani, who gained international acclaim as one of the pioneers of photography in Iraq and the Middle East. By Shady Lewis Botros
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Iranian cinema: "A Tale from Shemroon"King of the night
Many reports on Iran focus on Tehran's middle classes, giving a rather one-sided impression of the country. New film release "A Tale from Shemroon" is also set in this milieu. So does it succeed in presenting a more multi-faceted picture? Lisa Neal watched the film for Qantara.de
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Israeli documentary "1948 – Remember, Remember Not"The perspectives of others
For the first time, a new feature-length Israeli documentary shows the war of 1948 from the viewpoint of several parties involved in the conflict. The director has garnered praise in Israel, but also some fierce criticism. It is unclear whether the film will even be shown on the state TV channel that commissioned it. By Joseph Croitoru
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Tunisian films about the Arab SpringRage, hope and desperation
Tunisian filmmakers are addressing the subject of the Arab Spring and its failure in Tunisia in their films. Shady Lewis Botros watched three of them for Qantara.de
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Netflix series "Queen Cleopatra"Controversial patchwork history
The decision by Netflix' latest documentary series to portray Cleopatra as an Egyptian and thereby an African ruler is partly aimed at rehabilitating her as a historical figure. But good intentions don't always produce good results, as Shady Lewis Botros argues
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Istanbul's 42nd Film FestivalBetween two quakes
Other high-profile film festivals would be hard pushed to match the intensity with which cinematic art collides with reality at the Istanbul Film Festival. Stefan Weidner attended for Qantara.de