Arab Films

A little more than a month ago (well a week before Harry Potter 7 pt 2 came out) all Hollywood films were blocked in Jordan. I still don't know exactly why. Rumor has it that it's about taxes or something....? Don't worry the blockbuster hits are back (I hear), but it hasn't been all that bad because I've been going to the Jordan Royal Film Commission and The Al Hussein Cultural Center instead to watch free films and documentaries.

The Film Commission is downtown in Jabal Amman and they have a beautiful outdoor theater that overlooks the entire downtown area. It's the perfect place to be on a summer evening.

Below are a few of the films I've seen recently, most at the French Arab Film Festival back in June. I would recommend them to any movie buff, or if you are interested in Arab-French culture or language!

Disclaimer: One thing to keep in mind is that not all the films below are documentaries or based on true stories and events. So enjoy what you watch, but don't use these films to generalize about the MENA region, people, and culture.

Des hommes et des dieux (Of Gods and Men) by Xavier Beauvous

"Brotherhood. Religions. Faith. Martyrdom. Love. French monks are living, working and praying in a Catholic monastery in Algeria in the '90s (civil war). It starts off showing how the Islamic locals and the Christian priests coexist in harmony. The situation with the Algerian Muslim-terrorists became worse. They will have to decide whether to stay or go back to France. They are forced to question themselves and their mission very profoundly. Their sense of fraternity with the locals and amongst themselves is challenged." (IMDb)

(No) Laughing Matter by Vanessa Rousselot

"Convinced that humor knows no frontiers, a young filmmaker embarks on an unusual quest: to search for humor in the West Bank. At first she finds only disillusionment - "our whole situation is a joke" - but little by little she uncovers a vibrant culture of humor that defies conventional wisdom. From inane stories mocking the residents of Hebron - the classic butts of Palestinian jokes - to self-deprecating, political quips and bitter-sweet anecdotes about the absurdity of everyday life, her journey plunges her into a little known universe, one in which a glimmer of hope and humanity endure in the shadow of conflict..." (IMDb)

Incendies by Denis Villeneuve

"A mother's last wishes send twins Jeanne and Simon on a journey to Middle East in search of their tangled roots. Adapted from Wajdi Mouawad's acclaimed play, Incendies tells the powerful and moving tale of two young adults' voyage to the core of deep-rooted hatred, never-ending wars and enduring love." (IMDb)

18 Days - The 1st Egyptian film about the Tahrir Square Revolution

Details:

A group of ten directors, twenty actors, six writers, eight directors of photography, eight sound engineers, five set designers, three costume designers, seven editors, three post-production companies, and about ten technicians have agreed to act fast and shoot, with no budget and on a voluntary basis, ten short films about the January 25 revolution in Egypt.

Ten stories they have experienced, heard or imagined. All the proceeds of this movie will be devoted to organizing convoys to provide political and civic education in the villages of Egypt.

Between 25 January and 11 February…18 Days.

The films are:

• Retention by Sherif Arafa, 14 minutes.
• God's Creation by Kamla Abou Zekry, 8 minutes.
• 19-19 by Marwan Hamed, 14 minutes.
• When the Flood Rises by Mohamed Ali, 9 minutes.
• Curfew by Sherif Bendary, 15 minutes
• Revolution Cookies by Khaled Marei, 13 minutes
• #Tahrir 2/2 by Mariam Abou Ouf, 13 minutes.
• Window by Ahmad Abdallah, 13 minutes.
• Interior/Exterior by Yousry Nasrallah, 11 minutes
• Ashraf Seberto by Ahmed Alaa, 12 minutes.

Egypt was the guest of honor at the Cannes International Film Festival 2011 and “18 Days” was screened during the festival.

AIESEC Jordan 5th Anniversary!

What an exciting time to be part of AIESEC Jordan! We just celebrated our 5th Anniversary last weekend, with a lovely Gala Dinner. In attendance were representatives from our national partners, our supervisory group (like our board of directors) and the local and national leaders of AIESEC Jordan.















Suzi (out-going LCP of Irbid), and my MC teammates - Daniel from Spain (MCVP Talent Management) and Abi from Indonesia (MCVP ER/Communication).


GENERATION 6.0 here we come!!

AIESEC Jordan National Conference: TACTIC

I arrived in Jordan on May 31st and TACTIC was June 9-11th in Jerash, a city just 40 miles north of the capital Amman. It was incredibly exciting to have a national conference right away because it gave me to perfect opportunity to reconnect with AIESEC Jordan and our members! The challenging part was that I was very involved in the overall success of the conference, being both a FACI team member and an in-coming MC (AIESEC national team) member, so upon arriving I knew we had a lot of work to do.














So then I spent my first week was spent catching up with old friends, re-adjusting to life here in Jordan, and planning session content for the conference. TACTIC is a planning conference, the time when AIESEC Jordan gets together as a nation to re-cap the achievements of the previous term, analyze the strengths and learn from our weaknesses in order to plan a more successful year to come. On top of that we provided training session for new and old members.

















Overall, TACTIC was the perfect way to re-start my AIESEC experience and get pumped up for the upcoming year! I got to reconnect with old friends, bond with new members, and do a hell of a lot of AIESEC dances. Of course we had our moments of doubt and panic, but we made it through the conference as a team and most importantly set the tone and direction for AIESEC Jordan in 2011-2012.

Guess what....I'M BACK!!!

Hello Everyone! Marhaba!

After 10 months of consistent blogging while in Jordan and making a promise to myself that I would continue my blog once back in the states...I obviously dropped the ball! So after a one-year hiatus I'm back! So here's a short recap for ya'll.

After 10 months in Jordan, I returned to Chicago in Jul 2010.














(At 'The Bean' in Millennium Park, Chicago)

After spending some quality time with my family, I moved back to Madison to finishs up my degrees in Anthropology and Political Science. It was a busy year. Working at Husnu's as much as possible, staying involved with my AIESEC LC doing TM and coaching, studying, falling in love and of course having fun!













(I admit, I'm a cheese head! Posing in front of a huge block of cheese...on Wisconsin!)

After starting college in 2006, in mid-May I got that long awaited piece of paper...aka my diploma! Now I can proudly say that I am a member of the University of Wisconsin-Madison class of 2011! Woot!












(Doing our "AIESEC-Madison" pose in front of the capital building, Madison, Wisconsin)

It's been a crazy 2 weeks in between graduation and my departure for Jordan. Move out of Madison. Move into parents house in OP. Host a graduation party! Travel to Puerto Rico! Pack for Jordan! So much happened in those 2 weeks that it's hard for me to comprehend, but all in all it was the perfect way to say goodbye.

And here we are now. I just arrived in the Jordan late last night! After almost a day of travel, I landed safely in Amman and was greeted by my friends at the airport. Then we went to downtown Amman for dinner at my favorite place for hummus and falafel, so zakee! After dinner all I could think about was crashing in my comfy twin bed, but instead I spent a few hours unpacking, setting up my new apartment, and chatting with my roommates.

It's odd because on the one hand Jordan is already so familiar to me. I know my way around and there are tons of AIESEC friends still here. It odd how long and at the same time short this last year has been...it's almost like I never left. But on the other hand, I have a completely new set of responsibilities as an MC member and I'm living in Amman, which I know will be completely different than my days in Irbid. And of course as with AIESEC there are ALWAYS new members and interns to meet.

We have TACTIC, our national conference coming up just next week! So I've got sessions to prepare, meetings to attend, and on top of that a boat load of transition...all at the same time trying to get re-acclimated.

All I can say is that I am anxious and excited for the coming weeks!