Login

African & Middle Eastern

Alice has precious few (but building) films from the Middle East and even fewer from the vast continent of Africa. Middle Eastern films are often highly politicised, bringing subjects to the attention of audiences that would otherwise know little about them. Film makers are often dealing with various forms of political and social oppression and even armed conflicts to bring their stories to light. Exotic scenery, allegorical storytelling and close-up exposure to cultural norms, so different from our own, bring a kind of immersion only rivalled by being there. To find a title from a specific country use the By Country link on the left. Pictured: A Time for Drunken Horses

Incendies (2011)

8.2/10
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Starring: Remy Girard, Melissa Desormeaux-Poulan, Lubna Azabal, Maxim Gaudette

In the highly-acclaimed suspense thriller 'Incendies', a mothers dying wish creates a painful puzzle her children are forced to solve. At the reading... Read more

Winter Sleep (2014)

8.2/10
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Starring: Haluk Bilginer, Melisa Sozen, Demet Akbag

Aydin, a former actor, runs a small hotel in central Anatolia with his young wife Nihal with whom he has a stormy relationship and his sister Necla wh... Read more

Distant ( aka Uzak ) (2003)

7.7/10
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Starring: Mehmet Emin Yoprak, Muzaffer Ozdemir

Mahmut is a 40-year-old independent photographer living in Istanbul, and in a deep existential depression following his wife's departure. He's used t... Read more

A Time for Drunken Horses (2001)

7.7/10
Director: Bahman Ghobadi
Starring: Ayoub Ahmadi, Rojin Younessi

Lyrical, emotional and bleak drama about several siblings of a poverty stricken Kurdish family desperately trying to find funding for the treatment of... Read more

A Separation (2011)

8.3/10
Director: Asghar Farhadi
Starring: Leila Hatami, Peyman Moaadi, Shahab Hosseini, Sareh Bayat, Sarina Farhadi

Iranian drama, winner of Best Foreign Language Film at the 2012 Academy Awards and Golden Globes, and Best Film at the Berlin Film Festival 2011. "A... Read more

Taste Of Cherry (1997)

7.7/10
Director: Abbas Kiarostami
Starring: Homayoun Ershadi, Adolhossein Bagheri

One of the great works of recent international cinema and the apex of contemporary Iranian film, Abbas Kiarostami's brilliant and deceptively simple f... Read more

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2011)

7.8/10
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Starring: Muhammet Uzuner, Yilmaz Erdogan, Taner Birsel

Winner of the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, "Once Upon a Time in Anatolia" is an engrossing crime drama from the celebrated director of "Cl... Read more

About Elly (2009)

8.1/10
Director: Asghar Farhadi
Starring: Golshifteh Farahani, Peyman Moaadi, Shahab Hosseini, Taraneh Alidoosti, Merila Z...

From Asghar Farhadi, director of the acclaimed "A Separation", comes a gripping tale of secrets and lies amongst a tight-knit group of friends holiday... Read more

Osama (2003)

7.4/10
Director: Siddiq Barmak
Starring: Marina Golbahari, Arif Herati, Zubaida Sahar

The first feature film from post-Taliban Afghanistan, this award-winning drama is set during the radical Islamic regime's rule. With women forbidden t... Read more

The Kite Runner (2007)

7.6/10
Director: Marc Forster
Starring: Khalid Abdalla, Homayoun Ershadi, Shaun Toub, Atossa Leoni, Said Taghmaoui

Director Marc Forster's adaptation of Khaled Hosseini's bestseller about one man's search for redemption following a childhood betrayal in his native... Read more