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
Baran (2001)
7.8/10
Director: Majid Majidi
Starring: Hossein Abedini, Mohammad Amir Naji, Zahra Bahrami, Hossein Rahimi, Hossein Mahj...
From the acclaimed director of "Children of Heaven" comes the uplifting tale of the relationship between 17-year-old worker Lateef and the illegally... Read more
Bekas (2012)
7.5/10
Director: Karzan Kader
Starring: Zamand Taha, Sarwar Fazil
In 1990, two Kurdish orphans catch a glimpse of a 'Superman' film screening and set off to find the hero they believe has the power to fix all their p... Read more
Blackboards (2000)
7/10
Director: Samira Makhmalbaf
Starring: Bahman Ghobadi, Said Mohamadi, Behnaz Jafari
In the brutal mountains of the Iran/Iraq border, two nomadic teachers, Reeboir and Said, roam the landscape in search of pupils. They carry their blac... Read more
Broken Wings (2002)
7.5/10
Director: Nir Bergman
Starring: Orly Zilbershatz-Banai, Maya Maron, Nitai Gaviratz
Orly Zilbershatz-Banai stars as Dafna, a mother struggling to keep her family afloat after the sudden death of their beloved father. Forced into a rol... Read more
Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame (2007)
7.3/10
Director: Hana Makhmalbaf
This remarkable and beautifully shot Iranian film explores the fundamentalist Muslim Taliban regime through the eyes of children; too young to fully u... Read more
Capharnaum / Capernaum (2018)
Director: Nadine Labaki
Starring: Zain Al Rafeea, Nadine Labaki
After running away from his negligent parents, committing a violent crime and being sentenced to five years in jail, a hardened, streetwise 12-year-ol... Read more
Caramel (2007)
7.1/10
Director: Nadine Labaki
Starring: Nadine Labaki, Yasmine Elmasri, Joanna Moukarzel, Gisele Aouad, Adel Karam, Siha...
A Beirut beauty salon serves as a microcosm of modern society in director Nadine Labaki's look at liberated conversation in a conflicted society, as f... Read more
Children of Heaven (1997)
8.3/10
Director: Majid Majidi
Starring: Mohammad Amir Naji, Karnal Mirkarimi, Amir Farrokh Hashemian
This acclaimed heart-warming tale follows two young siblings in an Iranian city as they try to keep the loss of their sister's only shoes from their p... Read more
Circumstance (2011)
5.9/10
Director: Maryam Keshavarz
Starring: Nikohl Boosheri, Sarah Kazemy, Reza Sixo Safai, Soheil Parsa, Nasrin Pakkho, Sin...
Within the oppressive society of contemporary Iran, two Tehran schoolgirls are romantically drawn to each other and seek the freedom to live their liv... Read more
Climates (2006)
7.3/10
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Starring: Ebru Ceylan, Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Internationally acclaimed writer-director Nuri Bilge Ceylan's sublime follow-up to his Cannes multi-award winner 'Distant'. Beautifully drawn and meti... Read more