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
Rafiki (2018)
6.6/10
"Good Kenyan girls become good Kenyan wives," but Kena and Ziki long for something more. When love blossoms between them, the two girls will be forced... Read more
Incitement (2019)
7/10
Director: Yaron Zilberman
Details the year leading to the assassination of Israel's Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin (1922-1995), from the point of view of the assassin. A psycho... Read more
The Assassin Next Door (2009)
Starring: Olga Kurylenko, Liron Levo
A woman forced to work for the Russian Mafia as an assassin agrees to help her next-door neighbor kill her abusive husband. Read more
Tsotsi (2005)
7.3/10
Director: Gavin Hood
Starring: Presley Chweneyagae, Terry Pheto, Kenneth Nkosi, Mothusi Magano, Zenzo Ngqobe, Z...
Tsotsi, (a slang word for 'thug'), is a Johannesberg delinquent whose life has been a series of abandonments and abuse, resulting in a young man alrea... Read more
Wings Of Honour (Angel of the Skies) (2013)
4/10
War is declared and Britain must take action against Nazi Germany if Europe is going to be saved from its ruthless clutches. Read more
Halfaouine: Boy of the Terraces (1990)
6.7/10
Director: Ferid Boughedir
Starring: Mustapha Adouani
A coming-of-age comedy/drama set in Tunisia. Twelve-year-old Noura is an impressionable boy who must learn to reconcile two conflicting worlds - the l... Read more
Gabbeh (1995)
7.1/10
Director: Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Starring: Shaghayegh Djodat, Hossein Moharami, Abbas Sayahi
A nomadic tribe in south-east Iran, on the verge of extinction and renowned for weaving gabbeh's, is the setting for this idyllic tale of the love bet... 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
Where Do We Go Now? (2011)
7.5/10
Director: Nadine Labaki
Starring: Nadine Labaki, Claude Baz Moussawbaa, Layla Hakim, Yvonne Maalouf
Christians and Muslims lived peacefully together for years in this small Lebanese village, but animosities begin to build among the men as a result of... Read more