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
In the late 1960s, twin sisters Olanna (Thandie Newton) and Kainene (Anika Noni Rose) arrive back home in Nigeria, having finished their studies in En... Read more
Marzieh is a young female actress living in Tehran. The authorities ban her theatre work and, like many young people in Iran, she is forced to lead a... Read more
In a country torn apart by war, a young woman watches over her older husband. A bullet in the neck has reduced him to a comatose state. One day, the w... Read more
Written and directed by 81-year-old master filmmaker Ousmane Sembene, this incredible film tells the story of four girls desperate to avoid the 'purif... Read more
A.k.a. "Rebelle". Komona (Rachel Mwanza) is only 12 years old when she is kidnapped by rebel soldiers and enslaved to a life of guerrilla warfare in t... Read more
Four friends returning home from a skiing trip stumble upon a curiously large rock on the side of a mountain. What begins as a lighthearted project to... Read more
A.k.a. "Our Father". Set in the director's native Chad, the sensuous "Abouna" begins with the striking image of a man in Western dress crossing a dese... Read more
This award-winning and critically acclaimed film follows the lives of three friends on the verge of adolescence in a remote Turkish mountain village.... Read more
Turkish/German director Fatih Akin ('Head-On') brings together a deeply humanistic amd multi-layered drama as he follows the stories of six people cau... Read more
A cannily droll mix of social commentary and modern fable, Israeli filmmaker Ra'anan Alexandrowicz's debut feature follows the adventures of James, a... Read more