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
My Tehran for Sale (2009)
6.5/10
Director: Granaz Moussavi
Starring: Asha Mehrabi, Amir Chegini, Mobina Karimi, Marzieh Vafamehr
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
Strangers (2009)
6.9/10
Director: Guy Nattiv, Erez Tadmor
Starring: Patrick Albenque, Lubna Azabal, Liron Levo, Dominique Lollia
When two travellers mistakenly exchange baggage on the Berlin U-Bahn during the 2006 World Cup, little do they know the effect it will have on their l... Read more
Three Monkeys (2008)
7.4/10
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Starring: Yavuz Bingol, Hatice Aslan, Ahmet Rifat Sungar, Ercan Kesal
Near the Bosporus, Eyüp and Hacer live in a modest flat with their son Ismail, in his twenties, who's doing poorly in his studies. Few words pass betw... Read more
Honey ( Bal ) (2008)
5.3/10
Director: Semith Kaplanoglu
Starring: Bora Altas
Yusuf is an only child who lives with his parents in the isolated mountains of North-Eastern Turkey. His father, Yakup, is a traditional beekeeper. He... Read more
Lemon Tree (2008)
7.4/10
Director: Eran Riklis
Starring: Hiam Abbass, Doron Tavory, Ali Suliman, Rona Lipaz-Michael, Tarik Kopty
Widow Salma Zidane lives on the Palestinian West Bank, in a small house surrounded by lemon trees that her great grandparents planted. Unfortunately,... Read more
Jerusalema (2008)
7.7/10
Director: Ralph Ziman
Starring: Rapulana Seiphemo, Ronnie Nyakale, Shelly Meskin, Jeffrey Sekele
Having cut his teeth on carjacking, young Lucky Kunene dreams of bigger scores with loose-cannon chum Zakes. Relocating to the rough-and-tumble Hillbr... Read more
The Debt (2007)
6.9/10
Director: Assaf Bernstein
Starring: Oleg Drach, Gila Almagor
In the original Israeli thriller that inspired a 2011 Hollywood remake, three Mossad operatives track down and capture a Nazi war criminal in 1965, on... 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
Noodle (2007)
7.4/10
Director: Ayelet Menahemi
Starring: Mili Avital, BaoQi Chen
Miri is a flight attendant for Israel's El Al airlines. Beautiful yet plagued with sadness - the result of losing two husbands to Israel's wars - Miri... Read more
Son of a Lion (2007)
6.7/10
Director: Benjamin Gilmour
Starring: Niaz Khan Shinwari, Sher Alam Miskeen Ustad
A thoughtful and engaging meditation on post-9/11 Muslim society, from Australian director Benjamin Gilmour, about a sensitive adolescent being raised... Read more