Film
Safar Arab Film Festival: Miguel’s War (15)
Dir. Eliane Raheb, Lebanon / Spain / Germany, 2021, 128 mins, subtitled.
This documentary is the story of a gay man who grew up oppressed and shamed during the Lebanese civil war. Raised by a conservative Catholic father and an authoritarian Syrian mother, teenage Miguel was incapable of asserting himself. Traumatized by his experiences, he immigrated to Spain and in post-Franco Madrid, Miguel sought to liberate himself, but the stress of his new life proved destructive. Thirty-seven years after leaving Lebanon, he was ready to face his trauma and the ghosts of his past. Using intertwining cinematic forms, melding documentary, animation, theatre and archive and filmed on location in Lebanon and Spain, this feature film offers an experience of self-confrontation, awareness and catharsis.
Safar Arab Film Festival
The SAFAR Film Festival is the only festival in the UK dedicated to cinema from the Arab world. Founded in 2012, SAFAR offers a unique space for audiences to explore and celebrate Arab cinema past, present, and future.
Curated by Rabih El-Khoury, this year’s theme, The Stories We Tell in Arab Cinema, invites you to go back to the very essence of filmmaking: storytelling. Featuring UK premieres, new releases and classics, the film selection explores the devices used by Arab filmmakers to push cinematic boundaries, reclaim overlooked histories, and present new perspectives to audiences both at home and abroad. It sees controversial characters run amok and experimentations in form blend the traditional with the radical. Period pieces bring colonial traumas to the global stage and social issues are inspected through surreal and fantastical lenses.
PAC is delighted to be a partner this year and we have selected three films from the festival to bring to Plymouth for the first time.
Saturday 2 July, 5.30pm: The Gravedigger’s Wife
Saturday 9 July, 5.30pm: A Tale of Love and Desire
Saturday 16 July, 5pm: Miguel’s War
Full price tickets £5 | Under 25, Students, Unwaged and PCA Staff tickets £4
This documentary is the story of a gay man who grew up oppressed and shamed during the Lebanese civil war. Raised by a conservative Catholic father and an authoritarian Syrian mother, teenage Miguel was incapable of asserting himself. Traumatized by his experiences, he immigrated to Spain and in post-Franco Madrid, Miguel sought to liberate himself, but the stress of his new life proved destructive. Thirty-seven years after leaving Lebanon, he was ready to face his trauma and the ghosts of his past. Using intertwining cinematic forms, melding documentary, animation, theatre and archive and filmed on location in Lebanon and Spain, this feature film offers an experience of self-confrontation, awareness and catharsis.
Safar Arab Film Festival
The SAFAR Film Festival is the only festival in the UK dedicated to cinema from the Arab world. Founded in 2012, SAFAR offers a unique space for audiences to explore and celebrate Arab cinema past, present, and future.
Curated by Rabih El-Khoury, this year’s theme, The Stories We Tell in Arab Cinema, invites you to go back to the very essence of filmmaking: storytelling. Featuring UK premieres, new releases and classics, the film selection explores the devices used by Arab filmmakers to push cinematic boundaries, reclaim overlooked histories, and present new perspectives to audiences both at home and abroad. It sees controversial characters run amok and experimentations in form blend the traditional with the radical. Period pieces bring colonial traumas to the global stage and social issues are inspected through surreal and fantastical lenses.
PAC is delighted to be a partner this year and we have selected three films from the festival to bring to Plymouth for the first time.
Saturday 2 July, 5.30pm: The Gravedigger’s Wife
Saturday 9 July, 5.30pm: A Tale of Love and Desire
Saturday 16 July, 5pm: Miguel’s War
Full price tickets £5 | Under 25, Students, Unwaged and PCA Staff tickets £4
