June 1950: Still teenagers, the Lebanese, Tarik and his younger brother, Karim, left Lebanon and came to Brazil, in search for a better life. On the ship, they make friendship with other Lebanese and Syrian teenagers. Upon arrival in Brazil, each one goes his way and the years pass through… September 2001: The old Muslim Tarik loses his wife and, before dies, needs to fulfill some promises. Tarik leaves everything and crosses Brazil, together with his daughter Samia, in search of the boys who came with him from Lebanon, 51 years before. Each stop on this long journey will reveal a fabulous truth of more than 1001 nights.

In the early 60's, during the cold war and the apex of Pan Arabism, a group of utopian students and researchers enters the race to space and create the Lebanese Rocket Society. Sometimes, and specially nowadays, dreams can overtake a tormented history.

Mars At Sunrise tells the story of a war waged on imagination. The film abstractly portrays the conflict between artists on either side of Israel’s militarized borders, and explores how a powerful creative mind survives, and even thrives, under pressure.

One of the key figures of Moroccan and North African cinema, Moumen Smihi is a filmmaker, writer, theorist, and critic, but most of all he is a Tanjaoui: a citizen of Tangier, the atmospheric port city of Morocco, hub between Europe and Africa, Christianity and Islam, and legendary haven to such writers as William S. Burroughs, Paul Bowles, Mohamed Choukri, Jean Genet, and more. We’re excited to co-present this series with BAM/PFA

Algiers. Choreographer Abou Lagraa and Nawal Aït Benalla Lagraa conceived this first training of contemporary dance in Algeria as a bridge between Mediterranean cultures. Ten dancers were selected to give birth to Lagraa’s choreography Nya."O my Body!" depicts the structuring of this group of dancers, mostly composed of self-taught hip-hop street performers, till the evening of the world premiere at the National Theater of Algiers.

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In 1977, Kh'lil Khalsawi, a law professor in Tunisia, under the ruling party’s instructions, would represent the party in a league of human rights that has been founded not long ago. His mission is to defend the official positions inside the league during this turbulent time when the government and the labor union are on bad terms.

The Runner is a film about Salah Hmatou Ameidan, who uses his talent as a runner to protest against the occupation of his homeland, Western Sahara. The film suggests that the runner's physical endurance is his political weapon. It is the story of a champion long-distance runner whose journey transformed him from an athlete into the symbol of a national liberation movement.

Through the stories of Assaad Shaftari, a former high ranking intelligence officer in a Christian right wing militia, responsible for many casualties in the protracted civil war in Lebanon and Maryam Saiidi, the mother of Maher, a missing young communist fighter who disappeared in 1982, the film digs in the war wounds and asks if redemption and forgiveness are possible

Sofia left Morocco for London to support her mother and fund the search for her missing brother. Living a life of fear and struggle, the resolute Sofia takes the opportunity to obtain legal papers when friends offer to facilitate an arranged marriage.Raw and poignant, the black and white cinematography heightens the immediacy of the performances.