We crave stories, which is why we gossip and muse and watch movies. At some point, we yearn for stories that we could not have come up with, ones told through perspectives other than our own. Over a decade ago, you attended the inaugural Twin Cities Arab Film Festival, which introduced you, dear audiences, to such stories—stories of Arabs and by Arabs. In this edition, we present you with stories by and about non-Arab peoples of the Middle East—South Asian expats (Champ of the Camp and winners of the Children’s International Film Festival) and Turkmen Iraqis (Amal’s Garden)—as well as by and about non-Arabic speaking citizens of Arab countries (Somalis in A Hole in the Sky). We present stories by children (the mentioned CIFF winners) and about children (35mm Iraqi Shorts Program and Excuse my French). As the national landscape of the Middle East fissures, problems originate and entrench in its countries, compelling people to seek refuge and security, physical and psychic, in stories that find their way to film (Scheherazade’s Diary, Rags and Tatters, Challat of Tunis, Sleepless Nights, and many others). In times of multitudinous change, we could use with diverse, hitherto untold stories, as presented throughout this festival—your festival.
-Mohannad Ghawanmeh
Festival Curator