UCLA Film & Television Archive presents

VISUALIZING THE SACRED: ISLAM ON FILM
Friday, May 9 – Monday, June 9

Since September 11, 2001, images of Islam in the mainstream American media have been virtually monolithic in their focus on terrorism and radicalism.  At the same time, the on-going Danish cartoon controversy has sparked heated debate about the intersections of free speech and religious tradition, representation and tolerance.  The films in this series offer a timely counterpoint to prevailing media trends as well as stirring examples of how filmmakers from around the world have grappled with some of the unique challenges of representing Islamic history, faith and practice on screen.

Whether addressing the contemporary struggle to maintain belief in a rapidly changing world or seeking ways to visualize the ineffable experience of the divine—as well as the divine itself—these recent and classic works, alike, explore the deeply human joys and complexities of Muslim faith and identity, as viewed from a diverse range of cultural contexts and genres.  Islam is not only the subject of these films, it is their inspiration.
 
Friday, May 9
7:30 p.m.
THE MESSAGE

 
Pakistan/Kuwait/Morocco/Libya/UK/Lebanon, 1976
DIR/PROD: Moustapha Akkad.  SCR: H.A.L. Craig.  CINE: Jack Hildyard.  EDIT: John Bloom.  CAST: Anthony Quinn, Irene Papas, Michael Ansara, Johnny Sekka, Michael Forest.
Moustapha Akkad's impressive directorial debut chronicles the birth of Islam in 7th-century Arabia.  Determined to make an enlightening primer on the basic teachings of Islam, Akkad balances Koranic exposition with the kind of spectacular set pieces expected in Hollywood-style religious extravaganzas.  While Mohammed plays a central role, the film refrains from depicting him via body or voice in accordance with Islamic custom.
35mm, 177 min.

Saturday, May 10
7:30 p.m.
TIMES AND WINDS  (BES VAKIT)

Turkey, 2006
DIR/SCR/EDIT: Reha Erdem.  PROD: Ömer Atay.  CINE: Florent Herry.  CAST: Ozkan Ozen, Ali Bey Kayali, Elit Iscan, Bulent Yarar, Taner Birsel.
In a rural village on Turkey's rocky coast, the growing pains of a Muslim community's adolescents play out in time to the rhythms of nature and Islamic tradition.  The muezzin's call to prayer serenely inaugurates each of the film's five sections while Florent Herry's cinematography powerfully conveys the pastoral beauty against which the touching, yet melancholic, ensemble piece unfolds.
35mm, Turkish w/English s/t, 111 min.

Monday, May 12
7:30 p.m.
Islam on Film / Archive Previews
THE EDGE OF HEAVEN
Germany/Turkey, 2007
DIR/SCR: Fatih Akin.  PROD: F. Akin, Klaus Maeck, Andreas Thiel, Jeanette Würl. CINE: Rainer Klausmann.  EDIT: Andrew Bird.  CAST: Baki Davrak, Tuncel Kurtiz, Nursel Kose.
Writer-director Fatih Akin (Head On) takes his exploration of cross-cultural dislocation and reconciliation to new heights with this bravura ensemble piece that Variety called "utterly assured" and "profoundly moving."  Shifting between Germany and Turkey, the film traces the tragic intersections of six lives bound by fate and forgiveness.  Reminiscent of Babel, it promises to be an early Oscar contender for Best Foreign Language Film.
35mm, 120 min.

Wednesday, May 14
7:30 p.m.
A DOOR TO THE SKY  (BAB AL-SAMA MAFTUH)

Morocco/Tunisia/France, 1989
DIR/SCR: Farida Ben Lyazid.  CAST: Chaidia Hadraoui, Eva Saint-Paul, Zakia Tahri. Farida Ben Lyazid's directorial debut brought a bold, feminist perspective to the shifting values of Moroccan society.  The Sufi-inspired tale vividly enacts the spiritual awakening of Nadia after she returns from France to her native Fez for her father's funeral.  Inspired by the chanting of Koranic verses, she begins a journey of self-discovery that simultaneously challenges the orthodoxy of Islamic tradition.
35mm, Arabic and French w/English s/t, 107 min.

 

Saturday, May 17
7:30 p.m.  •note earlier panel this same day
LE GRAND VOYAGE

France/Morocco, 2004
DIR/SCR: Ismael Ferroukhi.  PROD: Humbert Balsan.  CINE: Katell Djian.  EDIT: Tina Baz.  CAST: Nicolas Cazalé, Mohamed Majd, Jacky Nercessian, Ghina Ognianova, Kamel Belghazi.
Réda, a French-Moroccan teenager, begrudgingly agrees to drive his devout father on his pilgrimage to Mecca.  While their relationship in the car grows claustrophobic, their view grows more expansive as the landscape changes from Europe to the Middle East.  The film culminates in spectacular scenes of pilgrims converging on the holy city that trigger in Réda a new understanding of his father's faith.
35mm, Arabic, Bulgarian, French, Italian and Turkish w/English s/t, 108 min.

Saturday, May 24
2 p.m.  
Family Matinée
MUHAMMAD: THE LAST PROPHET

USA, 2004
DIR: Richard Rich.  PROD: Mowafak El-Harthy.  SCR: Brian Nissen.  EDIT: Joe Campana.  CAST: Eli Allem, Nicholas Kadi.
This delightful animated feature is suitable for all-ages as a rousing and moving story of the origins of Islam.  Narrated in flashback, the film recounts Muhammad's life from the time of his first revelation to the final victory of his egalitarian message over the forces of repression that controlled Mecca.  In keeping with Islamic tradition, director Richard Rich never directly represents Muhammad on screen.
35mm, 95 min.

Friday, May 30
7:30 p.m.
OF LOVE AND EGGS  (RINDU KAMI PADAMU)

Indonesia, 2004
DIR: Garin Nugroho.  SCR: Armantono Ginting, Sakurta Ginting.  CINE: Josep Fofid. EDIT: Choiril Anam.  CAST: Nova Eliza, Sakurta H. Ginting, Didi Petet and Neno Warisman.
On the eve of the Lebaran holiday, the residents of a Jakarta marketplace raise money to buy a cupola for their humble mosque while navigating the, by turns, comic and poignant adventures of everyday life.  Director Garin Nugroho employs intimate camera work and a richly textured mise-en-scene to craft a warm, colorful portrait of a close-knit Muslim community.
35mm, Indonesian w/English s/t, 90 min.

Saturday, June 7
7:30 p.m.   
DESTINY  (AL-MASSIR)
France/Egypt, 1997
DIR: Youssef Chahine.  SCR: Y. Chahine, Khaled Youssef.  CAST: Nour El-Sherif, Laila Eloui, Mahmoud Hemida.
After The Emigrant (1994) was met with official censorship for its on-screen depiction of the prophet Joseph, director Youssef Chahine responded to his critics head on in Destiny.  From the life and thought of 12th-century Islamic scholar Averroes, Chahine weaves a rousing potboiler of political and religious intrigue, peppered with romance and song, that doubles as a powerful assault on religious extremism, then and now.
35mm, French and Arabic w/ English s/t, 135 min.

Monday, June 9
7:30 p.m.
Islam on Film / Archive Previews
BRICK LANE
UK, 2007
DIR: Sarah Gavron.  PROD: Chris Collins, Alison Owen.  Based on a novel by Monica Ali.  SCR: Laura Jones, Abi Morgan.  CINE: Robbie Ryan.  EDIT: Melanie Oliver. CAST: Tannsihta Chatterjee, Satish Kaushik, Christopher Simpson.
This sensual rendering of Monica Ali's bestselling novel begins with the arranged marriage of Nazneen, a young Muslim swept from her beloved Bangladesh to a cramped East London flat.  Tensions, cultural and generational, quickly close in as Nazneen negotiates between her oafish husband and two modernized daughters.  A rebellious affair offers some respite until 9/11 rocks the community and forces Nazneen to make an unexpected choice.
35mm, 101 min.
 

VENUE:  Billy Wilder Theater, 10899 Wilshire Blvd. @ Westwood Blvd.  (courtyard level of the Hammer Museum)

TICKETS:  Advance tickets are available for $10 at www.cinema.ucla.edu.  Tickets are also available at the Billy Wilder Theater box office starting one hour before showtime: $9, general admission; $8, Cineclub members, students, seniors and UCLA Alumni Association members with ID; $7, Cineclub members who are students or seniors.

Admission to the May 17 panel discussion is free.

PARKING:  After 6 p.m., $3 in the lot under the Billy Wilder Theater.  Enter from Westwood Blvd., just north of Wilshire.

INFO:  www.cinema.ucla.edu / 310.206.FILM
 

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