LSA Course Guide

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Class Detail:
WN 2013 Screen Arts and Cultures SAC 441 - National Screens Section 003 Arab Cinemas: Egypt, Lebanon, and Palestine
Credits:	3
Waitlist Capacity:	unlimited
Lab Fee:	35.00
Advisory Prerequisites:	SAC 230 or 236 or 360.
Repeatability:	May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credit(s). May be elected more than once in the same term.
Primary Instructor:	Mokdad,Linda Youssef
	(real time availability for all sections)

This course is an overview of the trends, conventions, and strategies of three key Arab cinemas from the 1930s to the present day. Structured chronologically, the course will explore Arabic-language films using a variety of approaches (generic, industrial, formal, auteurist), while studying them in their regional, national, and transnational contexts. Beginning with the commercial Egyptian film industry, we will examine the importance of the star system, genre, and other forms of entertainment (music hall, theater, and radio) to the “Hollywood on the Nile.” As the course transitions to more contemporary Lebanese and Palestinian films that travel the film festival circuit, our concerns will shift to the politics of transnational funding, questions of distribution, and the impact of diaspora and exile on filmmaking practices. We will also consider how these Arabic-language films negotiate between popular entertainment, art, and politics throughout the course. Films may include Ahmed Badrakhan’s Fatma, Salah Abu Seif’s I am Free, Youssef Chahine’s Alexandria…Why?, Ziad Doueiri’s West Beirut, Elia Suleiman’s Divine Intervention, Nadine Labaki’s Caramel, Hany Abu-Assad’s Rana’s Wedding, Jackie Salloum’s Slingshot Hip Hop, Annemarie Jacir’s Salt of the Sea, and Rola Nashef’s Detroit Unleaded. Intended Audience: No prior knowledge of Arab cinemas is necessary.

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