Films from the Arab world do not usually make it beyond specialised events with us, such as this week's Arab Camera Festival in Rotterdam. From 12 to 15 November, serious cultural and political nuts will undoubtedly be cracked there at Cinerama, but the opening is remarkably light-hearted.
Arab Camera kicks off with comedy From A to B, a curious road movie from the Emirates. You may not have known it, but films are made there too. Three former childhood friends undertake a trip from Abu Dhabi to Beirut to posthumously make amends with their companion Hady, who was killed in an air raid on Lebanon.
London-trained filmmaker Ali F. Mostafa is clearly aiming at a wide and young audience with this brash adventure of three spoilt rich kids. Partly it leans on bland farcicality following an American recipe, partly it hooks into what is really going on in the region, particularly Syria. Or was, as it is set in 2011. A high-flyer it is not, but still nice to see something like this for a change alongside the more arthouse-oriented work.
A few more curious titles from the programme include Self Made and Speed Sisters. The first revolves around a bizarre misunderstanding. An Israeli artist and a Palestinian terrorist accidentally swap places. A 'defiantly original comedy', according to Variety. Speed Sisters is a documentary about female race car drivers that has been praised elsewhere. For lovers of classic Arabic, there is Struggle in the Valley (1954), a romantic drama from Egypt with Omar Sharif in his first film role.
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