Arab Modernism as World Cinema explores the radically beautiful films of Moroccan filmmaker Moumen Smihi, demonstrating the importance of Moroccan and Arab film cultures in histories of world cinema. Addressing the legacy of the Nahda or “Arab Renaissance” of the nineteenth and early twentieth century—when Arab writers and artists reenergized Arab culture by engaging with other languages and societies—Peter Limbrick argues that Smihi’s films take up the spirit of the Nahda for a new age. Examining Smihi’s oeuvre, which enacts an exchange of images and ideas between Arab and non-Arab cultures, Limbrick rethinks the relation of Arab cinema to modernism and further engages debates about the use of modernist forms by filmmakers in the Global South. This original study offers new routes for thinking about world cinema and modernism in the Middle East and North Africa, and about Arab cinema in the world.

From the exaggerated emotions of 1930s Egyptian melodrama to the cryptic allegories of late 20th-century Palestinian cinema, Arab World Cinemas guides you through 28 Arabic-language feature films released between 1933 and 2021, including Muhammad Khan's 'Dreams of Hind and Camilia' (1989), Moufida Tlatli's 'Silences of the Palace' (1994) and Elia Suleiman's 'Divine Intervention' (2002). Written specially for students, the book is split into 3 parts: Egypt, North Africa and the eastern Arab world. Each part begins with an introductory essay that highlights the aesthetic and socio-historical trends and currents in the cinematic traditions particular to that region. Marle Hammond then dedicates individual chapters to a group of films from the highlighted region, interpreting their form and content through the lenses of cinematic technique and concepts drawn from various disciplines in the arts, humanities and social sciences.

Exploring the impact of travel on Arab cinema, Kay Dickinson reveals how the cinemas of Syria, Palestine and Dubai have been shaped by the history and politics of international circulation. This compelling book offers fresh insights into film, mobility and the Middle East.

Intended for scholars of film and the contemporary Middle East, this title provides a comprehensive overview of cinema in the Arab world, tracing the industry's development, since colonial times. It analyzes the ambiguous relationship with commercial western cinema, and the effect of Egyptian market dominance in the region.

Building on a growing body of literature, this Handbook provides an up-to-date and authoritative survey of Arab cinema. The collection includes contributions from academics and filmmakers from across the Arab region, Europe, and North America, and fills a gap in media studies by examining the entire Arab region, rather than focusing on one country or theme. The Handbook also sheds light on the heterogeneity of Arab filmmaking not only within the Arab region, but also globally, within diasporic communities. It is split into six parts: Part 1 provides an overview of each sub-region in the Arab world, including a chapter on Arab animation films. Parts 2, 3, and 4 address topical themes, encompassing the representation of gender, religion, and identity politics in Arab cinema. Part 5 discusses the theme of diaspora and Part 6 concludes the volume with reflective essays penned by selected diasporic filmmakers. This book is an essential reference for Arab media and cinema scholars, students, and professional filmmakers. With case studies from across the Arab region, it's also a valuable resource for anyone interested in film and media, global cinema, and the Middle East generally.

The Historical Dictionary of Middle Eastern Cinema covers the production and exhibition of cinema in the Middle East and in other communities whose heritage is from the region and whose films commonly reflect this background. It covers the cinemas of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. In addition, it includes the non-Arab states of Turkey and Iran, as well as the Jewish state of Israel.

Arab Film and Video Manifestos presents, in their entirety, five key documents that have fundamentally shaken up and helped change the face of image culture in the Middle East and beyond. The book collects together, for the first time, these influential, collectively written calls and directives that span a fifty-year period and hail from a range of different countries. Each urges a radical rethinking of film and video’s role in culture, its relation to politics, and its potential to instigate profound change. Kay Dickinson carefully positions the manifestos within their broader socio-historical contexts and provides supplementary reading and viewing suggestions for readers who cannot access Arabic-language sources.