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Arab Women in Cinema by Yasmina Tawil

The Arab Film and Media Institute (AFMI) is a nonprofit organization founded by the team behind the largest and oldest Arab Film Festival in North America. Through film, education, mentorship, and new media, our mission is to enhance public understanding of Arab culture and provide insight into the beauty, complexity, and diversity intrinsic to the Arab world.

Alex Fields: The Slow Craft of "Oxhide II"

In Oxhide I & Oxhide II, filmmaker Liu Jiayin takes us into a cramped Beijing apartment, casting her parents and herself as fictionalized versions of themselves. In the following post, film critic Alex Fields pays particular attention to the second installment, wherein the director fixes her camera around the kitchen table to allow for a rigorously minimalist story in real time, through the preparation of Chinese dumplings together.

In Praise of Brevity: Michael Barrett discusses three films on OVID that don’t overstay their welcome

I appreciate movies of all genres and lengths, though a special corner of my heart is reserved for features at 90 minutes or less. Perhaps this comes from a love of old B movies, short because they were the second title in a double-feature. Or perhaps, it comes from growing up with lots of great TV movies in 90-minute slots. Or perhaps, it’s boredom with the recent trend of blowing the most trivial summer throwaways to two and a half…

Karin Chien: A Spotlight on Hong Kong

Amidst global crises competing for our attention, I value the current attention that is being paid to Hong Kong and its recent protests, coming in part from the splashy new drama series on Amazon Prime, The Expats. 

Recent reviews

A reference to Japanese Kamikaze pilots (on ‘God’s wind’) – is the story of an American-born young man of mixed parentage, whose father was part of a bombing mission that destroyed his Japanese mother’s village and killed her entire family during World War II. Although his father discovers this horrible coincidence when he meets his wife after the war, he keeps this realization secret until he has a breakdown.

Now streaming!

Piolo Pascual portrays two characters in this fractured tale exposing the seedy underbelly of the city that surrounds him. William, a drug addict, tries to reconnect his ties with people close to him. Slowly, as night falls, he learns that there is no one left to trust, not even himself. Philip, who works as a bodyguard for a mayor’s son, thinks his boss considers him family. After a shooting incident, he discovers his real worth to his boss.

Now streaming!

Adela, a former radio personality, celebrates her 80th birthday alone in the slums of Manila, longing for her family and the stability of years gone by. Mundane events take on heightened meaning as Adela gauges her life against those of the sea of humanity.

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A family man’s encounter with a beautiful woman develops into a mutual fascination, where fantasy coalesces with reality.

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After discovering deepfake pornography of herself circulating online, American college student Taylor dives headfirst into the underground world of deepfakes, uncovering a growing culture of men terrorizing women—influencers, classmates, friends. More than just a cautionary tale, Another Body transforms the deepfake technology weaponized against Taylor into a tool that allows her to tell her story and reclaim her identity.

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Living in the US illegally for over 20 years, the filmmaker takes an Amtrak train from LA to NYC during a critical moment of hostility against migrants in the country he has come to know as home. Lacking the papers that would allow him to board a flight, Revereza evades Immigration Customs Enforcement by going offline but turning his camera on, with the dreams and thoughts of others flickering among his moving images.

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Featuring an acclaimed soundtrack by Munro Melano and the End, this provocative polemic challenges audiences with never-before-seen artifacts of censorship from the vaults of the Australian National Archives containing thousands of celluloid scraps: scenes that were cut by government censors from films imported into the country between the years of 1958–1971. Peppered through this collection are banned scenes from some of the most influential directors in history, including Godard, Polanski, Bergman, Varda, and Fellini.

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In the heart of Paris, a prestigious high school takes a daring bet: the integration of a group of talented hip-hop dancers from working-class neighborhoods and diverse backgrounds. Rookies follows the new students over the academic year, alternating between the pressures of the classroom and the kinetic energy of the dance floor. In between, students speak frankly about the challenges they face: many come from broken families, have faced poverty, abuse, and personal loss. Through dance, they hope to break the cycle of deprivation.

Now streaming!