From acclaimed filmmaker Basil Khalil (Academy Award-nominated director of Ave Maria) comes this comedy-adventure set against the backdrop of a sealed-off Israel.

Israel is on lockdown after the outbreak of a deadly virus and Gaza has become the safest place in the region, leaving a British journalist and his Israeli girlfriend trapped on the wrong side of the border. With no one else to turn to, they must entrust two Palestinian street merchants who promise a way out in exchange for much needed cash. What follows is a hilarious culture clash comedy-adventure as the couple desperately try everything to get back home.

An Official Selection of the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival and winner of its FIPRESCI Prize.

Date: Thursday July 20, 2023 at 7:00PM

RT: 90 mins.

DIRECTOR IN ATTENDANCE

Director: BASIL KHALIL

Beirut, Lebanon, nowadays. Ahmed, a Syrian refugee, and Mehdia, an Ethiopian migrant domestic worker, are living an impossible love.

While Mehdia tries to free herself from her employers, Ahmed struggles to survive dealing in second-hand metal scraps, affected by a mysterious disease.

The two lovers have no future, but they have nothing to lose. One day, they take their chance and flee Beirut in a hopeful and desperate attempt to get away.

2022 Best Film Winner Label Europa Cinemas at the Venice Film Festival

Date: Wednesday July 19, 2023 at 9:30PM

RT: 90 mins.

Director: WISSAM CHARAF

In a claustrophobic East Amman neighborhood, where gossip and violence run rampant, Ali, a hustler who pretends to be a businessman, has a secret relationship with Lana. Their romance is kept hidden until one day Lana’s mother, Aseel, is blackmailed with a video of the young couple.

Hoping to avoid public embarrassment, Aseel discreetly convinces Abbas, a ruthless gangster, to put a stop to it… but things do not go so smoothly. Their lives start to intertwine and collide not just with each other, but with the other residents living amongst the same Alleys.

Date: Wednesday July 19, 2023 at 6:30PM

RT: 116 mins

DIRECTOR IN ATTENDANCE

Director: BASSEL GHANDOUR

Halim and Mina run a traditional caftan store in one of Morocco's oldest medinas. In order to keep up with the commands of the demanding customers, they hire Youssef. Slowly Mina realizes how much her husband is moved by the presence of the young man.

Blue Caftan was Morocco's official entry for Best International Film at the 2023 95th Academy Awards.

Rotten Tomatoes

Date: Tuesday July 18, 2023 at 7:00PM

RT: 123 mins.

Director: MARYAM TOUZANI

Brothers As’ad (12) and Taha (28) barely scrape a living as rubbish pickers in ‘Hanging Gardens’—the local nickname for Baghdad’s smouldering dumps—yet they make the most of what they have.

One day, As’ad discovers an American sex doll. When he brings the taboo item home and presents her as a thing of beauty, Taha assaults his little brother for ruining their reputation. As’ad retreats to Hanging Gardens to make a new home for himself and his miraculous find.

When As’ad and his friend, Amir (14), discover the doll can speak, they teach her the language of seduction in Arabic and set her to work. Business rockets, raising their profile lucratively with local teens and dangerously with the local patriarch’s enforcers. As’ad questions their exploitation of the doll, yet before he can save her from further degradation, she’s kidnapped. As’ad and Amir go after the prime suspect, only to discover that he’s turned informant.

The patriarch has As’ad and Amir kidnapped so that he can exact his own cruel and humiliating punishments. As’ad survives to complete the journey he began and reconcile himself to the choices he’s made on his own terms.

La Biennale di Venezia

Date: Monday July 17, 2023 at 7:00PM

RT: 117 mins.

Director: AHMED YASSIN AL DARADJI

In a dilapidated villa, lives an old guard who watches over an abandoned house. The house he considers his home sanctuary is all of a sudden threatened by a young parking attendant, leaving him forced to face his fears, his past and a world he no longer recognizes.

Date: Sunday July 16, 2023 at 8:30PM

RT: 90 mins.

Director: AHMAD ABDALLA

Adam, the son of a fisherman, is offered the ultimate privilege to study at the Al-Azhar University in Cairo, the epicenter of power of Sunni Islam. Shortly after his arrival in Cairo, the university's highest ranking religious leader, the Grand Imam, suddenly dies and Adam soon becomes a pawn in a ruthless power struggle between Egypt's religious and political elite.

Rotten Tomatoes

Date: SUNDAY JULY 16 at 5:15PM

RT: 126 mins

DIRECTOR IN ATTENDANCE

Director: TARIK SALEH

Casablanca, Morocco. A trio of women, with the police on their tail, embarks on a long escape, reminiscent of the American movie classic “Thelma and Louise” that takes them across the rugged red terrain and flower-filled valleys of the Atlas to finally reach the Atlantic coast.

Date: Friday July 16, 2023 at 7:00PM

RT: 83 mins

DIRECTOR IN ATTENDANCE

Director: YASMINE BENKIRAN