Two films with Sephardic themes in the Seattle Jewish Film Festival

Free Men | Les Hommes Libres

SUNDAY, MARCH 18, 8:00 PM AT AMC PACIFIC PLACE 11

 

• DIRECTOR(S): ISMAËL FERROUKHI
• COUNTRY: FRANCE
• YEAR: 2011
• LENGTH: 99 MINUTES
• FORMAT:
• LANGUAGE: FRENCH W/SUBTITLES

 

SPECIAL GUEST(S) INFORMATION: ISMAËL FERROUKHI, DIRECTOR AND LEAD ACTOR TAHAR RAHIM (INVITED). GREETINGS FROM MR. JACK A. COWAN, HON. CONSUL OF FRANCE IN SEATTLE.

SPONSORED BY BARRI RIND & MAUREEN AND JOEL BENOLIEL

An Algerian (Tahar Rahim, A Prophet) making a living on the black markets of World War II Paris is arrested then recruited by the police to spy on a local mosque suspected of hiding Jews and issuing false identity papers. The mosque’s charismatic imam (Michael Lonsdale) and a budding Jewish cabaret singer (Mahmud Shalaby, Jaffa, SJFF 2010) steer him into the Resistance instead. A pulse-pounding wartime espionage drama inspired by actual events: the little-known history of Muslims who joined the French Resistance and secretly harbored Jews.

PRINT SOURCE: FILM MOVEMENT

WEBSITE: HTTP://WWW.FILMMOVEMENT.COM

EMAIL: INFO@FILMMOVEMENT.COM

ADDRESS:
109 West 27th Street, Suite 9B
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PHONE: 212.941.7744

CONTACT: Rachel Langus, rachel@filmmovement.com

 

Trailer

1942, Paris was occupied by the Germans. Younes, a young Algerian immigrant, lives from the black market. Arrested by French police (Bruno Fleury), Younes agrees to spy on their behalf at the Paris Mosque. Police suspects the leaders of the mosque, whose rector is Si Kaddour Ben Ghabrit, to issue false papers to Jews and resistance fighters.
At the mosque, Younes meets the Arabo-Andalusian singer Salim Halali. Touched by his voice and personality, Younes becomes friend with him. He soon discovers that Salim is Jewish. Despite the risks, Younes then puts an end to his cooperation with the police. Faced with the barbarity that surrounds it, Younes, the immigrant worker and without political education, is transformed gradually into a freedom activist.
Tahar Rahim, César for Best Actor for «The Prophet», he needs no introduction, in the main role of Younes. With Michael Lonsdale as the role of the rector of the Great Mosque of Paris and especially in the role of Salim Halali, Mahmoud Shalaby (Mahmood Shalabi), the Arab-Andalusian singer who plays so well that he feels like he is actually singing while he is, in fact, doubled by a professional singer! A must-see film by Ismaël Ferroukhi currently in theaters in France and Belgium.

• Best Director from the Arab World: Ismaël Ferroukhi, Free Men (France, Morocco)
«For his excellent telling of an unknown and important story»
Abu Dhabi Film Festival 2011
• 27th Haifa International Film Festival 2011
• Suisse Belgique France à l’affiche depuis le 28 septembre 2011
• Afrique du Sud: novembre 2011
• La Réunion: 2 novembre 2011 • Turquie : 9 décembre 2011
• Canada: janvier 2012
• USA: mars 2012
• Mexique, Colombie, Equateur : septembre 2012

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Iraq N’ Roll

MONDAY, MARCH 19, 8:30 PM AT SIFF CINEMA AT THE UPTOWN

 

• DIRECTOR(S): GILI GAON
• COUNTRY: ISRAEL
• YEAR: 2011
• LENGTH: 52 MINUTES
• LANGUAGE: HEBREW AND ARABIC W/SUBTITLES
• SPECIAL GUEST(S) INFORMATION: PROF. MOSHE NAOR (YORK UNIVERSITY, TORONTO)

 

The al-Kuwaiti brothers, considered the creators of modern Iraqi music, once personified Baghdad’s musical culture of the 1930s and ’40s. But after moving to Israel in the 1950s, their «Oriental» music was marginalized. Now, one of their grandsons, popular Israeli rock musician Dudu Tassa, embarks on a moving quest to restore his suppressed musical and cultural heritage.

PRINT SOURCE: 3DD ENTERTAINMENT

WEBSITE: HTTP://WWW.3DDGROUP.COM

PHONE: +44 20-7380-8100

CONTACT: Henry Fleet, Henry.Fleet@3DDgroup.com

Trailer