Arabic Movies have noticeably found their way to The Academy nominations in recent years and the numbers are on the rise. Despite the bad reputation of its lack of diversity and bias for white actors against those of color, The Arab cinema seems to have enjoyed some time under spotlight. From the Arab Region, we think the following 3 movies are pretty much worth to invest a couple of hours of your time to watch.
1. Capernaüm (Chaos) 2018
Directed by the Lebanese Nadine Labaki, the events of Capernaüm take place in Lebanon, following the story of a neglected young boy, Zain al-Rafeea, who sues his parents for bringing him to life and not giving him the love and care he deserves. The film follows Zain in his journey after he fleas to live in the slums of Beirut where he meets the Ethiopian migrant Rahil and takes care of her little son, in return Rahil becomes a sort of family to the little boy. Later on, Zain gets imprisoned for committing a crime and talks to his jury panel in search for justice in this cruel world. Besides an Oscar nomination, Capernaüm got also nominated for the Palme D’Or, BAFTA and eventually won the Cannes Jury Prize.
2. The Insult (Case No. 23) 2017
Also from Lebanon, the Insult, starring Adel Karam and Kamel Al Basha, directed by Ziad Doueiri, was nominated for an Oscar at the 90th Academy Awards in the category of Best Foreign Language Film. In modern-day Beirut, a minor argument between Toni, a Lebanese Christian, and Yasser, a Palestinian refugee escalates to find its way to court and turns into a boiling trial stirring a controversy in the Lebanese public opinion.
3. Theeb 2014
Jordan’s Theeb, written and directed by Naji Abu Nowar, made history as it received an Oscar nomination at 88th Academy Awards but didn’t make it to winning. Starring Jacir Eid Al-Hwietat as Theeb and Hussein Salameh Al-Sweilhiyeen as Hussein, the movie narrates a story taking place back in 1916 during the World War I, of two brothers, Hussein and Theeb, sons of a Bedouin sheik of the Howeitat tribe are forced to survive in the wide-open Wadi Rum desert as they set off in a mission assigned to Hussein by Edward, a British officer, and an Arab named Marji. Theeb also earned two nominations from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, BAFTA, in 2016 for best foreign language film.
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