CAFN 2022
Calgary Arab Film Nights 10th Anniversary
The Calgary Arab Arts & Culture Society is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a special Calgary Arab Film Nights Festival, from October 7-9, 2022 at Globe Cinema.
This year, we’re inviting special guests to our opening night, including some of your favourite artists, influencers, and public figures, stay tuned for more.
Here is the schedule for the films presented this year, we hope you enjoy a full weekend of exceptional films from and about Arabs.
FRIDAY OCTOBER 7
Uncivilized
8:30 pm at Globe Cinema
Uncivilized is a short documentary that sheds light on 4 Syrian refugees in Calgary, who managed to break through the hardships and refugee stereotypes from third world countries, succeeding in their unique occupational fields. Directed by Syrian filmmaker Rawd Almasoud, and produced by Chawuko Enakadia.
Followed by a brief Q&A with director Rawd Almasound
Followed by
Peace by Chocolate
After the bombing of his father’s chocolate factory, a charming young Syrian refugee struggles to settle into his new small-town life, caught between following his dream and preserving his family’s legacy. The film is based on the true story of the Hadhads, a family from Syria who moved to Canada as refugees from the Syrian civil war, settling in Antigonish, Nova Scotia and establishing the Peace by Chocolate artisanal chocolate shop.
SATURDAY OCTOBER 8
C-Section
6:00 pm at Globe Cinema
Two couples from totally different backgrounds, unwillingly meet in the same maternity ward.
Sharaf
8:00 pm at Globe Cinema
SHARAF, based on Sonallah Ibrahim’s famous novel, is the story of a modern Candide in a dystopian Arab World. When Sharaf kills a man in self defence and is put in jail, he has to wake up from his dreams of wealth and consumption. Sharaf decides to achieve his own social advancement behind prison bars. But he will have to pay a very high price for it. The microcosm of prison mirrors the complex situation of Arab societies living under dictatorship and poverty, dependent on an unjust global economic system.
SUNDAY OCTOBER 9
CAFN Shorts Compilation
2:00 pm at Globe Cinema
Brick of Life
In Abu Shouk IDP camp in Darfour – Sudanese young women work in Brick kiln making as a reflection of the war aftermath on Darfourian women wellbeing and rights.
Directed by Razan Mohamed
RSVP
After the death of her beloved friend from cancer, a mid 50’s former wedding planner, Thurayya, quits her chemotherapy sessions and decides to plan her own funeral, while dealing with a harsh relationship with her son.
Tuk Tuk
After her husband abandons her and illegally flees the country, Walaa’s only way to secure income for her family is to drive a Tuk-tuk, forcing her to fight for her livelihood in a male dominated environment.
The Last Baron
The meaty saga of Burger Baron, a rogue fast-food chain with mysterious origins and a cult following, run by a loose network of fiercely independent Arab Canadian immigrants.
Calgary Arab Film Nights is thrilled to be hosting director Omar Mouallem!
Daughters of AbdulRahman
4:00 pm at Globe Cinema
Zainab lives a simple life as a local seamstress and her father’s keeper—a stubborn and distant old man who is going senile. After unexpected events, Zainab wakes up to find her father missing. Zainab must now reunite with her three estranged sisters at the old family home to find their father, unwillingly creating a recipe for disaster. As the search for him begins, buried secrets come out, and the sisters get pushed to the edge. Through fights and laughter, the sisters realise that only through overcoming their differences will they find their father, and discover who they truly want to be. ‘Daughters of Abdul-Rahman’ is a universal family drama about women making choices in a patriarchal society. It is a realistic and uplifting tale about four different women who confront the truth about themselves in the most unlikely of situations.
– Doha Film Institue
Huda’s Salon
7:00 pm at Globe Cinema
Nadia, a young mother married to a jealous man, goes to Huda’s salon in Bethlehem, for a haircut and an attentive ear. But this ordinary visit turns sour when Huda, after having put Nadia in a shameful situation, blackmails her into working for the secret service.
