Using Fiction and Film for
Understanding
 Visual learners need stimulating visual input to stay engaged
 Fiction and film engage emotions
 Engage a variety of learning styles
 Info about culture, social tensions, aspirations and aesthetics of
people in the region—different kind of human, street-level data
than nightly news
 Films, even documentaries, are not representative! Nor are
books or blogs.
 Student activities beyond discussion: response videos,
character diaries/self portraits, dialogue sessions, journals,
blogs.
What Makes the Cut?
 Have to have artistic merit, be accessible, and be both
useful and appropriate for the classroom
 Included both films about the Middle East and about
Muslims, since the crisis in understanding affects both
 Take place in the Middle East, or feature Middle Eastern or
Muslim Americans
Feature Films
The 99
Naif Al-Mutawa, who was trained as a clinical psychologist, created a
comic book series called The 99, with superheroes based on the 99
names/qualities of God. The series is coming to television in
animation in the U.S. Was lauded by President Obama for
spreading a message of tolerance among Muslim youth.
Amreeka (US)
A Palestinian single mom moves
to Illinois with her teenaged
son just at the outbreak of the
war in Iraq. In writer-director
Cherien Dabis’s feature film
debut, they struggle against
anti-Muslim feeling, high
school bullies, and culture
shock to make a new home
for themselves here. Told with
warmth and gentle humor.
See trailer here or at other online
film sites; the film is available
through the official website
and will be in general release
in January 2011.
The Band’s Visit (Israel)
A band comprised of members of the Egyptian police force
head to Israel to play at the inaugural ceremony of an Arab
arts center, only to find themselves lost in the wrong
town. As the days roll on, the co-mingling of Egyptian
band members and Israeli residents gives each individual
insights into his cultural identity and that of the others.
Captain Abu Raed (Jordan)
Captain Abu Raed is a story of
friendship, inspiration and
heroism set in contemporary
Jordan. Abu Raed is a lonely
janitor at Amman’s International
Airport. Never having realized
his dreams of seeing the world,
he experiences it vicariously
through books and brief
encounters with travelers. When
he finds a pilot’s hat, it
transforms him into a storyteller
who recharges the
neighborhood children’s
capacity to dream.
Available to screen on Netflix and
for purchase for personal use on
Amazon and other retailers.
Children of Heaven (Iran)
Children of Heaven is a 1997
Iranian film by Majid
Majidi. It was nominated
for the Academy Award
for Best Foreign
Language Film in 1998. A
brother loses his sister’s
shoes, and they must
share a single pair of
shoes to attend school so
their parents don’t find
out.
The Color of Paradise (Iran)
Noted Iranian director Majid
Majidi’s Color of Paradise
is a fable of a child's
innocence and a complex
look at faith and
humanity. Visually
magnificent and
wrenchingly moving, the
film tells the story of a
boy whose inability to
see the world only
enhances his ability to
feel its powerful forces.
Le Grande Voyage
 Reda, a young secular
French Moroccan, is
about to take his college
entrance exams when his
father insists that he
drive him across Europe
and the Middle East on
the hajj. An Islamic road
movie about family,
culture, and the
generation gap. Available
on Netflix and for
purchase.
Laila’s Birthday
Caught up in a morass of red tape
while trying to work in Palestine,
dignified judge Abu Laila
(Mohammed Bakri) resorts to
driving a taxi to make a living. On
his daughter Laila's seventh
birthday, his only goal is to get
home early with a present and a
cake. But he's confronted with
numerous absurd difficulties as he
navigates passengers through the
occupied territory. Filmmaker
Rashid Masharawi grew up in the
Gaza Strip's Shati refugee camp.
Available to watch instantly on
Netflix, or on Amazon, etc. for
personal viewing.
The Lemon Tree (Israel)
 Salma, a Palestinian widow,
barely makes ends meet
caring for her beloved
lemon grove. When the
Israeli defense minister
moves in next door, the
security forces decide to
uproot the trees to protect
his home. Salma and a
young lawyer go to court to
prevent it. The tentative
relationship between Salma
and the minister’s wife
develops slowly.
Osama (Afghanistan)
Osama is a powerful, challenging, and
deeply rewarding film about how
Afghan women fought back against
oppressive Taliban rule. A group of
burka-clad women—widows who've
lost their sons to the war—protest
the Taliban rule that they may not
leave their homes without an
accompanying male relative.
Desperate and on the verge of
starvation, a mother gives her
young daughter a boy's haircut and
sends her to work in a shop. The
terrified girl fears that the Taliban
will murder her if they find out. With
some guided discussion, this film
may give teenagers a grasp of both
life under the Taliban regime and
the resilience of women.
Santa Claus in Baghdad
Based on the short story by Elsa
Marston, this 25-minute film
explores the difficulties faced by an
educated, middle-class family
under the Saddam Hussein regime
in Iraq.
Shankaboot
A second season of the first
online Arab soap, Shankaboot,
was out yesterday on
Youtube. Driven by the
online boom in the region,
especially with efforts to
increase Arabic content on
social networks and search
engines, Lebanese Batoota
Films co-operated with the
BBC World Service Trust, to
fund a Lebanese four-minute
episode soap. See the trailer
for the series here
http://www.shankaboot.com/e
pisodes/extras/1-0 or click on
the image to see the first
season’s first episode.
West Bank Story
 There are not many musical comedies about the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict—but here’s one! David, an
Israeli soldier, and Fatima, a Palestinian fast food
cashier are an unlikely couple who fall in love amidst the
animosity of their families’ dueling falafel stands in the
West Bank.
Documentaries
Allah Made Me Funny
Allah Made Me Funny follows three
acclaimed comedians on stage and
off as they lift the veil to reveal the
humorous truth of what it's really
like to be Muslim in America. Mo
Amer, Azhar Usman, and Preacher
Moss poke fun at themselves, their
communities, government, human
nature and the tricky predicament
of living in post-9/11 America.
See trailer by clicking on image, or go to
http://www.upf.tv/watch/allahmade-me-funny-trailer.html.
Streaming of this and other UPF
films available without cost at
http://islamandcivics.upf.tv/
courtesy Unity Productions
Foundation. There’s also a dialogue
guide here.
Cities of Light
Cities of Light tells of the triumphs and shortcomings, achievements and ultimate
failures of a centuries-long period when Muslims, Christians, and Jews inhabited
the same far corner of Western Europe and built a society that lit the Dark Ages.
The history of Islamic Spain demonstrates that when religious diversity is
accommodated within a social and political system, problems and tensions may
still exist, but can successfully manage them, generally to the benefit of all. But
when a power system or religious movement rejects complexity and insists on a
imposing a single-minded orthodoxy, then everyone loses something.
Glass House
 Iranian girls struggling
with drug abuse, sexual
abuse, domestic violence
and more try to put their
lives together in a Tehran
halfway house. A gritty
documentary that gives
insight into Iran’s
underclass, but also into
Iranians’ own struggles to
combat the problems of
their society. Available on
Netflix to watch
instantly.
Inside Islam: What a Billion
Muslims Really Think
 An educator’s guide is
available for this new
UPF film, based on
extensive Gallup polling
of Muslims around the
world. The surprising
findings will overturn
stereotypes and lead
viewers to understand
Muslims based on “facts,
not fear.”
A Land Called Paradise
 In December 2007, over
2,000 American Muslims
were asked what they
wished they could say to
the world. Their comments
were compiled by young
filmmaker Lena Khan into a
5-minute film set to
Kareem Salama's country
song "A Land Called
Paradise. Viewable at
LinkTV at
http://www.linktv.org/video
/2944. For a lesson plan
using the film, contact us at
TeachMideast.
Iraq in Fragments
Iraq In Fragments offers a series of
intimate, passionately-felt
portraits: A fatherless 11-year-old is
apprenticed to the domineering
owner of a Baghdad garage; Sadr
followers in two Shiite cities rally for
regional elections while enforcing
Islamic law at the point of a gun; a
family of Kurdish farmers welcomes
the US presence, which has allowed
them a measure of freedom
previously denied. American
director James Longley spent more
than two years filming in Iraq to
create this stunningly
photographed, poetically rendered
documentary of the war-torn
country as seen through the eyes of
Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds.
Available for purchase on the film’s site.
Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet
Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet,
travels in the footsteps of the
prophet to the Arabian desert and
the holy city of Mecca where much
of Muhammad’s story unfolded. But
the film does not just stay in the
past. Much of its story is told
through the observations of
contemporary American Muslims,
including a fireman at the World
Trade Center on September 11, a
second generation Arab-American
family building a community based
on Islamic principles, a
Congressional Chief of Staff
working for justice, and a refugee
fleeing religious persecution, whose
experiences in some way echo
Muhammad’s life. Classroom
resources are available.
Our Summer in Tehran
This new film by Justine
Shapiro, creator of
Promises, follows her and
her young son Mateo as
they spend the summer
with 3 Iranian families: a
religious family with ties to
the government; a
cosmopolitan, secular
family; and a single mom
who is an actress. Filmed in
2007, this documentary
gives us an unprecedented
look into Iran’s middle class.
Educators’ guide available.
Purchase the film here.
Promises
Promises is a 2001
documentary film that
examines the IsraeliPalestinian conflict from the
perspectives of seven
children living in the
Palestinian communities in
the West Bank and Israeli
neighborhoods of
Jerusalem. A study guide
has been created by a team
of educators, writers, and
the filmmakers is available
here.
Other Film Guides
 TeachMideast’s film page—constantly updated
 Saudi Aramco World’s Suggestions for Viewing
 Austin film series: 7 great films, old and new
 Suite101’s film recommendations and reviews