Middle East Studies Center Resource Library:
20 Fingers
Allah Made Me Funny: Live in
Concert
Asian Food & Culture Series: A Taste of Turkey
Asian Food & Culture Series: Food in the Muslim Word
Babel
The Boy who Plays on the Buddhas of
Bamiyan
Children of Heaven
Cities of Light: The Rise and Fall of
Islamic Spain
The Congregation Mosque of Isfahan
Families of the World: Afghanistan
Families of the World: Egypt
Families of the World: Israel
Fars: Land of Fantasy
Forerunners
The Glories of Islamic Art, Part 1:
The Umayyads and Their Capital
Damascus
The Glories of Islamic Art, Part 1:
Two Islamic Regimes in Cairo
Goal Dreams: A Team Like No Other
Holidays for Children: Ramadan
Home: The Aramco Brats’ Story
Images of Saudi Arabia 1 & 2
Islam: Empire of Faith, parts I and II
Kabul Transit
Le Grand Voyage
Love, Just a Coincidence
Marcel Khalife: Sharq CD Album
Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet
Mum, I’m Muslim
A New Day in Old Sana’a
Offsides
On the Road to Damascus
On a Wing and a Prayer: An American
Muslim Learns to Fly
Once upon a Time, Beirut
Out of Cordoba
Pearls on the Ocean Floor
Promises
Salt of the Earth
Santa Claus in Baghdad
Saudis in America part 1&2
Saudi Arabia: Culture and Heritage
Savoring the World: Morocco - Jewel of the Maghreb
Savoring the World: The Crossroads of Lebanon
Searching for Peace in the Middle
East, Palestine
The Silk Road
Slingshot Hip Hop: DAM
Summer in La Goullete
Summer in Tehran
Talking Through Walls: How the
Struggle to Build a Mosque United a
Community
A Team for Peace
Truth, Lies and Intelligence
Tut: The Boy King
The Unwanted Woman
The Wall
Variations on a Theme: To Be an
Israeli Woman
Visions of Saudi Arabia
When the Moors Ruled In Europe
The Yacoubian Building

20 Fingers (2004), Iran
DVD narrative
Synopsis: A film in several episodes with Bijan Daneshmand and Mania Akbari, exposing some of the issues of men and women within the confines of tradition and family life in Iran. Each episode is devoted to various life situations and displays a different form of male/female interaction. The placing of the actors in a moving vehicle or against a moving back drop signifies the movement of life despite all the obstacles in its way. The film deals with the roots of dependencies, limitations, power struggles and conflict that are the familiar stuff of life of couples in the Middle East
Age group: High school
Key words: Iran, gender, relationships
Allah Made Me Funny: Live in Concert (2008)
DVD narrative
Synopsis: The film features live stand-up performances by Azhar Usman, Preacher Moss and
Mohammed Amer as well as behind the scenes sequences highlighting the individual comedians.
The trio poke fun at Muslims and non-Muslims alike and their comedic material plays with stereotypes to invite people to think outside of their fixed cultural perceptions.
Age group: High school
Key words: Comedy, stereotypes, Islam, American Muslim
Asian Food & Culture Series: A Taste Of Turkey (2008), Turkey
DVD documentary
Synopsis: The Land of Sultans and the Empire of Taste Turkey is home to two of the world's favorite foods, yogurt and kebab. Turkey's culture has a long and diverse history dating back to the
Ottoman Empire and has been enhanced by the foods of different people and regions. The dishes found in the city of Sultans-Istanbul-are considered one of the world's great cuisines along with
French and Chinese. This episode introduces us to the essence of this marvelous food culture.
Age group: Elementary, Middle and High school
Key words: Turkey, food, culture
Asian Food & Culture Series: Food in the Muslim World (2008),
DVD documentary
Synopsis: Asia is home to the world's four major religions; one of them, Islam. United in their worship of Allah, in this program we learn of another way they are united; Food which embodies
Islam. From the desserts of Iran to Bhiriyani of India, and Indonesia, we see a variety of Muslim cuisines throughout Asia.
Age group: Elementary, Middle and High school
Key words: Asia, food, Islam

Babel, (2006)
DVD narrative
Synopsis: Tragedy strikes a married couple on vacation in the Moroccan desert, touching off an interlocking story involving four different families.
In the remote sands of the Moroccan desert, a rifle shot rings out-- detonating a chain of events that will link an American tourist couple’s frantic struggle to survive, two Moroccan boys involved in an accidental crime, a nanny illegally crossing into Mexico with two American children, and a Japanese teen rebel whose father is sought by the police in Tokyo. Separated by clashing cultures and sprawling distances, each of these four disparate groups of people are nevertheless hurtling towards a shared destiny of isolation and grief. In the course of just a few days, they will each face the dizzying sensation of becoming profoundly lost – lost in the desert, lost to the world, lost to themselves – as they are pushed to the farthest edges of confusion and fear as well as to the very depths of connection and love.
Age group: High school
Key words: Morocco, culture
The Boy Who Plays on the Buddhas of Bamiyan (2004), Afghanistan
DVD documentary
Synopsis: The main character in this multi-award-winning feature film is an eight-year-old boy called Mir. He is fun, cheeky, inquisitive, energetic and bright. He also lives in a cave with his family.
The film is about Mir’s life through three seasons: Summer, Winter, Spring. In post-Taliban
Afghanistan, though much has changed and is changing, there is no guarantee that Mir will survive life in a cave - the sickness, dirt, dust, lack of water and lack of food. Yet his engaging story is not one of gloom and doom but that of a normal child who takes life as it comes and finds entertainment wherever he can. His playground is the rubble and tunnels of the destroyed Buddhas of Bamiyan, the shelled and burnt-out town bazaar, the orchard of the local militia. Through his eyes we see the destruction of the town, the ever-present militarization and the welcomed but watched presence of the Americans. Mir has no clue what it is all about but he knows how to have fun.
Age group: Middle and High school
Key words: Afghanistan, children, poverty, daily life
Children of Heaven (1997), Iran
DVD Narrative
Synopsis: When Ali loses his sister Zahra's school shoes, this young pair dream up a plan to stay out of trouble: they'll share his shoes and keep it a secret from their parents! But if they're going to successfully cover their tracks, Ali and Zahra must carefully watch their step on what rapidly turns into a funny and heartwarming adventure!
Language: In Persian with English subtitles
Age Group: Elementary and Middle School
Key Words: Children, Iran, Culture

Teaching Materials available at the Middle East Studies Center
Cities of Light: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain, (2007)
DVD documentary
Synopsis: For more than three centuries in Medieval Spain, Muslims, Jews and Christians lived together and prospered in a thriving multicultural civilization. Here, remarkable individuals of different faiths made lasting contributions in such areas as poetry, art, architecture, music, dining etiquette, science, agriculture, medicine, engineering, navigation, textiles, and even hydraulic technology. Their rich, complex culture reached a high point in the Mediterranean Middle Ages.
However, larger forces in conquest of land and power brought about puritanical judgments, absolutism and religious extremism. The conflict they triggered extinguished the shared learning that once flourished in this enlightened land.
Age group: Middle and High school
Key words: Islamic Spain, religious tolerance, migration
Teaching materials available at: http://www.islamicspain.tv/For-Teachers/LessonPlans.htm
The Congregational Mosque of Isfaham, Iran
DVD documentary
Synopsis: This video takes you on a tour of the great Jameh Mosque of Isfahan which stands as a testament to the great achievements of Shi’a Islam in Iran. The mosque has been continuously expanded on from around 771 A.D. until the end of the 20 most unique cultural and world heritage sites. th century and stands as one of Iran’s
Age group: Elementary, Middle and High school
Key words: Islam, Iran
Families of the World: Families of Afghanistan (2000), Afghanistan
DVD documentary
Synopsis: This look at the diversity of life in Afghanistan follows Zamora, a 13-year-old girl whose existence in the rural Afghani countryside is spent taking care of her family, completing chores around the farm, and studying the Koran. Zamora's life is distinctly different from the program's other subject: 12-year-old Madina, who lives in Kabul with her family and is schooled in mathematics, science, language, and history.
Age group: Elementary school
Key words: Afghanistan, rural/urban, children, daily life, culture
Teaching Material available at: http://www.familiesoftheworld.com/teacherguide/Afghanistan_TGuide.pdf
Families of the World: Families of Egypt (2000), Egypt
DVD documentary
Synopsis: In Egypt, we visit two Muslim families. Seven year old Yasmine and her brother live near
Cairo in a development surrounding a golf/tennis club, where her mother manages the tennis program. Her father works for an international oil company. Yasmine goes to an international

school where classes are taught in English, and she takes French and Arabic. She loves her ballet class and tennis lessons. They buy groceries at a supermarket and go to a toy store to buy a birthday gift for a friend. On Saturdays, the family has lunch with one set of grandparents and dinner with the other, making for a great weekend together.
Age group: Elementary school
Key words: Egypt, children, daily life, culture
Teaching Material available at http://www.familiesoftheworld.com/teacherguide/EgyptTGuide2010.pdf
Families of the World: Families of Israel (2000), Israel
DVD documentary
Synopsis: This award-winning program explores urban and rural life in Israel from a child's point of view. Viewers will spend a day with two families and discover information about Israeli food, clothing, housing styles, religion and education. The first segment captures the daily life of nine-yearold Inbar, who lives with her family at a kibbutz of 60 families in southern Israel. The program follows Inbar as she feeds a calf, makes breakfast, goes to school, visits her mother at work and shares a Sabbath meal in the community hall. The second segment captures the life of six-year-old
Joad from Jerusalem, following Joad as he goes to school, chess practice, karate classes and Sabbath celebrations.
Age group: Elementary school
Key words: Israel, kibbutz, children, daily life, culture
Teaching Material available at: http://www.familiesoftheworld.com/teacherguide/IsraelGuide2010.pdf
Fars, Land of Fantasy, Iran
DVD documentary
Synopsis: A short video documenting the rich ancient history of Modern Iran. Once known as Fars, because of regional centering on the city sharing the same name, Iran unique cultural history extends back several thousand years and acts as one of the world’s greatest ancient civilizations.
Age group: Middle and High school
Key words: Iran, History, Persia.
Forerunners (2004), Israel
DVD documentary
Synopsis: Forerunners (2004), is an Israeli documentary about three members of the national women’s soccer team, a Mizrachi Jew, an immigrant from the Ukraine, and a Christian Palestinian, and how struggles with family, society, and self builds a positive team environment.
Age group: Middle and High school
Key words: Israel, soccer, diversity.

Garbage Dreams (2009) Egypt
DVD Narrative
Filmed over four years, Garbage Dreams follows three teenage boys – Adham, a bright precocious
17-year-old; Osama, a charming impish 16-year-old; Nabil, a shy artistic 18-year-old – born into the trash trade and growing up in the world’s largest garbage village, a ghetto located on the outskirts of
Cairo. It is a world folded onto itself, an impenetrable labyrinth of narrow roadways camouflaged by trash; it is home to 60,000 Zaballeen, Egypt’s “garbage people.”
Age group: Middle and High school
Key words: Egypt, the trash trade
The Glories of Islamic Art, Part 1: The Umayyads and Their Capital
Damascus (2007),
DVD documentary
Synopsis: This film looks at the achievements of the first Islamic dynasty, the Umayyads, who established their capital at Damascus. Their regime spread throughout greater Syria, and they left a rich architectural heritage. This includes two of the great surviving Islamic buildings, the Great
Mosque of Damascus and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. The program emphasizes how the early Islamic builders and architects used ideas and materials inherited from their Byzantine predecessors
Age group: High school
Key words: Islamic dynasty, art and architecture, Syria
The Glories of Islamic Art, Part 2: Two Islamic Regimes in Cairo
(2007),
DVD documentary
Synopsis: Cairo displays the glories of two of the great Islamic regimes - the Shi'ite Fatimids who swept in from the North African desert, and the Mamluks, slave soldiers who overthrew their masters to set up their own Sunni dynasty. Both have left behind impressive evidence of their strength. The program introduces a colorful cast of characters. The rebel governor Ibn Tulun spent all his tax takings on building one of the earliest and finest mosques, named after him, instead of passing the money on to his masters in Baghdad; the caliph Hakim won widespread Shi'ite admiration despite his cruel and despotic rule.
Age group: High school
Key words: Islamic regimes, Mamluks, Fatimids, Sunni, Shii
Goal Dreams: A Team Like No Other (2006), Israel/Palestine
DVD narrative
Synopsis: This feature-length documentary portrays personal and national identity as seen through a soccer team like no other. Comprising players of multiple nationalities who speak different languages, and lacking a home field, the Palestinian National Soccer team must overcome physical, emotional, cultural and geographic obstacles simply to exist. The film chronicles the lives of four

Palestinian players hailing from different parts of the world during the team's preparation for their most important World Cup 2006 qualification match.
Age group: Middle and High school
Key words: Israeli-Palestinian conflict, soccer, identity
Holidays for Children: Ramadan
DVD documentary
Synopsis: Over one billion Muslim people worldwide observe Ramadan, a month-long religious observance. Children experience the beauty of the holiday as they construct their own Ramadan diorama and hear the exotic sounds of live Islamic and Middle Eastern music. They discover the religious significance of song and prayer, and the principles and traditions that mark the holiest of the Islamic holidays. Children also learn the story of Muhammad and the Koran, the meaning of the
Five Pillars of Islam and the importance of fasting and sacrifice in honor of Allah.
Age group: Elementary, Middle, High School
Key words: Islam, tradition, culture, Ramadan
Home: The Aramco Brats’ Story (2007), Saudi Arabia
DVD documentary
Synopsis: Home: The Aramco Brats' Story is a feature length documentary film depicting the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as seen through the eyes of the Western expatriate children who grew up there between 1933 and present day. Aramco Brats were the children of expatriate workers who were employed by Aramco (Arabian American Oil Company) and who spent their childhoods within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The film is an amazing depiction of Saudi Arabia, Arabs, and
Islam narrated by nearly 100 average Western citizens of all faiths, who choose not to concentrate on religion, but rather look at the other cultural aspects that many overlook when unfairly judging these people and their nations.
Age group: Middle and High school
Key words: Saudi Arabia, expatriates, culture
Islam: Empire of Faith, part I and II (2000)
DVD, documentary
Synopsis: ISLAM: EMPIRE OF FAITH, a two-part series, re-creates the spectacular sweep of
Islamic power and faith during its first 1,000 years, from Muhammad's birth to the Ottoman Empire under Suleyman the Magnificent. Evocative re-enactments and art, artifacts, and architecture combine with scholarly interviews to recount the rise and glory of Islamic civilization. DVD includes behind-the-scenes look at the making of ISLAM and producer's commentary
Age group: Middle and High school
Key Words: Islam, Mohammad, Islamic Civilization, Ottoman Empire, art, architecture, thinkers,
Islam http://www.pbs.org/empires/islam/

Kabul Transit (2006), Afghanistan
DVD documentary
Synopsis: In the broken cityscape of Kabul, Afghanistan, amid the dust and rubble of war,
Westerners and Afghans adjust to the uncertain possibilities of peace. "Kabul Transit" shuttles through the broken streets of the city, moving between public space and private, listening in on conversations, posing questions, probing the darker alleys mainstream media avoids.
Age group: Middle and High school
Key words: Afghanistan, war, culture
Le Grand Voyage (2004)
DVD narrative
Synopsis: Reda, a young French-Moroccan guy and his old father drive from the south of France to
Mecca in order for the father to do his pilgrimage. At first distant, they gradually learn to know each other.
Age group: Middle and High school
Key words: Hajj (pilgrimage), Morocco, father and son
Love, Just a Coincidence (2011), Turkey
DVD narrative
Synopsis: Year 1977, a September morning in Ankara... Yilmaz tries to rush his pregnant wife
Neriman to the hospital and he crushes into Omer's car. This accident causes Omer's pregnant wife
Inci, who was in the back seat, to have a pre-term labor. The babies are born on the same day. They see each other for the first time... This accident is the threshold of the coincidences that bring Ozgur and Deniz together. They come across each other in Ankara several times during their childhood and youth. Each intersection has a butterfly effect, resulting in drastic changes in their lives. They become each other's puppy love or their first heartbreak... But beyond this, each confluence changes their route of life. Not only theirs, but also their families'... They sometimes cause disasters, sometimes miracles. However, they can never be together. Whatever it is that brings them together...
Age group: High school
Key words: Turkey, Romance
Marcel Khalife: Sharq CD Album
DVD documentary
Synopsis: Live DVD! At Piacenza Theatre with the Italian Philharmonic Orchestra and the Choir of Piacenza performing music by Marcel Khalife. Conductor: Karl Martin, Chorus Master: Corado
Casati. The live recording of Marcel Khalife's latest composition "Sharq". A fusion of East and
West, old and new, Sharq (Orient) is the placement of Eastern melody and its unique expressiveness in a new context that propels it forward as a complete medium of expression. Combining elements of mawwal, tarab, muwashah, samai, qadd, longa, and sufi, this concert recording is a unique musical biography.
Age group: Elementary, Middle, High school

Key words: music
Marina of the Zabbaleen (2009), Egypt
DVD narrative
Synopsis: Enter the extraordinary world of seven-year –old Marina, as she lives in the Muqqattam garbage recycling village in Cairo, Egypt. Her world of simple beauty and big dreams (she aspires to be a doctor) cannot be diminished by the difficulty of her circumstances. An impressionistic portrait of childhood and family, the film also tells the story of the resourceful Zabbaleen, a Coptic Christian community of recycles whose entrepreneurial waste management system produces the highest rate of recycling in the world.
Age group: Middle and High school
Key words: Egypt, Coptic Christians, recycling
Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet (2002)
DVD narrative
Synopsis: Tells the story of the seventh century prophet who changed world history in 23 years, and continues to shapes the lives of more than 1.2 billion people. The film takes viewers not only to ancient Middle Eastern sites where Muhammad's story unfolds, but into the homes, mosques and workplaces of some of America's estimated seven million Muslim to discover the many ways in which they follow Muhammad's example.
Age group: Middle and High school
Key words: Islam, Middle East, Mohammad http://www.pbs.org/muhammad/learningtools.shtml
, http://ircv.org/muhammad-legacyof-a-prophet/
Mum, I’m Muslim (2007)
DVD narrative
Synopsis: Director Dominique Walker takes the viewer on a journey through the world of Islamic converts to discover what it's really like for a white British woman to become a Muslim. Amena is
Dominique's first contact. Amena is a feisty Yorkshire woman living in Sheffield and married to a
Yemani with two young sons. She knows many similar converts in the city. Through Amena we meet Amy, a young Welsh student who has recently converted and feels it's time to tell her parents.
The third character is Jan, who joined the Sufis, a branch of Islam which enjoys a more liberal interpretation of the Qu'ran. Through these main characters the program looks at issues facing
British women as they adopt an Islamic way of life.
Age group: Middle and High school
Key words: Islam, Middle East, Converts
A New Day in Old Sana'a (2006), Yemen
DVD narrative
Synopsis: In this achingly romantic tale, handsome young Tariq is about to marry Bilquis, eldest

daughter of a prominent and powerful judge. But as he wanders the ancient city of Sana'a late one night, he spots a beautiful young woman dancing in the street and falls madly in love with her.
Before long, the young groom must choose between following his heart and protecting his family's honor.
Age group: High school
Key words: Yemen, youth, relationships, culture
Offside (2006), Iran
DVD documentary
Synopsis: Who is that strange boy sitting quietly in the corner of a bus full of screaming fans going to the football match? In fact this shy boy is a girl in disguise. She is not alone; women also love football in Iran.
Before the game begins, she is arrested at the check point and put into a holding pen just by the stadium with a band of other women all dressed up as men. They will be handed over to the vice squad after the match.
But before this, they will be tortured! They must endure every cheer, every shout of a game they cannot see. Worse yet, they must listen to the play-by-play account of a soldier who knows nothing about football. Yet these young girls just won’t give up. They use every trick in the book to see the match.
Age group: High school
Key words: Iran, Soccer, Women, World Cup
On the Road to Damascus Syria
DVD documentary
Synopsis: Depending on your point of view Syria is either a rogue state run by an authoritarian regime – or a champion of the Arab cause. But what’s not in dispute is that the war in neighboring
Lebanon has drastically altered the balance of power in this region and radicalized opinion in Syria.
One of Syria’s leading Sunni clerics Sheikh Mohammed Habbash told reported Mark Corcoran that his people are now calling for the creation of a Syrian Hezbollah-style militia to retake the Golan
Heights – Syrian territory occupied by Israel since the 1967 war. “The government now may forbid any attack in Golan Heights but I can tell you honestly government and our leadership cannot stay forever in control of everyone.” Sheikh Mohammad Habbash says.
Age group: High school
Key words: Regional Politics, Effects of Lebanese Civil War
On a Wing and a Prayer: An American Muslim Learns to Fly (2008),
DVD narrative
Synopsis: On a Wing and a Prayer: An American Muslim Learns to Fly follows Monem Salam as he enrolls in an open-minded flying school, where he soon draws the attention of the FBI, which confirms his family’s fears.Monem is a portfolio manager, the son of a Pakistani commercial pilot.
His wife Iman’s family is Palestinian and although initially dubious about the marriage, now accepts

the cultural differences. With three young children, Iman’s prankish student days are behind her.
She’s happy to find time to cultivate her inner domestic diva, wisecracking about her entertaining skills and her husband’s flight plans. Monem’s “green” decision to commute by scooter only heightens his likeability.
Age group: Middle and High school
Key words: Muslim American, Islam, culture, stereotypes
Once Upon a Time, Beirut, (1995) Lebanon
DVD Narrative
Synopsis: Distraught over their city’s recent destruction during the Lebanese Civil War, Yasmine and Leila embark on a journey in search of Beirut’s past glory. They carry with them two rare, unreleased film prints which help them land a meeting with the reclusive and eccentric film connoisseur, Monsieur Farouk. Through the magic of cinema, the three travel back in time on a mythical, history-laden tour of the city. Here, Once Upon a Time: Beirut shines as the travelers visit the Beirut of the French-directed films of the 1930s. Next they explore the Beirut of the 1960s as seen through the sense of Arab filmmakers and finally they visit the Beirut f the large-scale
American studio efforts of the 1970s.
Age Group: High School
Key words: Lebanon, civil war, film, youth
Teaching materials available at the Middle East Studies Center
Out of Cordoba: Averroes and Maimonides in Their Time and Ours,
(2010) Muslim Spain
DVD documentary
Out of Cordoba is a feature documentary about Jews, Muslims, and Christians struggling for coexistence and against the hijacking of their respective religions by extremists. The film profiles several contemporary people of faith, who, inspired by two “wise men” from the city of Cordoba in medieval Spain — Averroes the Muslim, and Rabbi Moses Maimonides the Jew — are challenging the propositions that there is an inevitable “clash of civilizations” between the West and the Muslim world, an incompatibility between Islam and democracy, and an unsolvable conflict between
Muslims and Jews.
Age group: High school
Key words: Muslim Spain, Jews, Christians, Muslims
Our Summer in Tehran (2010), Iran
DVD Narrative
Synopsis: Justine Shapiro’s new documentary, Our Summer in Tehran, transports us into the seldom seen realm of middle class family life in Iran transcending overt politics in favor of subtle, human, and often humorous moments.
Justine, a Jewish-American filmmaker and former host of the travel series GlobeTrekker, takes her
6-year-old son Mateo with her to Tehran where they spend the summer with 3 families: a religious family with ties to the government; a cosmopolitan, secular family; and a single mom who is an

actress. When the Iranian government abruptly gives Justine and Mateo 48 hours to leave the country, promising relationships are severed.
Filmed in 2007. In English and Persian with English subtitles. 59 minutes. Produced by Promises
Films (a non-profit organization) and the Independent Television Service (ITVS), with partial funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Age group: High school
Key words: Iran, family, tradition
Pearls on the Ocean Floor (2010), Iran
DVD documentary
Synopsis: Facing issues of identity, gender, and social restrictions, the female artists in Pearls on the
Ocean Floor speak with a compelling quiet reserve and a striking boldness. Their work reveals encounters between religion and secular modernity, change and tradition, contemporary life and history. These brave women seem to know now more than ever that their voices must be heard and their people understood. Through their words and their art, the real Iran will be discovered and this important historical moment will be documented
Age group: High school
Key words: Iran, women, film, tradition
Promises (2001), Palestine/Israel
DVD Narrative
Synopsis: B.Z. Goldberg, an American filmmaker who was raised in Jerusalem and is fluent in both
Hebrew and Arabic, returned to the Middle East to help make this documentary, which chronicles his encounters with seven children between the ages of 11 and 13, some Israeli and some
Palestinian, who discuss their political views, their thoughts about the ongoing violence in their homelands and the possibility of a lasting peace, and the impact the aggression has had upon them.
Encompassing extremists and moderates on both sides of the fence, the seven youngsters are interviewed individually and then brought together, where their common interests become clear -- as well as the fact that it's quite possible they'll never live together in peace. Co-directed by Goldberg with Justine Shapiro and Carlos Bolado, Promises won the Audience Award at the 2001 Rotterdam
Film Festival.
Age group: Middle and High school
Key words: Israeli/Palestinian Children, daily life
Salt of the Earth (2005), Palestine
DVD documentary
Synopsis: Marthame and Elizabeth Sanders lived in the mostly Christian Palestinian village of
Zababdeh from August, 2000, through December, 2003. Volunteers with the Presbyterian Church
(USA), their ministry was one of ecumenical support to the Church in the land of its birth. Salt of the
Earth documents the lives of nine Palestinian Christians living in the northern West Bank. This film

grew out of a desire among their Palestinian neighbors to share their stories, and a desire among
Christians in the West to hear them.
Age group: Middle and High school
Key words: Christianity, Palestinians, daily life
Santa Claus in Baghdad (2008), Iraq
DVD documentary
Synopsis: In impoverished Baghdad under Saddam's dictatorship, 16-year-old Amal hopes to regain her social status at school by volunteering to find a book as a class gift for the departing literature teacher. Meanwhile, her emotionally fragile little brother becomes obsessed with the notion that a visiting uncle from America--whom he confuses with Santa Claus--will bring him toys. Ashamed never to have been able to give his son a toy, the child's father sells some more prized family possessions and buys a model car for him.
Age group: Middle school
Key words: Iraqi, cross-culture, youth
Saudi Arabia: Culture and Heritage
DVD documentary
Synopsis: The Saudi Supreme Commission for Tourism takes you on a journey through Saudi
Arabia’s rich history of culture, religion, and modern development. The DVD highlights traditional
Saudi Arabian cultural developments, as well as the founding of the state of Saudi Arabia and the subsequent discovery of oil. The DVD provides critical education insight into one of the Arab
World’s largest state and also the custodian of the Islamic holy places.
Age group: Middle school, High School
Key words: Saudi culture, heritage, history.
Saudis in America part 1&2 (2008), Saudi Arabia
DVD documentary
Synopsis: Since that tragic day, Saudis living in America came under scrutiny as many Americans wondered about Saudis; who are they; what are they doing in the US; why do they hate us; do they support Osama Bin Laden; how do they feel about 9/11; and most importantly why do they oppress their women? Saudi filmmaker Fahmi Farahat takes his camera and invites us into his own life in an attempt to answer these questions. He captures the views and attitudes of his family and friends, who are either living or visiting the US, through which he explores the many issues that surround
Saudis in America.
Age group: High school
Key words: 9/11, Saudi-Americans, Muslims in America
Savoring the World: Morocco - Jewel of the Maghreb (2001), Morocco
DVD documentary

Synopsis: Morocco offers a varied landscape for the traveler, from its Atlantic coastlines to the edges of the Mediterranean, from the Atlas Mountains to the Saharan desert regions. For many visitors, the main attraction is the marketplace, or souk, where a tremendous array of goods, many handcrafted, can be bought. Its principal cities of Fez, Tangiers, and Meknes are featured along with
Chefchaouen, located at the base of the Rif Mountains. Savoring the World: Morocco - Jewel of the
Maghreb also looks at the foods of Morocco, including its exotic produce, spices, and teas.
Age group: Middle and High school
Key words: Morocco, History, Culture
Savoring the World: The Crossroads of Lebanon (2001), Lebanon
DVD documentary
Synopsis: Lebanon is a study in contrasts, from its ancient plains, which are sites of Biblical importance, to the modern, urban look of Beirut. The viewer can see some of the oldest cities in history dating from the time of the Phoenicians and well-preserved Roman ruins. The nearby
Mediterranean has provided a livelihood for many residents who have fished its abundant waters for hundreds of years. In Savoring the World: The Crossroads of Lebanon, the rebuilding of Beirut is discussed, as sleek and shining new structures rise where there were once war-torn, shelled-out buildings.
Age group: Middle and High school
Key words: Lebanon, Civil War, History
Searching for Peace in the Middle East, Palestine
DVD documentary
Synopsis: This 30 minute film, sponsored by the Foundation for Middle East Peace, is a vivid, compassionate portrayal of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Through the voices of Israeli and
Palestinian citizens of diverse backgrounds, it reveals their hopes and fears and explores the issues that divide them. It also describes in a compelling way a broad common ground of yearning for peace, pointing the way toward a resolution of this tragic conflict that would meet the deepest needs of both societies.
Age group: High school
Key words: Israeli-Palestinian conflict, peace
The Silk Road (2006)
DVD documentary
Synopsis: For more than one thousand years, the Silk Road was the vital trade link between medieval Europe and the exotic lands that stretched across the vast expanses of Asia. The inner life of the people who lived along the Silk Road is carried on in the music, poetry, and visual arts that express the most profound experiences of the soul. From Istanbul, a choir performs Persian poetry in its traditional forms, through song. Persian Classical music of the 6 th century unfolds as the expression of a moment in time, or a state of being. A Sufi call to prayer is performed on the ney, a reed flute whose tone is the symbol of the ecstatic, in an order of Dervishes founded in the 13 th

century by the poet Jallaludin Rumi. A sufi melody is performed on the ney in the mode of nostolgia, bring the past and present together in a timeless rhythm. A flute solo from Smarqand improvises on a Sufi theme, evoking a mystical feeling of this ancient land.
Age group: All
Key words: Music, Poetry, Ancient Middle Eastern culture.
Slingshot Hip Hop: DAM (2008), Israel/Palestine
DVD documentary
Synopsis: Slingshot Hip Hop braids together the stories of young Palestinians living in Gaza, the
West Bank and inside Israel as they discover Hip Hop and employ it as a tool to surmount divisions imposed by occupation and poverty. From internal checkpoints and Separation Walls to gender norms and generational differences, this is the story of young people crossing the borders that separate them.
Age group: High school
Key words: Israeli-Palestinian conflict, hip hop
A Summer in La Goulette (1996), Tunisia
DVD Narrative
Synopsis: Set in 1967, A Summer in La Goulette examines a time when Muslims, Jews and Catholics lived together in harmony as neighbors. Youssef (a Muslim), Jojo (a Jew) and Giuseppe (a Catholic) are best of friends until each of their daughters swears to lose their virginity by a certain date. To make matters worse, each daughter sets her sights on a boy of a different religion, thus challenging an inviolable taboo and causing a rift between their fathers. As the families resolve their differences, the Six Day War breaks out in the Middle East, which will divide Jews and Arabs the world over.
Language: Arabic, French & Italian with English Subtitles
Grade Level: High School
Key words: North Africa, Diversity, Religion, Tolerance, Coexistence
Talking Through Walls: How the Struggle to Build a Mosque United a
Community (2008)
DVD documentary
Synopsis: A documentary about a small town that is divided when Muslim residents decide to build a mosque. Amid the furor, a group of people from all backgrounds and faiths comes together to heal the divisions and build a stronger community.
Age group: High school
Key words: Islam, mosque, community, American Muslim
A Team for Peace (2007), Israel/Palestine
DVD narrative
Synopsis: Behind the concept of the team is the powerful force of Johann Olav Koss, one of the greatest winter Olympians ever, and founder of children's charity, Right to Play, which promotes conflict resolution through sport in more than twenty impoverished countries. Can mutual respect

and understanding be discovered on the soccer pitch? More importantly, can it be translated to offfield life in the tinder box of the Middle East? A Team for Peace is a true hero's journey as we watch to see if the children can overcome centuries of hate and emotionally documented personal tragedies in search of a peaceful future together.
Age group: Middle and High school
Key words: Sports, soccer, Middle East, peace, tolerance
Truth, Lies and Intelligence (2005), Iraq
DVD documentary
Synopsis: Truth, Lies and Intelligence chronicles the inside journey from September 11 to the bombing of Baghdad. After scores of interviews with senior intelligence analysts, Iraqi refugees,
Arab leaders, insurgent bombers and ordinary citizens there can be only one conclusion, that the invasion, conquest and occupation of Iraq was a war based on a litany of lies
Age group: High school
Key words: 9/11, Baghdad, bombing, refugees, Arab leaders
Tut: The Boy King (1978), Egypt
DVD narrative
Synopsis: Review the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb by Howard Carter in 1922 with archival photographs and reviews the highlights of the treasure trove with anecdotal stories and conjecture about the Boy King's life and death.
Age group: Middle and High school
Key words: Pharaohs, Tutankhamun, archaeology, ancient Egypt
The Unwanted Woman (2005), Iran
DVD narrative
Synopsis: A woman trapped in an unhappy marriage: Sima, must contend with a husband so insensitive that he makes no effort to hide his various sexual indiscretions. He forces her into an even more uncomfortable situation when he asks his wife to pretend she is related to his current girlfriend in order to avoid trouble from a society that punishes unmarried couples for being together in public.
Age group: High school
Key words: Iran, women, relationships
Variations on a Theme: To Be an Israeli Woman (2004), Israel
Synopsis: A saga about Israeli society from five feminine point of view: Lea a settler from Ophra, born in Israel; Rebecca from Haifa, born in Ethiopia,Naomi from Ma'ale Adomim born in
England, Regina from Lode, born in Ukraine and Aziza, a Moslem, from Shfar'am, born in Israel.
Every woman is a one hour variation on the theme. The sixth variation (an hour and a half), consists of the whole group the women belong to.
Age Group: Middle and High School
Key Words: Israel, Palestine, Identity, women

Visions of Saudi Arabia (2007), Saudi Arabia
Synopsis: Saudi Arabia is a vast and varied land. The center of the Muslim world, site of the world’s largest sand desert and home to immemse crude oil reserves, it also contains a rich and diverse heritage and an abundance of archeological treasures. The discovery of petroleum catapulted the country into the modern age, and “Visions of Saudi Arabia” visually contrasts exiting new developments against a wealth of cultural traditions and spectacular landscapes in this largely unseen country.
Age Group: Middle and High School
Key Words: Saudi history, development, culture.
The Wall (1983), Turkey
DVD narrative
Synopsis: Teens in a Turkish prison struggle to survive under hideous conditions. Made by dying
Yilmaz Guney in France, after he escaped from a Turkish prison, enabling him to accept his award at Cannes for Yol (The Road). When the Turkish superstar leading man turned human rights activist, Guney was convicted for pro-Kurdish political activity and murder, by the Turkish military regime.
Age group: High school
Key words: youth, Turkey, Kurds, human rights
When the Moors Ruled In Europe (2005)
DVD documentary
Synopsis: Two-part series on the contribution the Muslims made to modern Europe during their
700-year reign in Spain, which ended with the Spanish Inquisition in the 14th century.
Age group: Middle and High school
Key words: Muslim contribution, Europe, Spain
The Yacoubian Building (2006), Egypt
DVD narrative
Synopsis: Egypt's costliest film epic is also one of its most intimate and revealing. Set in a Cairo apartment building that has seen better days, Marwan Hamed's multi-character drama follows the intersecting stories of its many residents, who mirror Egypt's celebrated past and uncertain future.
Notably, like the best-selling novel from which it was adapted, THE YACOUBIAN BUILDING addresses many subjects controversial in the Arab world, including radical Islam, abortion, homosexuality and gender roles.
Age group: High school
Key words: Cairo, Islam, gender roles, homosexuality