African & Middle Eastern
Alice has precious few (but building) films from the Middle East and even fewer from the vast continent of Africa.
Middle Eastern films are often highly politicised, bringing subjects to the attention of audiences that would otherwise know little about them. Film makers are often dealing with various forms of political and social oppression and even armed conflicts to bring their stories to light. Exotic scenery, allegorical storytelling and close-up exposure to cultural norms, so different from our own, bring a kind of immersion only rivalled by being there.
To find a title from a specific country use the By Country link on the left.
Pictured: A Time for Drunken Horses
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2011)
7.8/10
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Starring: Muhammet Uzuner, Yilmaz Erdogan, Taner Birsel
Winner of the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, "Once Upon a Time in Anatolia" is an engrossing crime drama from the celebrated director of "Cl... Read more
Osama (2003)
7.4/10
Director: Siddiq Barmak
Starring: Marina Golbahari, Arif Herati, Zubaida Sahar
The first feature film from post-Taliban Afghanistan, this award-winning drama is set during the radical Islamic regime's rule. With women forbidden t... Read more
Paradise Now (2005)
7.5/10
Director: Hany Abu-Assad
Starring: Hiam Abbass, Lubna Azabal, Kais Nashef, Ali Suliman, Amer Hlehel
Golden Globe's Best Foreign Film is this taut drama concerning two Palestinian friends who have signed up to become suicide bombers. They are assigne... Read more
Persepolis (2007)
8.1/10
Director: Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud
Starring: (Voices of) , Catherine Deneuve, Iggy Pop, Gena Rowlands, Sean Penn
Based on her autobiographical graphic novels, Marjane Satrapi and co-screenwriter Vincent Paronnaud directed this Oscar-nominated, black-and-white ani... Read more
Policeman (2011)
6.2/10
Director: Nadav Lapid
Starring: Michael Moshonov, Yiftach Klein, Yaara Pelzig, Menashe Noy, Michael Aloni, Gal H...
Yaron and his fellow unit members are the weapon: the gun the state is pointing at it's opponents, the 'Arab Enemy'. An encounter with a radical, viol... Read more
Prisoners of War: Series 1 (2009)
8.5/10
Starring: Ishai Golan, Mili Avital, Yael Abecassis, Assi Cohen, Adi Ezroni, Yoram Toledano
The Israeli drama which inspired the U.S. series "Homeland". "Prisoners of War" (or "Hatufim" - 'abductees' in Hebrew), tells the story of three Israe... Read more
Prisoners of War: Series 2 (2012)
8.5/10
Starring: Ishai Golan, Mili Avital, Assi Cohen, Yoram Toledano, Gal Zaid
The Israeli drama on which the U.S. series "Homeland" is based. Series two starts where series one ended - Nimrode and Uri continue to pick up the pie... Read more
Rafiki (2018)
6.6/10
"Good Kenyan girls become good Kenyan wives," but Kena and Ziki long for something more. When love blossoms between them, the two girls will be forced... Read more
Red Dust (2004)
6.9/10
Director: Tom Hooper
Starring: Hilary Swank, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jamie Bartlett, Marius Weyers
Set against the backdrop of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission Hearings, Hilary Swank is an ex-pat South African practising law in the... Read more
Rock the Casbah (2013)
6.5/10
Director: Laila Marrakchi
Starring: Morjana Alaoui, Nadine Labaki, Lubna Azabal, Hiam Abbass
The whole family is reunited when Sofia comes back for her father's funeral. Quickly, inner problems are revealed. "Rock the Casbah is consistently en... Read more