Films from and about the Middle East in Issue no. 41 of Al Jadid Magazine

A new Al Jadid issue (no. 41) is out. Al Jadid, a review and record of Arab culture and arts, features a special section on films from and about the Middle East in addition to essays, book reviews, fiction and poetry. Judith Gabriel writes on Elia Suleiman''s "Divine Intervention," on his snub by the Oscars, and the director''s views on film-making and his innovative cinematic approach to tackling the Arab-Israeli conflict. Lynne Rogers reviews "Close, Closed and Closure" and "The Settlers," two films that tell the dire circumstances under which the Palestinians live in Gaza and the West Bank. Malek Abisaab reviews "Souha Surviving Hell," a film that captures the recollections of Souha Bechara, a Lebanese young woman who was incarcerated for six years in an Israeli prison, and her life after freedom. Nadine Saliba reviews "Jenin Jenin," a film that brings the perspective of those lived in the Jenin camp during the Israeli attack. J. Rae Niles reviews "The Inner Tour," a moving documentary that examines the Arab-Israeli conflict through its core subjects, the 1948 refugees. It centers on taking a group of these refugees on a tour to the villages and the towns they had to leave in 1948. The issue includes four films and documentaries about and from Iran, three of which examine the question of gender, marital abuse, and achievements of Iranian women: "Shahrbanoo" is reviewed by Pamela Nice, "Zinat" and Mokarrameh" is reviewed by Rula Abisaab. A fourth film, "Sir Alfred of Charles De Gaulle Airport," is a short documentary that highlights the predicament of many Mideast immigrants, particularly Iranians, and is reviewed by Ema Shackleton. "Hollywood Harems," a short documentary about representations of the East, particularly Arabs and Muslims, in Western cinema is also reviewed by Shackleton. The film section concludes with a review of a new book about Arab cinema, Ibrahim Fawal''s "Youssef Chahine," by Pamela Nice.

In the essays and features section, Samia Mehrez writes on the controversies and the divisions caused by and surrounding the annual Naguib Mahfouz Award of Literature in Egypt. Emily Nasrallah writes on the Lebanese abroad, sharing critical observations on what diaspora does to her fellow Lebanese. Samir Mattar reads Ahmed Zewail''s "Voyage Through Time: Walks of Life to the Nobel Prize" in the context of the status of scientific research in the Arab world. Géérard Xurigueraima writes on "Uninterrupted Fugue: Uprootedness in Kamal Boullata's Work."

In fiction, the issue features "Tainted Love" by Diana Abu-Jaber, a story with a special emphasis on Mideast immigrants in the United States, and Mahmoud Saeed''s "Letter to Wafiyya," a short story about Iraqis living abroad away from wars and sanctions. The issue includes the translation of a poem by Mahmoud al-Breykan, "On Freedom." Al-Breykan was a prominent Iraqi poet who recently died under questionable circumstances.

The issue includes 10 book reviews: Th. Emil Homerin''s "From Arab Poet to Muslim Saint," reviewed by Dima Hilal; Susan Ossman''s "Three Faces of Beauty," reviewed by Andrea Esa Shalal; Aida Adib Bamia''s "The Graying of the Raven," reviewed by Issa J. Boullata; Leila al-Atrash''s "A Woman of Five Seasons," reviewed by Silvia Chelala; Akel Ismail Kahera''s "Deconstructing the American Mosque," reviewed by Susan Muaddi Darraj; Fatima Mernissi''s "Sheherazade Goes West," reviewed by Elissar Haikal; Mohamed Salmawy''s "Naguib Mahfouz at Sidi Gaber," reviewed by Lynne Rogers; Kathleen Benson & Philip M. Kayal''s edited "A Community of Many Worlds," reviewed by Ema Shackleton; Mohammed Harbi''s "Resistant Life: Political Memoirs, 1945-1962," reviewed by George Tarabishi.