PSIFF 2014: OMAR (2013)—The Evening Class Conversation With Actors Adam Bakri and Waleed Zuaiter

Hany Abu-Assad's Omar (2013) [site]—shortlisted for the foreign language category at the Academy Awards®—and Yuval Adler's Bethlehem (2013) [site]—Israel's official submission—are, essentially, bookend collaborationist narratives situated on either side of the Separation Wall, with forays back and forth to complicate matters. Both films excel at drawing attention to the increasingly commonplace practice of Israeli secret agents manipulating Palestinians into collaboration. It's interesting to note that both Israeli agents—Waleed Zuaiter as Agent Rami in Omar, and Tsahi Halevi as Agent Razi

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PSIFF 2014: AL MIDAN / THE SQUARE (2013)—A Few Evening Class Questions For Director Jehane Noujaim and Producer Karim Amer

Situated in the True Stories sidebar at the 25th edition of the Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF), Jehane Noujaim's Al Midan (The Square, 2013) chronicles the communal conscription of space for political assembly and energizes historical events with intimate reportage. As boasted on the film's theatrical poster and recited in PSIFF's program capsule: "The people demand the downfall of the regime! This slogan echoed throughout Cairo's Tahrir Square during the revolutionary fervor of the Arab Spring that gripped Egypt and enthralled the world. But who were the people shouting

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PSIFF 2014: LATINBEAT

The concept of the national cinema and its symbiotic relationship with the programming of an international film festival is seamlessly administered in the 25th edition of the Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF). Although this edition's national spotlight focuses on Canadian cinema, PSIFF continues to advance films from Spain, Mexico, Central America, and South America. Incorporated into its various sidebars, this selection of 23 Spanish (and Portuguese)-language titles unofficially constitutes a spotlight of its own, representing films from eight countries: seven from Spain, si

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