I covered the Washington, DC Arab
Film Festival first in 1997 for ANA TV an MBC sister company. I was assigned to
report on the festival at the last minute as my colleague was suffering from
flu like symptoms. I was the junior reporter at the time fresh out of training.
The producer gave me a flyer and told me "this is your assignment"
and turned walking away. This would be the first time I cover an event in DC
without training wheels; any senior reporter or producer to hold my hand. I
thanked my lucky stars it wasn't a political event as I wasn't all that
familiar with the DC political scene yet. No, this event was a cultural one,
the 2rd annual Arab Film Fest of Washington, DC called Arabian Sights.
Driving to the movie theater I
imagined a small turnout of mostly new American Arabs congregating in a small community
type theater. But as I got there I was impressed by the large venue and
fanfare; the excitement was palpable. I interviewed many people there for the
report. Surprisingly, a good portion of the attendees were non-Arab. The
tapestry of American attendees was made up of people with diverse religions and
racial background. Each of the people whom I interviewed expressed, in
different ways, their excitement and gratitude to the organizers for allowing
them the opportunity to see a different side of the Arab world. Americans
typical learned about the Arab world through news reports of destruction and
conflict painting an unflattering picture of a people. Enthusiastically, the
attendees wanted to complement the narrow reality covered by the media with
elements that are difficult to see without traveling to that part of the world.
Diplomats, politicians, academics,
movie buffs, first and second generation Arab-American and students from other
nations and ethnicities were in attendance. “They want to see the films and
appreciate the opportunity to do so in the city they live in and they come back
year after year” said Shirin Ghareeb the coordinator of the festival and one of
two people who work year long to screen and select the best Arab movies to
feature in the festival. As someone who just moved from Saudi Arabia back to
the U.S. at that point in 1997 one particular attendee surprised me. Upon
asking him on camera why he made the effort to attend the festival, he said
that as a Jewish American he was trying to get acquainted with Arab culture as
much as he can because Arabs and Jews will have to live together whether they
like it or not. He explained further that both people need to take proactive
steps to move the nature of the relationship to a more positive one based on
better understanding.
It would be narrow for me to
consolidate the great contributions Arabian Sights makes every year to the
singular point of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The Arab ethos has a much
bigger problem to contend with. Political Islamists and the barbaric terrorism
of ISIS and Al-Qaeda are challenging the essence of what defines Arab nations.
Stories and the arts are the elements that confirm a culture, but apparently the
well of Arab creativity has ran dry since Sinbad’s Magic carpet, Aladdin, Ali
Baba and other fables and stories that live on beyond time and space. These
stories of Arabia are in fact the parts that Arabs should put forward as a
source of pride knowing that they permeate political and linguistic barriers gaining
global recognition. Disney’s take on these stories is a clear example.
The transcendent narrative a culture puts forth allows its people to shape how others define them. Currently Arabs are allowing the chaotic events of killings, bombing, sectarian genocide, etc. to provide a backdrop for others to paint distorted pictures of who Arabs are. The limited efforts by Arab artist to tell the stories and humanize a culture are falling by the wayside. Arabs are unaware of the benefits they will reap by advancing such artistic forms of expression. For that, I am grateful that a team of two is bringing some of those stories to the big screen in Washington DC at the annual Arabian Sights. Shirin suggests that “These films allow viewers a window into the different Arab regions for them to learn about and figure what is going on there.”
This year like every year, I will attend a couple of movies and seek out my American and Arab friends hoping that this 19th year of Arabian Sights would not be the last one for us to get together around good Arabic movies.
Arabs constantly complain that
America doesn’t understand the Arab world. That might be true, but what are
they doing to help Americans learn about their proud history and culture. Arab
governments are interested in spending untold amounts of money to sway the
thinking of a few American politicians forgetting that such politicians are
fundamentally limited in their powers to what the majority of their
constituency would not object to. Arabs, governments and people, should be
concerned with creating open lines of communications with the American people. Cultural
events like the Washington DC Arab Film Fest slowly, but surely, help with
forging a better understanding of the Arab world. The one-dimensional
stereotypical view of Arabs as violent and barbaric in the American mind is the
singular most devastating factor for Arabs; they have no one to blame for it
but themselves. As a matter of fact the policies and actions of the U.S. toward
the region affect the lives of Arab publics throughout the Middle East and
North Africa. Having a highly respected and well attended film festival is one
of the many options that Arabs need to encourage, support and advance if should
be bold enough to help Americans see them for what they are. Despite this obvious
connection, it was doubtful for Arabian Sights to blow out its 19th candle this
year due financial challenges. My calculation leads me to believe that the
entire cost of the festival doesn’t reach the six digits range. Thankfully, a
handful of loyal sponsors stepped up to the plate and donated the necessary
funds to make this year’s festival a reality, but what about next year?
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