Programmers' Picks: Justine Barda

It’s an especially timely lineup from the Middle East this year, with many of the films providing context for and insight into current and recent events in a part of the world that is often in the headlines these days. 

Critical Zone and Terrestrial Verses

From Iran, where the Women Life Freedom movement continues, there are two remarkably audacious films, Critical Zone and Terrestrial Verses. Both are transgressive in their subject matter and inventive in their form.

The Etilaat Roz and Hollywoodgate

There are two fascinating documentaries that offer distinct views of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan—one from the perspective of the staff of the national daily newspaper (The Etilaat Roz) and the other from the perspective of the Taliban (Hollywoodgate).

The Burdened 

The Burdened is a rare and excellent film from Yemen, a country which, in addition to its decade-long civil war and collapsing economy, has also been the object of recent U.S. military strikes, in response to the Houthi effort to pressure Israel to end its war on Hamas.

Three Promises and The Vanishing Soldier

There’s a documentary comprised of a woman’s home movies about life in Palestine during the Israeli military retaliation for the Second Intifada (Three Promises), as well as a portrait of a young Israeli soldier and his ambivalence about his role (The Vanishing Soldier). 

Dancing of the Edge of a Volcano

And from Lebanon, there’s an extraordinary film that is both a firsthand account of the devastating port explosion in Beirut and, improbably, a “making of” film about a film that played at SIFF two years ago, Costa Brava, Lebanon.