June 8 to 12, 2011 Tropentheater, Amsterdam
22nd edition, 21 films, Dutch and international premieres
Extensive post-film discussions for all films
www.beeldvoorbeeld.nl

Voices from the Middle East

During the 22nd edition of the annual cultural diversity festival Beeld voor Beeld, held at the Tropentheater from June 8 to 12, documentaries and filmmakers from the Middle East take center stage. On the weekend of June 11 and 12, the festival, in collaboration with Dancing on the Edge, presents films and post-screening discussions with directors from Iran, Lebanon, and Turkey. The films portray daily reality, marked by uprisings, war, and human rights violations. However, they also bear witness to the desire to come to terms with the past and build a better life in freedom and democracy.

On Sunday, Iran takes center stage with the Dutch premiere of Twenty Days that Shook Tehran by Iranian director Ali Razi. The film offers a surprising behind-the-scenes look at the campaigns for the 2009 presidential election in Iran, when a green wave of hope swept across the country. The festival's closing film, Daughters of Malakeh, has its European premiere following a particularly successful first screening at the Hot Docs festival in Toronto. Filmmakers Jet Homoet and Sharog Heshmat Manesh offer viewers a unique glimpse into the lives of different generations of Iranian women. Also this weekend are films from Turkey and Lebanon.

The rest of the program consists of, among other things:

Opening film
The festival's opening film is the Dutch premiere of the latest film by renowned English documentary filmmaker Marc Isaacs, *Men of the City*. This BBC production is a devastating portrait of the London business district, the City, and the dramatic consequences of the stock market crash for the people who work there. Critic Hans Beerekamp will speak with Marc Isaacs after the screening.

The Ethnographic Gaze of Journalism
Attention will also be given to new initiatives in journalism that aim to get behind the news and share many similarities with anthropology, in collaboration with Holland Doc24. Through Our Own Eyes, a film about African journalists during last year's World Cup, will be screened, followed by a debate on different ways of reporting on other cultures. Metropolis, One11, and the VJ Movement will show their reports and discuss their approach.

Anne Makepeace
This year, two films by Anne Makepeace, a multi-award-winning American documentary filmmaker, about the struggle to preserve the language and culture of Native Americans will also be screened. This takes place in collaboration with the photography festival Dutch Doc Days.

Historical China
Furthermore, an evening themed around historical China, featuring, among other things, a silent film from 1927 accompanied by live music by the Filip Kimho Duo.

You can view the entire program on our website: www.beeldvoorbeeld.nl

Location
Linnaeusstraat 2, 1092 CK Amsterdam



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