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Arab Filmmakers of the Middle East
A Dictionary
by Roy Armes
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Book Presentation:
In this landmark dictionary, Roy Armes details the scope and diversity of filmmaking across the Arab Middle East. Listing more than 550 feature films by more than 250 filmmakers, and short and documentary films by another 900 filmmakers, this volume covers the film production in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and the Gulf States. An introduction by Armes locates film and filmmaking traditions in the region from early efforts in the silent era to state-funded productions by isolated filmmakers and politically engaged documentarians. Part 1 lists biographical information about the filmmakers and their feature films. Part 2 details key feature films from the countries represented. Part 3 indexes feature-film titles in English and French with details about the director, date, and country of origin.
About the Author:
Roy Armes is Professor Emeritus of Film at Middlesex University. He has published widely on world cinema and is author of Dictionary of African Filmmakers (IUP, 2008).
Press Reviews:
"This title is broader than Rebecca Hillauer's 'Encyclopedia of Arab Women Filmmakers' (CH, Jul'06, 43-6241) and complements the' Companion Encyclopedia of Middle Eastern and North African Film', edited by Oliver Leaman (CH, Mar'02, 39-3694). It focuses on Arab filmmakers, so its scope is narrower, topically and geographically, than the Leaman volume. However, this title by Armes (emer., Middlesex Univ., UK) has unique merits: its in-depth coverage of filmmakers (250-plus feature filmmakers and 900 short film and documentary filmmakers); its feature film chronologies for Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen; and its valuable opening essay, 'Filmmaking in Divided Lands.' This essay contextualizes Arab Middle Eastern cinema by reviewing the effect of political developments in the Middle East on cinema in the region. Most importantly, Armes relies heavily on foreign-language sources, especially French ones, so much of the data available in this volume has not previously appeared in English. Armes is a well-established author with a long history in cinema studies (e.g., 'African Filmmaking', CH, Sep'07, 45-0178), and a current specialty in the cinemas of Africa and the Middle East. Given the breadth of sources, depth of subject coverage, and excellence of the author, this volume is a necessary purchase for academic and large public libraries. Summing Up: Essential. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. — Choice"
-C. Hendershott, The New School
"This is a unique resource that is scholarly and comprehensive in its coverage. It will be useful in academic libraries with extensive film collections a well as in larger public libraries with comprehensive film collections."
-American Reference Books Annual
"[Armes] has produced an excellent essay about the interaction of politics and cinema in the Arab world, which is worth consulting by anyone interested in this topic. Further, Armes has created a great resource for the study of Arab documentaries, and the book will become an important work for just this reason."
-MELA Notes
"Given the breadth of sources, depth of subject coverage, and excellence of the author, this volume is a necessary purchase for academic and large public libraries. . . . Essential.April 2011"
-Choice
"Constitutes a 'counter-reading' of received views and assumptions about the absence of Arab cinema in the Middle East."
-Michael T. Martin, Black Film Center/Archive, Indiana University
"Essential for libraries and useful for individual readers who will find essays on subjects rarely treated in English."
-Kevin Dwyer, American University in Cairo
See the publisher website: Indiana University Press
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