A festival of films from Southwest Asia and North Africa

Arts & Entertainment Film Festivals

Mark Morellini
April 22, 2023

Image: BAGHDAD IN MY SHADOW film still

The inaugural SWANA Film Festival comes to Sydney with a program of 27 feature films and shorts from Southwest Asia and North Africa. Many of these films are Australian premieres and the festival showcases the talents of filmmakers from across Iraq, Turkey, Lebanon, Morocco, Armenia, and Syria.

City Hub recently sat down to speak to Hajer, the Festival Director, about this new and very unique film festival.

“This film festival is the rebirth of the old Arab Film Festival which was running between 2010 – 2017. It’s a brand new team, a new generation and I brought to the table the idea of calling it something different. The reason being that the term Arab is slightly controversial and outdated.”

Six curators from various backgrounds within these regions came on board to watch the 50 films and shorts submitted from which a program of 5 feature films and 22 shorts was formulated.

“Short films are the first thing new filmmakers produce and we really wanted to include as many of those emerging filmmakers as possible. A selection of shorts will be screened prior to the features.”

The opening night promises to be a gala presentation with red carpet arrivals and a fun filled afterparty. Nelva is one of the curators based in Adelaide who will be flying into Sydney to DJ the event.

“We’re going to have a delicious Iraqi dinner to complement the screening of three short films and the award-winning Iraqi film premiere of Baghdad in My Shadow by Swiss-Iraqi filmmaker Samir. The community we’re representing is used to eating a lot of food and dancing so it’s going to be so much fun!” enthused Hajer.

All five feature films are excellent viewing so Hajer paused momentarily when asked to select her top three favourites.

Baghdad In My Shadow is a sexy comedy drama about a group of Iraqi immigrants who meet up in a café in London. The movie follows more of a traditional film format rather than focusing on the war. However, there are elements of trauma from imprisonment during the war.

Love Spells And All That is a Turkish offering which focuses on a love affair between two women who were separated when they were teenagers but ultimately reunite. Set in Princes’ Island the famous Turkish Island which is overcrowded with cats.

“The sex scenes in this film are not explicit however it is a controversial film and queer romance films don’t receive as much press as heterosexual romances would. The synopsis of the well-known Turkish director is that he’s querying the genre.”

Miguel’s War which screened at the Antenna and Sydney Film Festivals last year is an innovative documentary about one gay man’s life and an excavation of his identity during the civil war. A complex but well executed documentary.

“The SWANA Film Festival should be of interest to anybody who would like to see a broader spectrum of what these regions are like. It’s definitely a different take on the SWANA/Middle East regions. If you’re interested in seeing a little more outside the conflicts that go on there, I definitely think this is the film festival for you,” concluded Hajer.