IRAN: Hollywood delegation on mission of cinema diplomacy

A delegation of Hollywood actors and producers arrived in Tehran this weekend to meet with their counterparts as part of a cultural exchange.

Hollywood producer Sidney Ganis led the team, which included three-time Oscar nominee Annette Bening. There were a series of workshops and meetings with movie industry types in the Islamic Republic organized through Tehran's House of Cinema, a hangout for actors and directors.

Ganis, who produced the critically acclaimed 2006 film "Akeelah and the Bee," told the Los Angeles Times this morning that the group was here simply "to communicate with our fellow filmmakers" in the Islamic Republic in "an exchange of ideas relating to the making and distributing of movies." (Full interview after the jump.)

As with most exchanges between Iran and the U.S. these days, the visit by the delegation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which organizes the Oscar awards, has not been without controversy. In a Persian-language report published today, Javad Shamaghdari, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's cultural advisor, demanded the delegation apologize for Hollywood's alleged "insults and libels" against the Islamic Republic before it would get any meetings with ranking officials.

ISRAEL: Screen artists strike

Many successful revolutions begin with a takeover of television or radio studios. This week in Israel, these weren't armed rebels interrupting a live TV broadcast, but local artists.

TV journalist Guy Zohar presents "The Day That Was", a nightly light news wrap-up program. In the country's news-heavy media, the show is refreshingly low key. The set is minimal and the lighting dim, almost intimate. Perched on a bar stool -- the only furniture on the set -- Zohar offers a slightly offbeat take on the news. 

The next item was 2008 crime stats and car thefts. "So, if you have a Subaru, you'd better chain it to a post," he was saying, when three young women barged onto the set in mid-item.

"Oh dear," said the startled host, usually understated.

The three women opened their jackets, revealing not what you think. Taped to their shirts were handwritten signs: "original productions -- or close."

EGYPT: Movie challenges Coptic restrictions on divorce

A soon-to-be-released movie featuring a divorced Coptic woman struggling with the church to receive a religious permit to remarry has triggered the outrage of many Copts, who criticized the film as an attack on one of the fundamentals of the Christian faith.

Christian lawyer Nabil Gobriel has filed a legal complaint and called on the Egyptian prime minister to ban the movie. “Freedom is not absolute, it must have limits, it should not infringe on religious fundamentals,” Gobriel told The Times in a phone interview. 

Gobriel, who claimed that nine other lawyers, including two Muslims, had supported his complaint, accused the filmmakers of downgrading the teachings of the Bible. “Marriage is one of the secrets of the church, and no divorce can be concluded unless in cases of adultery. The movie wants to change the Bible. Actually, it is an act of rebellion against the Bible.”

The movie "Wahed Sifr," or “One-Zero,” has not yet been released. However, all this fuss erupted after movie star Elham Shahin, who plays the lead, spoke to the media about the project. Although most of the cast is Muslim, the screenwriter is a Christian woman.      

EGYPT: Movie star facing death threats for criticizing Hamas

Egyptian movie star Adel Imam has sparked a fuss by criticizing Hamas and holding it partially responsible for the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip. His criticism of the Palestinian militant group has spurred radical Islamist leaders to issue a fatwa calling for Imam's execution.

Earlier this month, Imam told the independent daily al-Masry al-Youm:

“The Egyptian leadership warned the Palestinian leaders against Israeli attacks; however, they did not pay attention and fought a disproportionate war. It is better that Hamas stops what it is doing because Israel will not respond with flowers.”

Imam also criticized pro-Hamas demonstrations that erupted around the Arab world blaming Egypt for the blockade suffered by Hamas.

MIDDLE EAST: Maker of Dutch film "Fitna" to face trial

The movie provoked anger among Muslims all over the world last year. 

But the Dutch maker of “Fitna,” a short film that equated Islam with terrorism, had managed to escape legal troubles.

No longer.

The right-wing lawmaker Geert Wilders will have to answer to a Dutch court for what advocates said were his statements that incited hatred and discrimination against Muslims.

SYRIA: Iran and Damascus to make Hezbollah war film

Common strategic interests are not the only ties that bind Syria to Iran. The two allies might also start collaborating on grand artistic projects, one of which is a oint war movie.

During a recent meeting in Damascus, officials from both countries discussed the making of a film based on the summer 2006 war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group, Hezbollah, according to the Islamic Republic’s official news agency, IRNA.

SAUDI ARABIA: Going to the movies for the first time in decades

For decades, Saudis have been deprived of the simple diversion of going to the movies. But last week, thousands of men, women and children in the conservative kingdom rushed to see a film in a movie theater for the first time in more than 30 years.

The Saudi comedy “Mennahi" was screened for nine days beginning Dec. 9 in conference halls in the cities of Jeddah and Taif.

The film was such a success that organizers said they had to show it eight times a day to absorb the eager crowds. One of the screenings even had to be canceled because of overcrowding in the waiting hall.

It is still not clear whether Saudis will have another chance to go out to the movies in their own country. The morality police, which imposed the ban on movie theaters in the 1970s, has not yet declared if it will allow the revival.

DUBAI: Politics and AIDS at film festival

Movies aren't the only point of attraction at this year’s Dubai Film Festival.

In addition to being a venue for glamorous stars, the festival, which opened last week, has quickly become a platform for politics and controversy.

On Friday, a group of political activists showed up at the screening of a documentary on Palestinian rappers and called on the audience to boycott jewelry by an Israeli diamond mogul, who sells wares in boutiques in Dubai.

The group distributed T-shirts and flyers denouncing the jeweler, Lev Leviev, for allegedly supporting Jewish settlement in the West Bank, according to the local English-language daily, Gulf News.

Leviev reportedly owns a self-titled diamond label that has been selling in a number of high-end shops in Dubai for almost a year. 

JORDAN: Controversial drama wins an Emmy award

An impossible romance between an Arab and an Israeli set against destruction and chaos was the main theme of a Jordanian-produced TV series that won a prestigious television award in New York this week.

"Al-Ijtiyah" (The invasion), which tells love stories at the time of the Israeli incursion into a West Bank city in 2002, became the first Arab production to win the International Emmy Award.

The series, produced at an estimated cost of $3 million and praised for its artistic and technical achievements, was named best new telenovela from among 40 nominees from 16 countries.

ABU DHABI: Challenging Muslim stereotypes

Why are Muslims often portrayed in Hollywood films as lunatic terrorists plotting to plant bombs? How come they're almost never depicted as athletes or lawyers?

These questions were at the center of this year’s Middle East Film Festival last week in Abu Dhabi, which is trying to market itself as a cinema hub for the Arab region and the Persian Gulf.

Some U.S. stars present at the festival made a point of showing their appreciation of Arab culture. Actress Susan Sarandon, who appeared at the festival wearing an Arabian style dress (Abaya), spoke to reporters about the importance of movies in educating the general public about the different parts of the world:

We have a limited view of what is going on in this part of the world. The American media and Internet, for all its good points, are increasingly unreliable sources of information. ... Hollywood is a bunch of big corporations who make movies which are marketable, not that will make a difference.

Sarandon, who is known for her role in the ground-breaking road movie "Thelma and Louise," was presenting the documentary "The Shape of Water," in which she narrates the challenges faced by women in the Middle East.