4th Edition of the International Oriental Film Festival of Geneva
Geneva, Versoix, Berne, Gex
From April 7th to 13th 2008
Algeria, Egypt, France, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Somalia, Switzerland, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey...Geneva, Versoix, Berne, Gex
From April 7th to 13th 2008
With the support of the Cultural Department of the city of Geneva as well as other partners, the 4th Edition of Geneva’s International Oriental Film Festival (FIFOG), in collaboration with national and international partners working for Development, Cultural diversity, and Inter-civilization dialogue; will take place from the 7th to the 13th of April 2008 at the CAC-Voltaire, in Versoix, in Berne and in Gex.
Our 2008 harvest will continue exploring the diversity of Oriental Societies and questioning the boundaries between East and West. It also seeks to show documentaries, fictions, previously unseen short films, all of which are little known in Switzerland. The aim is to encourage debate on topics that concern both the Middle East and the West, as well as to offer young directors in the Middle East a platform to express themselves, and to promote intercultural dialogue and understanding. Reinforced by new dynamic members and the credibility of Mr Malik Chabel, our Honourable President of this 2008 Edition, who is an anthropologist, psychoanalyst, a specialist on Islam and on the history of religions as well as on the arabic-muslim civilization, and whose opinion today is widely sought; FIFOG is confident about its future and sees itself as a forum to promote dialogue between different cultures.
Thus during the Festival, more then 40 films will smash the prejudices and silence on the Middle East. The films are grouped in different categories. We have “The Middle East between terrorism, Sufism and Onirism” which shows an open and tolerant Islam that unites the great Muslim mystics, the great oriental poets and the renowned stories of the Arabian Nights. Another category is “Islam, Arabs and Terrorism or post September 11” which deals with the consequences of the September 11 terrorist attacks on Muslims in Europe and the United States. Special homage will be paid to one of our modern times Sufis, the Tunisian film director and story teller, Nacer Khémir.
Other sections complete the programme, amongst them “Migration, Racism & Integration” which illustrates the different stages immigrants face before finally reaching their destination country. “A Woman’s gaze” offers us some of the most recent productions by women in the Middle East. The section “East-West” explores the boundaries between the East and the West through different perceptions.
Two more important events will be mentioned, they are the FI-FON-FAN festival for children, and the Round Table “Migration, Integration and International Security” which will take place at the Graduate Institute of International and development Studies (HEID). The first offers children a chance to discover the Middle East, whereas the second uses a much more pragmatic and to the point approach to enlighten its public on the challenges and issues of Migration as well as its consequences on International Security.
