TPFF Guide to Arab and Palestinian Films at TIFF’22
To share the best of contemporary Arab cinema coming to our city, TPFF has put together a list of Palestinian and Arab films playing at this year’s TIFF. To watch even more groundbreaking Palestinian films, join us at TPFF 2022: September 21-25, 2022 in-theatre at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. All films will be available to stream online until Wednesday September 28.
Browse our program and purchase tickets
GALA & SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
The Swimmers By Sally El Hosaini (Syria)
The Swimmers tells the remarkable true tale of sisters Yusra and Sara Mardini, who fled their home in war-torn Damascus to seek a new life in Europe and earn the chance to compete in the Olympics.
In-person screenings: Sep 8, 6:00 PM | Sep 8, 8:00 PM | Sep 9, 12:00 PM | Sep 17, 3:00 PM
The Blue Caftan/Le Bleu du Caftan By Maryam Touzani (Morocco)
Writer-director Maryam Touzani returns to the Festival with a tender tribute to tradition and the craft of love. In one of Morocco’s oldest medinas, in the city of Salé, Mina (Lubna Azabal) manages discerning customers while her tailor husband Halim (Saleh Bakri) works diligently in silence only a few feet away. When the demand for Halim’s skill exceeds his personal capacity, he reluctantly accepts the help of Youssef (Ayoub Missioui), a soft-spoken young apprentice.
In-person screenings: Sep 11, 6:30 PM | Sep 13, 3:15 PM | Sep 17, 8:45 AM
DISCOVERY
A Gaza Weekend by Basil Khalil (Palestine)
Conceived before the COVID-19 pandemic, this witty and oddly prescient comedy of role reversal from Palestinian writer-director Basil Khalil playfully and cleverly finds a rich source of humour in political tensions and the human foibles that straddle class and ethnicity. A bumbling Englishman and an uptight Israeli are desperate to get into the Gaza strip — “the safest place in the world” — when a virus breaks out, in this hilariously irreverent satire.
In-person screenings: Sep 10, 5:45 PM | Sep 13, 6:00 PM | Sep 17, 7:15 PM
The Taste of Apples is Red by Ehab Tarabieh (Occupied Golan Heights)
In this gripping debut from Syrian filmmaker Ehab Tarabieh, a respected sheikh must make an impossible decision between family and duty when his estranged brother returns to the Golan Heights after living 47 years in exile.
In-person screenings: Sep 9, 6:45 PM | Sep 14, 10:00 PM | Sep 16, 9:00 PM
CONTEMPORARY WORLD CINEMA
Alam By Firas Khoury (Palestine)
A fluid and absorbing feature debut from Firas Khoury, Alam is a coming-of-age drama full of contemporary urgency. Skilfully pointing out the unsubtle mechanisms of nationalism, Khoury draws us through the maze of control and contradiction that follows the forced forgetting of history.
In-person screenings: Sep 9, 7:35 PM | Sep 11, 12:10 PM | Sep 16, 6:15 PM
Ashkal By Youssef Chebbi (Tunisia)
In this second feature from Tunisian writer-director Youssef Chebbi, a series of mysterious deaths in an abandoned development north of Tunis sends two detectives down an all-consuming rabbit hole.
In-person screenings: Sep 10, 6:15 PM | Sep 11, 2:40 PM
Under The Fig Trees by Erige Sehiri (Tunisia)
Rural young people working the Tunisian summer fig harvest steal away to practise their own budding desires, settle drama, and share dreams in this radiant narrative debut from French Tunisian director Erige Sehiri.
In-person screenings: Sep 13, 6:15 PM | Sep 14, 9:40 PM | Sep 17, 7:00 PM
SHORT CUTS PROGRAMME 02
Shadow of the Butterflies by Sofia El Khyari (Morocco)
This exquisite animation by Morocco’s Sofia El Khyari draws viewers into a mysterious forest where a young woman’s emotions, memories, and desires intermingle with the delicate movements of the butterflies that surround her.
In-person screenings: Sep 9, 2:45 PM | Sep 14, 1:30 PM | Sep 16, 5:40 PM
SHORT CUTS PROGRAMME 06
Simo by Aziz Zoromba (Canada)
For the two teenage brothers in Aziz Zoromba’s compelling and nuanced drama, the usual rivalries and jealousies that exist between siblings take a dangerous turn that may seriously impact the future of their family.
In-person screenings: Sep 13, 6:10 PM | Sep 16, 5:30 PM | Sep 17, 9:05 AM
For more information about TPFF 2022, visit tpff.ca