The Berlinale takes place from 16 to 26 February: https://www.berlinale.de/en/home.html
Documentary section:
"Anqua", Helin Çelik (Austria, Spain, Turkey): three Jordanian women survived violence inflicted on them by men. Helin Çelik films them as close as possible to their flat, which they barely leave, listening to their discussions.
"Under the Sky of Damascus", Heba Khaled, Talal Derki and Ali Wajeeh: experiences of violence are part of the daily life of Syrian women. However, fear of revenge or sexual exploitation are rarely discussed. A collective of young women wants to break the taboo with a theatre project.
"Forum" section:
"Le Gang des Bois du Temple" by Salim Ameur-Zaïmeche (Algeria, France): two neighbours stand together and are overwhelmed. A lonely ex-soldier mourns the loss of his mother, while a family man leads his gang of criminals in a robbery with fatal consequences.
"Borrowing a Family Album", Tamer El Said (Egypt): the director takes someone else's images to recover his memory and remember a lost brother. In an act of collective memory, the installation invites the audience to search for their own experiences in these images.
"Simia: Stratagem for Undestining", Assem Hendawi (Egypt): the film is part of the Simiyaa project, a fictional artificial intelligence programme which aims to create a planned economy and manage shared infrastructure across Africa and the Middle East.
Photo: copyrights Tamer El Said.