Lebanese director John Shamoun and Palestinian director May al Masri conveyed Arab dreams and suffering to the heart of the US through the screening of the films Taif al Madina (City Spectrum) and Ahlam al Manfa (Exile Dreams) in Boston and then Canada.
Screening these films has come at a time when the west in general and the US in particular showed their desire to know whether there is a an Arab image other than the one depicted by Hollywood over the past decades.
Shamoun and his wife focused on the human elements in their work which has made their films documented evidence on the repression and massacres which the Palestinian and Lebanese people in particular and Arabs in general faced due to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian and Arab lands.
“We try to depict simple facts about the suffering of our people through the movies which can reflect the status quo and people’s situation, dreams and concerns. The picture has its effective role in influencing public opinion and may serve the cause of our people or harm it at the same time,” Shamoun told the press.
He added, “screening the film City Spectrum in the US upon an invitation from Boston’s Movie Museum at this particular time is so important as it tells from a national perspective about the civil war in Lebanon which lasted for 15 years and ended in 1990. We showed the Americans that we are not terrorists but human beings who have humanitarian feelings and participate effectively in important things like other mankind groups.” -- Albawaba.com
