Synopsis: Initially intended as a documentary foray into the art of caricature in Egypt and Syria, when the insurgencies break out in both countries, Syrian director Hala Alabdalla ends up drawing an electrifying, intimate, passionate film on the fearless tenacity of Arab artists fighting for freedom and justice. [courtesy of TIFF]
The relationship between the Islamic world and newspaper cartoons has been a hot international topic ever since the Danish newspaper Jyllandss-Posten published cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed in 2009. Strangely, Paris-based Syrian director Hala Alabdalla chooses not to mention this incident in her documentary praising the work of caricature artists in Egypt and Syria. Yet she seems to have trouble cutting anything else out. It’s almost unfortunate for Alabdalla that the Arab Spring took place while she was in production, as it causes the director to lose focus on the subject at hand. While most of the interviews are at times ...
Read More »The Toronto International Film Festival continues through next weekend, but Indiewire has already reviewed a significant portion of the program at various other festivals over the past year.
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