Persepolis

Persepolis, the film, is a triumph of translating static comic images into the cinematic language of film. The film by cartoonists and first time filmmakers Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud offers a condensed version of Iranian-born Satrapi’s autobiographical graphic novels.

 

Q&A with Yousry Nasrallah

Q& A with Yousry Nasrallah

I saw The Aquarium at the SF film festival where Yousry Nasrallah was in attendance to take questions after the screening. Starting with:

“In the dining table scene, was the man in white, the ghost of Leila’s dead father?”
“No”, explained an amused Nasrallh, “he’s just the bearer. Though I do like your interpretation”

 

Genenet-el-Asmak

Yoursy Nasrallah’s Genenet-el-Asmak (The Aquarium), a multi layered voyeuristic look at modern day Cairo through the ghostly driftings of its main protagonists packs in a powerful tale on the politics of fear, repression and existential dread.

 

Fallen Angels

Everything in Wong Kar-Wai’s Fallen Angels feels like a dream. Maybe it’s because you recognize some remnants -blond hair, expired can of pineapples, shared spaces, a room at the edge of the subway and late night diners -echoing Chung King Express.