Middle Eastern movies at Venice film festival

A look at the films from the Middle East screening at the Venice Film Festival.

Bill Pullman and Cherien Dabis in May in the Summer. Courtesy Displaced Pictures

Venice is the oldest film festival in the world, and for the past decade it has been showing its age. Founded in 1932, this year is the 70th edition (it started off as a biannual festival and was postponed during the Second World War) and complaints about the poor facilities, the expense and the bureaucracy grow louder each year.

Yet what is remarkable about this gloomy picture is that Venice still clings to its status as a major film festival, with history and tradition seemingly able to carry the festival through troubled times. The stars still turn out in force for its much-anticipated world premieres. Tonight, George Clooney and Sandra Bullock are scheduled to attend the opening night space disaster picture Gravity.

Of Middle Eastern interest

The Venice Film Festival is about more than winning the Golden Lion. In the other sections of the festival, there are films that are often better than those selected for the main competition. It’s a feature of film festivals that sidebars are often more meritorious than the political and headline-grabbing official selection. Here are three films of regional interest to look out for

¬ May in the Summer

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