Читать книгу Historical Dictionary of Middle Eastern Cinema - Terri Ginsberg - Страница 6

1896 Egypt: The first Lumière screenings take place in the Bourse Tousson Pasha and the Zawani cafe (Alexandria) and in the Hamam Schneider (Cairo).

1897 Tunisia: The first North African film screenings of Lumière films are held in Tunis, facilitated by Albert Samama Chikly.

1896 Turkey: The first film exhibitions in Turkey are held in Istanbul, capital of the Ottoman Empire.

1900 Iran: Iranian cinema may be said to begin with the filming of Muzaffared Shah’s trip to Ostend, Belgium, in 1900, as recorded on a newly purchased camera by court photographer Mirza Ebrahim Khan Akkasbashi.

1901 Israel: The Jewish National Fund (JNF) is founded to raise money for the establishment and maintenance of a Jewish state in the Levant; it supports the production of newsreels and documentaries to propagate that agenda.

1905–1911 Iran: The Qajar dynasty crumbles in the face of the Constitutional Revolution.

1908 Tunisia: Albert Samama Chikly opens the first cinema in the Maghreb, in Tunis.

1911 Turkey: The Manaki(a) brothers, both Ottoman citizens, film Sultan Reşat Mehmet V’s visit to Salonica and Bitola.

1914 Turkey: World War I begins in Europe, taking on a Middle Eastern dimension when the Ottoman Empire joins Germany. Fuat Uzkınay films the first purported Turkish film, The Demolition of the Russian Monument in Hagia Stephanos.

1916 The Sykes–Picot Agreement is signed, dividing much of the Middle East between British and French spheres of influence.

1917 February–October: Russian revolution begins. Egypt: The Italo-Egyptian Cinematographic Company is established by photographer Umberto Dores and others; their films are unsuccessful. Palestine: The Balfour Declaration is drafted by the English government. Turkey: The first two Turkish features are shot by Sedat Simavi, Claw and Spy.

1918 World War I ends, marking a shift in power relations between the Middle East and Europe.

1919 The Paris Peace Conference takes place; the Versailles Peace Treaty is signed.

1920 Israel: The Palestine Foundation Fund (PFF) is established in England to raise money for the establishment and maintenance of a Jewish state in the Levant; it supports the production of documentary films and newsreels propagating that agenda. Lebanon/Syria: The French Mandate over Lebanon and Syria is established. Palestine: The British Mandate over Palestine is initiated.

1922 Tunisia: The first preindependence indigenous North African film, Zohra, directed by Albert Samama Chikly, is released. Turkey: Muhsin Ertuğrul begins making films for the newly founded private studio Kemal Film.

1923 Palestine: The British Mandate over Palestine is implemented. Turkey: The Republic of Turkey is established after the Great War of Independence (1919–1922).

1924 Iran/Turkey: The U.S. documentary Grass is shot in Iran and, partially, in Turkey.

1925 Egypt: The Misr Theatre and Cinema Company is established by Misr Bank.

1926 Iran: Reza Shah ascends the Pahlavi throne. Lebanon: Lebanon is annexed from Greater Syria but remains under the French Mandate.

1927 Egypt: Aziza Amir, a stage actress, sets up a company with Turkish writer Wadad Orfi, and in the same year they produce and codirect Layla with Stephane Rosti; Amir is thus the first Egyptian (and Arab) woman to have produced and directed a film.

1928 Turkey: İpek Film, a major production studio and dubbing facility, is founded.

1929 Lebanon: The Adventures of Elias Mabrouk, directed by Italian Jordano Pidutti, becomes the first silent film shot in Lebanon.

1930 Egypt: Zeinab (Mohammad Karim) is the country’s first full-length feature. Iran: Abi and Rabi (Oganian) becomes the first Iranian feature.

1931 Bahrain: The country becomes the first among the Arab states to discover oil. Lebanon: The Adventures of Abu Abed, directed by Jordano Pidutti, becomes the first film made with Lebanese funding.

1932 Iraq: Iraqi independence is granted. Israel: Natan Axelrod and Chaim Halachmi codirect the first Zionist feature, Oded the Wanderer.

1933 Lebanon: The Lumnar Film Company is established with financing from the Lebanese matriarch Herta Gargour. In the Ruins of Baalbek, directed by Julio De Luca and Karam Boustany and produced by Lumnar, is the first film produced entirely in an Arab country and to feature the Lebanese dialect.

1934 Egypt: The White Rose (Mohammad Karim) introduces music star Mohamed Abdel Wahab to the screen. Iran: The first Persian-language feature, The Lor Girl, is made in India by Ardeshir Irani and Abdolhossein Sepanta.

1936 Egypt: Umm Kulthum, the Arab world’s most famous singer, appears in the first of her six films, Wedad (Ahmed Badrakhan).

1936–1939 Palestine: The Arab Revolt takes place in the Levant.

1937 Tunisia: The first Arabic feature, The Fool of Kairouan, directed by Jean-Andre Kreuzy, is released.

1939 Egypt: Determination (Kamal Selim), considered the country’s first realist film, is released. Maghreb: World War II begins as Germany invades Poland; the war will take on a Middle Eastern dimension when Germany invades North Africa. Syria: Vichy France takes control of the country.

1941 Iran: Reza Shah abdicates under pressure from the Allied forces, and his son accedes to power. Syria: Syrian independence is initiated.

1943 Lebanon: Independence from France is granted. The Rose Seller, directed by Ali al-Ariss, becomes the first postindependence Lebanese film but contains dialogue in the Egyptian vernacular (Cairene). Turkey: The first fully dubbed or postsynchronized Turkish film, Troubled Spring (Faruk Kenç), is made.

1944 Morocco: The Centre Cinématographique Marocain (CCM) is established to produce Moroccan films.

1945 World War II ends as Japan surrenders to the Allied forces. Algeria: Rise of the Algerian Workers Movement.

1946 Maghreb: Studios Africa is founded by France to produce documentaries in its African colonies. Syria: Syrian independence is granted.

1947 Israel/Palestine: 29 November: United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 (the “Partition Plan”).

1948 Iran: Esmail Kushan founds the Mitra film company, beginning the production of the first domestic sound films. Iraq: The first Iraqi film, Alia and Issam, is released. Israel/Palestine: 14 May: The state of Israel is declared. 15 May: End of British Mandate Palestine; war breaks out in the Levant; Nakba ensues. The PFF becomes the United Israel Appeal. Turkey: A decrease in the municipal entertainment tax on ticket revenues from domestic films leads to a gradual increase in the production of domestic films. The first domestic film competition is organized.

1949 Israel: The Israeli Motion Picture Studios are opened in Herzliyah. Tunisia: The Fédération Tunisienne des Ciné-Clubs (FTCC) is created, launching a cinémathèque movement in Tunisia.

1950 Egypt: Youssef Chahine’s career as a director begins with Daddy Amin.

1952 Egypt: The Free Officers coup overthrows the monarchy; the Ministry of National Culture and Guidance is founded. Israel: The Geza Film Studios are opened in Givatayim, later to become the Berkey-Humphries Studio. Lebanon: Studio Haroun and Studio Al-Arz are the first fully equipped film studios opened in Lebanon. Turkey: The earliest recognized Yeşilçam films are shot by Lütfi Ö. Akad, Muharrem Gürses, and others.

1953 Iran: Mohammad Mosaddeq, who had nationalized the oil industry and begun to limit the shah’s powers, is overthrown by a CIA-engineered coup. Turkey: Muhsin Ertuğrul’s last film, but Turkey’s first color film, Carpet-Weaving Girl, is made.

1954 Algeria: The Algerian War against French colonial forces begins. Israel: The Bill for the Promotion of Israeli Films, a state funding vehicle, is passed. Tunisia: A film society, Al Ahd el Jadid, takes over Studios Africa’s Tunisian arm, Actualités Tunisiennes.

1956 Egypt/Israel: 29 October: Israel attacks Egypt during the Suez Crisis. Lebanon: Baalbek Studios is founded by Badih Boulos and will become one of the Middle East’s premier film studios during the 1960s. Maghreb: 2 March: Morocco is granted independence from France. 20 March: Tunisia is granted independence from France. 7 April: Spain relinquishes its territories in Morocco. Algerian student strike begins subsequently in France and Algeria. Sudan: The Sudanese Film Production Center is established by President Ismail Ali Azhari.

1957 Jordan: Struggle in Jarash, directed by Wassif Sheik Yassin, becomes the first film from Jordan. Lebanon: George Nasser’s Where To? becomes the first Lebanese film featured at the Cannes Film Festival. Tunisia: Société Anonyme Tunisienne des Production et d’Expansion Cinématographiques (SATPEC) is established to administer film production, distribution, importation, and exhibition in Tunisia.

1958 Egypt: Cairo Station (Youssef Chahine) is released, starring the director, and quickly becomes a touchstone for cinematic realism in the country. Egypt/Syria: The United Arab Republic (UAR) is established. Iran: South of the City (Farrokh Ghaffari), a precursor to the New Wave films to come, marks a deromanticizing of poor urban life and is banned in Iran. Iraq: The Republic of Iraq is established. Kuwait: Cinema Al-Hamra and Cinema Al-Firdaws become the first film theaters to open in the Gulf region. Lebanon: The first Lebanese Civil War breaks out between Christian nationalists and pan-Arab secularists.

1959 Egypt: The Higher Cinema Institute, a training center, is established in Cairo; The Nightingale’s Prayer, the most famous of the collaborations between director Henri Barakat and star Faten Hamama, is released. Iraq: The General Organization of Cinema and Television (GOCT) is founded.

1960 Turkey: The 1960 military intervention changes the course of social and political life in Turkey, as Yeşilçam filmmaking undergoes growth and development.

1961 Algeria: 17 October: French police kill 200 Algerian demonstrators in Paris, as depicted in Living in Paradise (1998). Iran: The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (IIDCYA), or Kanoon, is founded. Morocco: Hassan II becomes king, thus beginning the repressive “Years of Lead” that included much film censorship. Turkey: The “high” Yeşilçam era begins with the production of 113 films in one year.

1962 Algeria: 5 July: Independence from French colonialism is achieved. The Radio Télévision Algérienne (RTA) is established to train film professionals and fund state coproductions. Iran: The House Is Black, Forough Farrokhzad’s highly influential documentary, set in a Tabriz leper colony, appears. Lebanon: October: The first of three annual Round Table Conferences on Arab Cinema and Culture is held in Beirut, under the auspices of UNESCO, to assess the state of cinema in the Arab region.

1963 Algeria: The Office des Actualités Algériennes (OAA) is established as a newsreel production organization. Egypt: Nationalization of the Egyptian film industry takes many people by surprise. It leads to the production of a number of quality films by the public sector, which is, however, effectively bankrupt by 1970. The situation compels many Egyptian filmmakers and actors to relocate film production to Lebanon.

1964 Lebanon: The National Center for Cinema and Television is established by the government. Palestine: The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is formed. Tunisia: The Festival International du Film Non Professionel de Kelibia is founded to exhibit works by amateur North African filmmakers. Turkey: Metin Erksan’s Dry Summer (1963) wins the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. The flagship festival of Turkish domestic cinema, Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, is launched.

1965 Lebanon: UNESCO establishes the Arab Cinema Liaison Center in Beirut.

1966 Algeria: Gillo Pontecorvo’s landmark film about the Algerian War, The Battle of Algiers, is released. Iraq: The first Baghdad Film Festival is held. Tunisia: Gammarth Studios are established as part of SATPEC. The Carthage Film Festival is founded by Tahar Cheriaa.

1967 Algeria: The Centre National du Cinéma (CNC) and the Institut National Cinéma (INC) are dissolved into the Office National pour le Commerce et l’Industrie Cinématographiques (ONCIC) as the central agency for administering Algerian film production. Bahrain: The Bahrain Cinema Company is established. Egypt/Israel/Jordan/Palestine/Syria: 5–10 June: The Six-Day War takes place, marking the beginning of the expanded Israeli occupation. Iran: The International Festival of Films for Children and Young Adults is held for the first time.

1968 Egypt: Shadi Abdel-Salam’s sole feature, The Night of Counting the Years (aka The Mummy), is released. France: May: Students and workers, including many from the North African diaspora, strike in France against oppression and exploitation under the conservative administration of Charles de Gaulle. Iraq: The Ba‘th Party comes to power. Morocco: Conquer to Live, codirected by Mohamed Abderrahman Tazi and Ahmed Mesnaoui, becomes the first postindependence Moroccan feature. Palestine: The Palestine Film Unit is established in Jordan. Tunisia: The Dawn, directed by Omar Khlifi, becomes the first postindependence Tunisian feature. United Arab Emirates: The Deira Cinema opens in Dubai, becoming the first film theater in the UAE.

1969 Algeria: ONCIC takes over film distribution and exhibition. Iran: The beginnings of the Iranian New Wave are signaled by the release of The Cow (Dariush Mehrjui) and Qeysar (Masud Kimiai); Abbas Kiarostami is instrumental in setting up the cinematic affairs department of the IIDCYA (Kanoon) and will make many of his short films and early features there over the following years. Syria: The National Film Organization (NFO) is founded.

1970 Egypt: Death of Nasser and succession of Anwar Sadat to the presidency. Jordan/Palestine: The events of Black September result in thousands of Palestinian deaths and lead to the expulsion of the PLO to Lebanon, where Palestinian Revolution Cinema blossoms.

1971 Bahrain: Hamad and the Pirates: The Phantom Dhow, directed by Roy Edward Disney, becomes the first narrative feature produced in Bahrain. Iran: The lavish celebration of 2,500 years of monarchy in Iran is held at Persepolis, Cyrus the Great’s ancient city, in an attempt to legitimate and glorify the shah’s rule. Kuwait: The Cruel Sea, directed by Khalid M. Al Siddiq, becomes the first narrative feature produced in Kuwait. Palestine: The first Palestinian film, With Our Souls, with Our Blood, produced by the Palestine Film Unit, is released.

1972 Egypt: The immensely popular Souad Hosni vehicle Watch Out for Zuzu (Hassan El-Imam) is released. Syria: The first Damascus International Film Festival is held. Turkey: Yeşilçam peaks with an annual production of 300 films.

1973 Egypt/Israel/Palestine/Syria: 6 October: The Yom Kippur–Ramadan War begins.

1974 Algeria: The OAA is integrated into ONCIC. Algerian distributors boycott ONCIC to protest state control of distribution and exhibition. Israel: The Israel Film Archive is opened. Syria: The Damascus Cinema Club is founded.

1975 Algeria: The Algiers Charter on African Cinema is adopted at the Second Congress of the Fédération Panafricaine des Cinéastes (FEPACI). Chronicle of the Years of Embers, directed by Mohamed Lakhdar-Hamina, an epic film about the decades-long anticolonial struggle in Algeria, is released; it marks the most expensive and extravagant Algerian film to date and puts Algerian cinema on the international map. Lebanon: 13 April: The second Lebanese Civil War begins and will last 15 years, disrupting the “golden age” of Lebanese cinema. Morocco/Western Sahara: November: The Green March sees Moroccan troops and civilians enter the former Spanish Sahara, to claim the land as part of a Greater Morocco.

1976 Algeria: The release of Omar Gatlato, directed by Merzak Allouache, marks a turning point in Algerian cinema from revolutionary cinéma moujahid to contemporary cinéma djidid. Tunisia: Fatma 75, directed by Selma Baccar, becomes the first Tunisian film directed by a woman.

1977 Iraq: The Iraqi film industry is nationalized by the Ba‘th government.

1978 Algeria: The “Nouba” of the Women of the Chenoua, directed by Assia Djebar, becomes the first Algerian film directed by a woman. Israel/Lebanon: 14 March: Israel invades southern Lebanon (Operation Litani).

1979 Iran: The shah is overthrown during the Iranian Revolution, and an Islamic government under the control of the Aytollah Ruhollah Khomeini is gradually instituted. Israel: The Fund for the Promotion of Israeli Quality Films, a revision of the Bill for the Promotion of Israeli Films, is established. Menachem Golan’s Cannon Films becomes the first genuinely transnational film production company.

1980 Iran/Iraq: The Iran–Iraq War begins, provoking a new genre of “sacred defense” war films in Iran. Turkey: The 12 September 1980 military intervention and the junta government of 1980–1983 slow the pace of domestic filmmaking and prevent the production of political and sex films.

1981 Egypt: Assassination of Anwar Sadat. He is succeeded as president by Hosni Mubarak.

1982 Iran: February: Inception of the Fajr International Film Festival. June: The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance is given power to regulate cinema in Iran through a series of policies that attempt to ensure accordance with the Islamic Republic’s values, requiring all films made in the country to obtain a series of approvals at various stages of their production and all films shown in the country to receive an exhibition permit dictating when and where they may be screened. Israel/Lebanon: 6 June: Israel invades southern Lebanon (Operation Peace for Galilee). 16–18 September: The Sabra and Shatila Massacre takes place in the named municipality and Palestinian refugee camp near Beirut. Israfest is founded to promote Israeli cinema in the United States. Morocco: The Embers, directed by Farida Bourquia, becomes the first Moroccan film directed by a woman. Palestine: The leadership of the PLO is exiled from Lebanon to Tunisia. Turkey: Şerif Gören’s The Way shares the award for best film at the Cannes Film Festival.

1983 Egypt: The Bus Driver (Atef El-Tayeb) is released. It is often credited as announcing the beginning of the New Realist movement, partially a response to Anwar Sadat’s Infitah (“Open Door” policy). Iran: The Farabi Cinema Foundation is established to oversee the film industry and later becomes instrumental in subtitling films for international festival screenings. Israel: The first Jerusalem International Film Festival is held.

1984 Maghreb: The Fonds Sud Cinéma is established by the French government to support the influence of Francophonie in the Global South. Algeria: Entreprise Nationale de Production Cinématographique (ENAPROC) and Entreprise Nationale de Distribution et d’Exploitation Cinématographiques (ENADEC) succeed the ONCIC as the central agencies for administering the cinema sector.

1986 Iran: The Runner (Amir Naderi) and Bashu, the Little Stranger (Bahram Beyzai) signal a resurgence in Iranian cinema after the revolution, and begin its acknowledgment as one of the world’s most important cinemas by international audiences and critics.

1987 Algeria: November: The Centre Algérien pour l’Art et l’Industrie Cinématographiques (CAAIC) replaces ENAPROC and ENADEC as the central agency for administering the cinema sector. RTA resources are regrouped into the Entreprise Nationale de Productions Audiovisuelles. Palestine: Wedding in Galilee, directed by Michel Khleifi, becomes the first Palestinian film shot within historic Palestine and backed by European funding. 9 December: The First Intifada erupts.

1988 Iran/Iraq: The Iran–Iraq War ends. Israel: The Berkey-Humphries Studio merges with the Israel Motion Picture Studios to form United Studios of Israel. United Arab Emirates: The Wayfarer, directed by Ali Al Abdul, becomes the UAE’s first domestically produced feature film.

1989 Iran: Where Is the Friend’s House? begins Abbas Kiarostami’s so-called Koker Trilogy, which moves from humanist realism to pseudo-documentary and intensive self-reflexivity, while Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s Wedding of the Blessed marks a decisive break from the Islamist themes of his earlier works. June: Ayatollah Khomeini dies. Jordan: The Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation is established in Amman. Lebanon: A business mogul orchestrates the Taef Agreement, in which the Lebanese militias agree to end the civil war.

1990 Iraq/Kuwait: 2 August: Iraq invades Kuwait. Turkey: The first private television channel, Magic Box Inter Star 1, begins broadcasting, affecting the course of cinema in Turkey and soon putting an end to the Yeşilçam era, as numerous Turkish filmmakers will come to find work in television.

1991: Cold War ends. Iran: February: Rakshan Bani-Etemad wins the best director prize for her controversial Nargess at the Fajr International Film Festival. Iraq: 17 January: The United States invades Iraq, thus beginning the Gulf War. Turkey: A small output of 33 films, most of them not released theatrically, marks the end of the late Yeşilçam period and the shift from the popular Yeşilçam industry to the post-Yeşilçam period, or new cinema of Turkey, putting an end to the Yeşilçam era.

1992 Algeria: January: The success of the Islamic Salvation Front in the first round of national elections leads to an army intervention, the postponement of subsequent elections, and the beginning of a 10-year civil war. Investment in and production of cinema declines precipitously over this period. Lebanon: The Tornado, directed by Samir Habchi, becomes the first Lebanese post–Civil War film.

1993 Algeria: October: The cinema sector is privatized, and CAAIC funding is severely limited. Israel/Palestine: The New Israeli Fund for Film and Television is established. 13 September: The Oslo Peace Accords are launched.

1994 Egypt: Naguib Mahfouz is stabbed in Cairo. Tunisia: SATPEC is dissolved.

1996 Palestine: The Cinema Production and Distribution Center is established by Rashid Masharawi in Ramallah. Turkey: The first hit of the new cinema of Turkey, The Bandit (Yavuz Turgul), is released, and domestic films once again find opportunities for theatrical release.

1997 Iran: May: Abbas Kiartostami’s Taste of Cherry wins the Palme d’or, the Cannes Film Festival’s highest honor. August: Mohammed Khatami, previously head of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and a moderate force in Iranian politics, is elected president, leading to greater leniency in the imposition of restrictions on the cinema and the release of some previously banned films. The Iranian Documentary Filmmakers Association (IRDFA) is created to aid in directing, producing, and distributing documentary films in Iran. Lebanon: The first Beirut International Film Festival is held.

1998 Algeria: The government dismantles CAAIC and its affiliates; 217 employees lose their jobs. Iran: Mohsen Makhmalbaf shoots The Silence in Tajikistan. Israel: The Bill for Cinema is passed. Lebanon: West Beirut, directed by Ziad Doueiri, draws large audiences to its premier at the Beirut International Film Festival, thus marking the beginning of a cinematic renaissance in Lebanon.

1999 Iran: Children of Heaven (Majid Majidi, 1997) is a breakthrough hit in the United States and is nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Film category. Morocco: King Hassan II dies; his son, Mohammed VI, accedes to the throne and begins lifting certain repressive government measures, including some of those involving film censorship.

2000 Iran: Three Iranian films, The Apple (Samira Makhmalbaf), Djomeh (Hassan Yektapanah), and A Time for Drunken Horses (Bahnman Qobadi) win major prizes at the Cannes Film Festival. Qobadi establishes Mij films to promote Kurdish cinematic culture. Israel/Lebanon/Palestine: May: Israel withdraws from southern Lebanon, ceding victory to Hezbollah. Palestinian refugees rush to the fenced border to meet relatives, as depicted in Mai Masri’s Frontiers of Dreams and Fears. July: Oslo negotiations fail. 29 July: The Al-Aqsa Intifada erupts.

2002: Israel: Hasbara Handbook: Promoting Israel on Campus is published, officially formalizing the titular cultural diplomacy project.

2003 Iraq: February: The United States leads an invasion of Iraq, thus beginning the Iraq War. Jordan: July: The Royal Film Commission (RFC) and the Amman Filmmakers Cooperative are established. Western Sahara: The International Sahara Film Festival, also known as the FiSahara Film Festival, or simply FiSahara, is started by Peruvian filmmaker Javier Corcurera.

2004 Maghreb: The French Centre National du Cinéma, in partnership with the Intergovernmental Agency for Francophonie, improves support schemes for screenwriting and writer-in-residence programs. Palestine: The Palestinian Film Foundation (PFF) is founded in the United Kingdom to coordinate Palestinian film festivals and seminars throughout that country. Turkey: Fatih Akın’s Head-On wins the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. United Arab Emirates: The Dubai International Film Festival is launched.

2005 Algeria: Assia Djebar becomes the first North African woman elected to the Académie Française. Lebanon: Former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri is assassinated by a car bomb in Beirut, setting off the Cedar Revolution, which results in the withdrawal of Syrian troops from the country. Iran: Conservative populist Mahmoud Ahmadinejad becomes president. Palestine: Paradise Now, directed by Hany Abu-Assad, becomes the first Palestinian film accepted for entry into the U.S. Academy Awards. Shashat is established in Ramallah to support Palestinian women’s filmmaking. United Arab Emirates: A Dream, directed by Hani Al-Shibani, becomes the first UAE-produced feature to screen at an international film festival. Yemen: A New Day in Old Sana’a, directed by Bader Ben Hirsi, becomes the first feature film from Yemen.

2006 Israel/Lebanon: 12 July–14 August: The 33-day Israel–Hezbollah War takes place as Israel reinvades Lebanon, becoming the focus of several films, including Under the Bombs, directed by Philippe Aractingi, and I Want to See, directed by Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige. Saudi Arabia: How’s It Going?, directed by Izidore Musallam, becomes the first Saudi-funded feature film.

2007 Yemen: December: The first-ever Yemeni film festival is held at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). United Arab Emirates: The Middle East International Film Festival, renamed Abu Dhabi Film Festival in 2010, is launched.

2008 Egypt: 27 July: Youssef Chahine, the prolific and probably best-known of all Arab filmmakers, dies in Cairo. Israel/Palestine: December: The Israel Defense Forces massively invade the Gaza Strip. Turkey: Domestic cinema in Turkey sells more tickets than foreign films for the first time since the Yeşilçam years, and all 10 top-grossing films are domestic products. Nuri Bilge Ceylan wins the best director award at the Cannes Film Festival with his Three Monkeys.

2009 Algeria: The National Amazigh Film Festival begins in Tizi Ouzou. Iran: Opposition to disputed election results in Iran is partly coordinated and publicized online through the use of YouTube and Twitter. Palestine: Amreeka (Cherien Dabis), arguably the first Palestinian American feature film, is released to critical acclaim in North America.

2010 Iraq: August: The United States begins combat troop withdrawal from Iraq. Israel: The Reut Institute codifies the hasbara project in “Building a Firewall against Israeli Delegitimation: Conceptual Framework.” Jordan: The Karama Human Rights Film Festival is established in Amman.

2011 Algeria: 24 February: The 19-year state of emergency is lifted. Egypt: 25 January–11 February: Popular uprising leads to the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak. Bahrain: February: Popular protests erupt against the governing Bahraini monarchy. 14 March–4 July: Saudi Arabian military troops intervene to quash the antigovernment protests. Iran: February: A Separation, directed by Asghar Farhadi, wins an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Film category. Kuwait: 28 November: Prime Minister Nasser Al-Sabah resigns under corruption allegations. Lebanon: Where Do We Go Now?, directed by world cinema darling Nadine Labaki, becomes the highest-grossing Lebanese film. Syria: 26 January: Civil crisis breaks out as multiple forces with various foreign backers attempt, ultimately unsuccessfully, to compel the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad. Tunisia: 14 January: President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali is overthrown after popular protests. Yemen: 27 January: Revolution breaks out across the country.

2012 Egypt: 30 June: Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi is inaugurated president of Egypt. Israel/Palestine: December: The Israel Defense Forces bomb the Gaza Strip in Operation Pillar of Defense. Yemen: 25 February: President Ali Abdullah Saleh is overthrown.

2013 Egypt: 3 July: President Mohamed Morsi is overthrown in a military coup d’état. Palestine: Omar, directed by Hany Abu-Assad, becomes the first Palestinian film entirely funded by Palestinian donors.

2014 Egypt: 8 June: General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi assumes the presidency of Egypt. Iraq: January: Civil crisis erupts. Israel/Palestine: July: The Israel Defense Forces bomb the Gaza Strip in Operation Protective Edge. United Arab Emirates: The Abu Dhabi Film Festival closes.

2015 Lebanon: A record 35 films are produced in Lebanon. Waves ’98, directed by Ely Dagher, wins the short film Palme d’or at the Cannes Film Festival. Saudi Arabia/Yemen: January: President Mansour Hadi is overthrown following a Houthi insurgency from the north. March: Saudi attacks on Yemen begin—with support from Western powers.

2016 Iran: 4 July: Internationally renowned, award-winning Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami dies in Paris.

2017 Iraq: December: Civil crisis terminates. Kuwait: The Kuwait Film Festival is inaugurated. Lebanon: The Insult, directed by Ziad Doueiri, becomes the first Lebanese film to be nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film category of the Academy Awards. United Arab Emirates: The Dubai International Film Festival closes.

2018 Iran: May: The United States withdraws from the Iran nuclear deal, leading to the heightening of sanctions, in four stages, against Iran, which come into full effect in November. Lebanon: Capernaum, directed by Nadine Labaki, becomes the first Lebanese film to receive a Golden Globe nomination (for that award ceremony’s 2019 installment).

2019 Algeria: 2 April: President Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigns after several months of popular protest. Iran: November: Protests regarding fuel price rises, beginning in Shiraz, lead to widespread civil unrest and a violent government response. Iraq: November: Anticorruption—and some anti-Iranian—protests lead to the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi. Lebanon: 29 October: President Rafiq Hariri resigns in the face of popular protests calling for a new government. Sudan: 11 April: President Omar al-Bashir is ousted after civilian protests lead to a loss of military support.

2020 Iran/Iraq: 3 January: The U.S. assassination of Major General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad escalates international tensions and portends escalating violence throughout the Middle East.