film

There’s a lot of interest in the art and cultural map of the Middle East these days and we have a feeling ideas on Gulf Futurism, as proliferated by Sophia Al Maria, and Slavoj Žižek’s Living in the End of Times might have something to do with it (not mentioning Bidoun, those memes and the ‘Arab Spring’) . But there are plenty more impressions of the diverse region to be had, hence, the ICA‘s Off-Site: Cinema on The Steps:Contemporary Middle Eastern Film in London, running from Tuesday, August 20, to Thursday, August 22.

It features three nights of screenings curated by Abdellah Karroum, Alia Al Senussi and Abdullah Al Turki, and Ahmed Mater, including restored Egyptian classic The Night of Counting the Years (Al Momia), Manal Al Dowayan’s silent mash-up of belly dancing The Legends, and a talk by fellow contemporary artist and event curator Al Turki himself.

See the ICA website for details. **

A documentary from Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney, We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks is a quick turnaround examination of the controversy surrounding the website responsible for one of the biggest security breaches in U.S. military history. Following the (in)famous faces behind it, namely activist Julian Assange and a then 22-year-old Private Bradley Manning, who was responsible for the 2010 intelligence leak, the documentary explores the external machinations and personal failings that led to Manning’s arrest and Assange’s exile.

Not only a highly-regarded and influential documentarian responsible for other hard-hitting and politically significant films like Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room and Taxi to the Dark Side, Gibney also directed 2008’s Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. Screenings at the ICA run from Friday July 12, to Thursday, July 18. See the ICA website for more details. **