“Wonder Woman,” the latest addition to DC’s blockbuster superhero universe, was scheduled to be released in Lebanon on May 31. The day of it was meant to open, the movie’s theatrical run was abruptly halted by the announcement that Lebanon’s interior ministry had banned the film because actor Gal Gadot (aka Wonder Woman) is an Israeli citizen.
This wasn’t a complete surprise: Lebanon and Israel have been in an official state of war for decades; Lebanese law boycotts Israeli products, and bars Lebanese citizens from traveling to Israel or having contacts with its citizens.
And it has happened before, albeit on a smaller scale. “The Attack,” Ziad Doueiri’s 2012 adaptation of Yasmina Khadra’s novel, was ultimately denied screening permission in Lebanon because the Lebanese-born filmmaker had shot the film in Israel and Palestine with an Israeli cast and crew. But unlike “The Attack,” “Wonder Woman” has nothing to do with Israel.
This wasn’t a complete surprise: Lebanon and Israel have been in an official state of war for decades; Lebanese law boycotts Israeli products, and bars Lebanese citizens from traveling to Israel or having contacts with its citizens.
And it has happened before, albeit on a smaller scale. “The Attack,” Ziad Doueiri’s 2012 adaptation of Yasmina Khadra’s novel, was ultimately denied screening permission in Lebanon because the Lebanese-born filmmaker had shot the film in Israel and Palestine with an Israeli cast and crew. But unlike “The Attack,” “Wonder Woman” has nothing to do with Israel.
- 6/3/2017
- by Jim Quilty
- Indiewire
Few Arab films have dared to confront the sinister interplay between government and Islam as boldly as The Preacher (Mawlana). Capturing the dark atmosphere of the times, director Magdi Ahmed Ali brings Ibrahim Issa’s 2012 novel Mawlana/Our Master to the screen with verve, emotion and a welcome dose of humor. Its focused critique of the way politics manipulates religion for its own ends rings painfully true, and its topicality should offer some breakout potential after festival exposure starts it on its way. Its gala premiere in Dubai in an uncut version was a feather in the film festival’s liberal hat.
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- 12/10/2016
- by Deborah Young
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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