Cinema of North Africa and the Middle East

Exploration of filmmaking in North Africa. How has film represented the status, debates and stakes of human rights in North Africa? Film made before and since the Arab Spring will serve as material to discuss freedom of assembly, speech, artistic expression in North Africa. We will consider the conditions of film production, from technical, political and social perspectives and how low-budget and often state run cinema production differs from Hollywood cinema. Considerations of the social and political context of film production remains important given the limits imposed by government and social censorship and lack of funding. We will discuss the thematic content of the films and how Western viewers respond to the issues raised in the films. In what way do we view films through human rights discourses?