for National Geographic News
Mamdooh Afdile was tired of seeing movies that portrayed Arabs as either terrorists or politically correct sidekicks.
So the 26-year-old Israeli Arab and first-time director borrowed U.S. $4,000 to make El-Zahme. The 14-minute film is about two brothers who find themselves reconsidering their relationship when the younger brother decides to abandon the mentally disabled older brother.
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"I'm trying to give people another perception of Arab characters than the ones they see on the news," Afdile said. "I want to show Arabs as real human beings, as complex people that make mistakes like everyone else."
Afdile's film is part of the first National Geographic All Roads Film Festival, which is designed to showcase indigenous and under-represented minority filmmakers from around the world.
The three-day festival, which starts today at National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C., also includes feature films, documentaries, music videos and animation, as well as live music and indigenous-art exhibits.
"The festival is critical in the current age of global conflict and mistrust," said Mark Bauman, a National Geographic Society staff person who directs the festival. "It is important to create venues that allow all of us to hear each other's stories."
Language Loss
More than 300 films from 16 countries were submitted, including works from Brazil, South Africa, Iran, Israel, Mexico, Peru, South Africa, Thailand, and the United States.
"I was amazed at the quality of the material," Bauman said. "There are a spectacular number stories out there to be told."
Bauman says that thousands of languages have disappeared over the last few decades, taking with them not only vast bodies of scientific knowledge but also traditional stories that may never be heard again.
"We want to create demand around storytelling in indigenous and minority communities so that these stories don't die," he said.
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