Bushra Qaraman and Makram Khouri in Canticle of the Stones

In response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, the College's Film Studies Program is sponsoring Muslim Worlds through Film, a series of films from the United States and the Middle East. The Sunday-evening series, which was launched October 14 with a showing of Benaat Chicago: Growing Up Arab and Female in Chicago, has been created to focus on the humanity of Muslim subjects in the United States and the Middle East. "The hope is to destabilize stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims, specifically as terrorist ‘types,' " says anthropology professor Debbora Battaglia, "and to promote conversation across the complex differences in our own community." She added, "If this series can bring together voices that might have been moved further apart by the atrocities of September 11, we will have accomplished some useful purpose." All films will be shown in Dwight 101 at 7:30 pm.

Benaat Chicago, by Jennifer Bing-Canar and Mary Zerkel, is a film about the lives of Arab American teenagers growing up on Chicago's southwest side. The filmmakers address stereotypes and racism toward Arabs and Arab women, while showing what makes many Arab Americans proud of their cultural heritage. Sister Shamshad Sheikh, adviser to MHC's Muslim community, facilitated a conversation with audience members after the showing of the film.

While the first film in the series is a documentary, the remainder are "among the best feature films out of the Middle East," said Battaglia. They "offer intimate portraits of the diversity of human experience and the texture of political events from that region." Nashid Al-Hajar's Canticle of the Stones will be screened Sunday, October 21. This film tells the story of two Palestinians, reunited in their forties, who had just fallen in love nearly twenty years earlier when the man was imprisoned for political activity. They meet and fall in love again, against a backdrop of resistance and repression.

Moshen Makhmalbaf's The Cyclist will be shown Sunday, October 28. It revolves around an Afghan refugee named Nassim who needs money for his wife's medical bills. An unscrupulous promoter suggests that Nassim enter a bicycle marathon. Along the way, food vendors and others trade on his suffering. This is "a deeply moving feature film and a modern classic," according to Battaglia. Religion professor Marion Holmes Katz will introduce the film.

The final film in the series, Life and Nothing More, by Abbas Kiarostami, will be screened Sunday, November 4. A stunning inquiry into the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in northern Iran in 1990, the film follows a father and son who travel to Quoker. Along the way, they meet earthquake survivors who desperately and valiantly work to reconstruct their lives. "This is a beautiful and moving film, which invites us to reflect on the human toll of catastrophic events," Battaglia said.

Thomas Wartenberg, chair of film studies and professor of philosophy, said that the program is sponsoring this series of films because "we believe it will allow students and other community members to develop a richer and more nuanced awareness of Muslims than the broadcast media have generally fostered. We hope it will assist in developing genuine understanding of different cultures that can lead to more sensitivity and less hostility. It's just a small effort in these difficult and troubled times, but it's something that we believe is necessary and that we can do as film scholars."