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Film: Le Petit Nicolas (Little Nicholas) (6+)

Origin: France

Location: Madinat Arena

Timings: 15:00 to 16:30

Synopsis: Le Petit Nicolas (Little Nicholas) is a French children’s book, created by René Goscinny and illustrated by Jean-Jacques Sempé, first published in 1959. Now, in his hilarious big-screen debut, we meet the precocious Nicolas, who revels his position as only child in his family. But this sunny existence is threatened when Nicolas suspects his eccentric parents are planning their second baby. In a bold, desperate (and thoroughly insane) plan, he hires a contract killer to do away with the baby once it is born. However, despite Nicolas’s resolve, all manner of problems arise, which threaten to put paid to his murderous schemes…

Film: Women Without Men (18+)

Origin: Germany, Austria, France

Location: MOE 1

Timings: 18:30 - 20:10

Synopsis: The first feature film by Iranian artist Shirin Neshat looks at the lives of four Iranian women during the politically tumultuous summer of 1953. Fakhri, a middle-aged women trapped in a loveless marriage, must contend with her feelings for an old flame. Zarin, a young prostitute, is devastated to realise that she can no longer see the faces of men. Munis, a politically-aware young woman, is oppressed by her pious brother, while her friend Faezeh longs only to marry Munis’ brother. As the political turmoil swells in the streets of Tehran, each woman is magically liberated from her predicament, finding hope in a beautiful orchard.

Film: Janala (The Window) (15+)

Origin: India

Location: MOE 10

Timings: 21:30 - 23:15

Synopsis: When impecunious writer Bimal pays a chance visit to his old school, he unwittingly unravels his hitherto peaceful existence. Noticing a gaping space where once was an ornate window, Bimal decides to do whatever it takes to get the window fixed. However, he soon regrets his generous impulse. Having sold off his wife’s gold earrings (unbeknownst to her), borrowed cash, used up his savings — he finally gets the replacement window. Unfortunately, the corrupt school authorities refuse his gift and to add to the misery, his pregnant wife leaves him. Now Bimal is left alone, broke — and with an ornate window.

Film: Tehran Bedoune Mojavez (Tehran Without Permission) (18+)

Origin: France, Iran

Location: MOE 8

Timings: 22:15 - 23:40

Synopsis: Sepideh Farsi left Tehran in her teens, yet has always remained under the spell of Iran’s lively capital. In Tehran Without Permission, Farsi creates a collage-style portrait of a city in flux. Via a mixture of characters and cityscapes, Farsi’s covert filming reveals a city beset with social and political tensions, yet held aloft by the indomitable spirit and character of its population. Featuring a mixture of footage around the capital with more in-depth essays dealing with diverse aspects of life in contemporary Iran, this is a compelling account of a city in transition.

Film: Z’har ((Un)Lucky) (PG)

Origin: Algeria, France

Location: MOE 11

Timings: 19:00 - 20: 20

Synopsis: Director Fatma-Zohra Zamoum plays herself in this highly original and intriguing debut, interweaving a documentary-style account of her return to Algeria to shoot her film, employing members of her family along the way, with three mysterious, artfully-shot, fictional narratives. Alia, a photographer, is attempting to journey from Tunis to Constantine to see her sick father; Cherif, an aging writer, is grappling with the discovery of his own death via an announcement in the newspaper; their paths cross through Farid, the taxi driver, who guides them through a fraught Algerian landscape. Zamoun’s stylish film heralds a significant new talent in Algerian cinema.

Film: Brothers (18+)

Origin: USA, Spain

Location: MOE 3

Timings: 19:15 - 21:05

Synopsis: Captain Sam Cahill (Tobey Maguire) and younger brother Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal) are polar opposites. Sam’s a Marine, off on his fourth tour of duty, a steadfast married man and father to his daughters. Tommy, his charismatic young brother, is a drifter just out of jail who slides easily into his role as family provocateur on his first night out of prison. But once Sam is abroad and reported missing, Tommy’s role within the family changes dramatically...

Film: Garbage Dreams (PG)

Origin: USA

Location: MOE 5

Timings: 22:00 - 23:20

Synopsis: In Garbage Dreams’, we are introduced to three teenage boys who were born into the ‘trash trade’ - amidst the squalor, stench and noise of the world’s largest garbage village, on the outskirts of Cairo. It is home to 60,000 Zabbaleen, (Arabic for ‘garbage people’), pioneers of eco-friendly recycling practises, reusing up to 80 per cent of the trash they collect. This sense of economy and resourcefulness has come to the attention of some of the world’s largest waste-disposal corporations. The impact of this sudden interest, and the potential ramifications affect our three protagonists in a variety of life-changing ways.