The Arab Film Club grew out of an Arab play reading club founded during lockdown in July 2020. Over the course of a year we read theatre texts by a variety of Arab writers – everything from adaptations of the 8th Century Arabian Nights to innovative theatre from the Egyptian 1920s, Syrian 1950s to the Palestinian revolutionary Ghassan Kanafani and contemporary plays published by the diaspora.
It was an empowering space for us to come together and explore texts from our region, especially whilst theatres across the country were shuttered due to lockdown. After a few sessions, and the realisation that the Arab world has so much to offer in terms of art and culture, we decided to expand into cinema. Once theatres and venues reopened we wound down the play readings… but the film club lived on!
