Arabic Short Films on YouTube
When there’s not enough time to watch a full movie and starting a mosalsal feels like too much, short films are an excellent choice. And for the short film enthusiasts among us, the Media Visual Audio (ميديا للمرئيات والصوتيات) channel on YouTube has a lot to offer. Type “الفيلم القصير” into the channel’s search bar to surface the short film options, including many with English subtitles. The style of most of these leans experimental and the stories tackle difficult topics including grief and violence.
Below is a summary of a few of my favorites from the channel, along with review questions in Arabic and English to get you thinking. All three of these stories take place in Syria during the ongoing war. They show how daily life goes on during difficult times and explore how it’s disrupted by the constant and unpredictable violence of war.
خلل / Disorder
The main characters of this very short film are two fathers whose daughters go to the same school. One man is a taxi driver and one is a baker. Both men start the day by dropping their daughters off at school, then going on to work, as usual. Partway into their day though, they learn that something terrible has happened near the school and rush to see if their daughters are okay.
Questions / أسألة
How do the men know that something happened at the school? And what happened at the school?
Are the girls alive? Why or why not?
١. كيف عرفوا الرجال انه صار شي بالمدرسة؟ وشو صار بالمدرسة؟
٢. عايشين البنات؟ ليش او ليش لا؟
كواليس / Appealable
Appealable tells the stories of a few different people with one thing in common: they’re all in court or on their way to the courthouse. A young woman is brought in by her father in order to marry the husband he’s chosen for her. Another woman is at the courthouse for her ex-husband’s sentencing hearing. Meanwhile, on a different floor, a middle-aged man struggles to figure out how to legally claim his dead wife’s estate.
Questions / أسألة
What happened between the woman at the court and her ex-husband, Amer Abd Alghani Zino?
Does the girl want to marry the man who her father wants her to marry? There’s something she’s afraid they will find out. What is it?
Why does Gaith have problems with the police?
. ١. شو صار بين المرأة بالمحكمة و بين جوزها السابق, عامر عبد الغني رينه؟
٢. البنت بدها تتزوج الرجل يلي ابوها بده ياها تتزوج منه؟ وفي شي يلي خايفة انه ابوها وخطيبها رح يكتشفوه. شو هو؟
٣. ليش غيث عنده مشاكل مع الشرطة؟
كبسة زر / The Press of a Button
The Press of a Button is a story about two households that have been impacted by the same violent event. In one household, a couple falls into arguments as they cope with their new reality in very different ways. In the other house, Aymad, a primary school teacher splits his time between work, visiting his fiancee in the hospital, and spending his evenings at home with his worried mother.
Questions / أسألة
١. ليش جومانة مقهورة؟ وشو المشكلة بينها وبين جوزها؟
٢. ليش جومانة راحت عللمدرسة؟ شو صار بالمدرسة قبل فترة؟
٣. ليش ايماد وامه تناقشوا؟ شو رأيها أنه شو لازم يعمل؟
Why is Joumana depressed? And what is the problem between her and her husband?
Why did Joumana go to the school? What happened at the school a while ago?
Why did Aymad and his mother argue? What does she think he should do?
