When Arabs Danced

Society/Art, Belgium 2018

A fundamentalist hates life. For him, it presents temptation, a moving away from God and a loss of time before the celestial paradise with its rivers flowing with milk of eternal taste, its streams of wine, its delights and its virgins. Life is the product of disobedience and this disobedience is the work of the ARTIST. The fundamentalist resents the artist, who gives life to matter and leads pure souls away from paradise with sick ideas, a devilish drawing, a bewitching song or an evil dance… The artist is, therefore, the devil and in order to be able to kill him, the fundamentalist labels him the enemy of Allah. Formerly carefree, the Arab-Muslim world has now become the epicenter of a blind and often violent fundamentalism. Pressure from the fundamentalists overwhelms that of the moderates. The voice of reason struggles to be heard. In the face of this hopeless realization that is threatening our most basic freedoms, Jawad Rhalib questions Islamic Fascism and allows the voice of reason to speak in order to break what is now: “Be an artist and be quiet!”.
84 min
HD
Starting at 8
Audio language:
French
Subtitles:
DutchEnglish

Awards

Visions du Réel 2018, Nyon (Suisse) Grand Angle – Prix du Public

More information

Director:

Jawad Rhalib

Writer:

Jawad Rhalib

Composer:

Simon Fransquet

Sound Design:

Pierre Castin

Producer:

Nouredin Rhaleb

Original title:

Au temps où les Arabes dansaient

Original language:

Arabic

Format:

1.85:1 HD, Color

Age rating:

Starting at 8

Audio language:

French

Subtitles:

DutchEnglish