Durham
The Sparrow
Griffith Film Theater, Duke Campus Egyptian master filmmaker Youssef Chahine died last year at age 82, and he gets a retrospective screening tonight of The Sparrow, one of his more controversial efforts. This film tackles the once and future troublesome topic of the Arab world’s relationship with Israel. In 1972, when the film was released, Egypt and its neighbors were reeling from the outcome of the Six Day War of 1967, an event that redrew the world map in Israel’s favor and set a new paradigm for geopolitical reality that exists to this day. Chahine’s filma loose, episodic ensemble pieceblamed Egyptian corruption for the defeat; not surprisingly, the film was banned in his country. In fact, it was Chahine’s fate that his films would achieve their widest circulation in international film festivalsand college campuses. A 35 mm print of film begins at 8 p.m. in Griffith Film Theater. Admission is free. David Fellerath
