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Kaleem Aftab

Kaleem Aftab

Contributor
London
Kaleem is the author of an authorised biography of Spike Lee titled Spike Lee: That’s My Story and I’m Sticking To It. He selects films for the East End Film Festival and gives programming advice to festivals around the globe. He has been working as a freelance journalist specialising in Arab, European and American indie cinema since 1999.
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Articles

‘Their Algeria’ takes on the story of Aicha and Mabrouk, filmmaker Lina Soualem’s paternal grandparents who ended their marriage after 62 years. Courtesy Lina Soualem
Director Lina Soualem tells her grandparents' story in new film

After 62 years of marriage, Aicha and Mabrouk are separating. Their granddaughter explores their relationship in directorial debut

FilmApril 14, 2020
Kaleem Aftab
Robert Fisk was in Idlib in 2018 to report on the conflict. Tinam Inc
The inside story on Britain's 'most famous foreign correspondent'

Canadian filmmaker Yung Chang documents Fisk's life as a journalist covering the Middle East for decades

FilmMarch 18, 2020
Kaleem Aftab
Mouna Hawa and Firas Nassar star in ‘Between Heaven and Earth’. Courtesy of Najwa Najjar
Why a destroyed Palestinian village is the real star of 'Between Heaven and Earth'

We learn about the long journey to a forgotten part of Palestine that inspired director Najwa Najjar to make her latest feature

FilmFebruary 13, 2020
Kaleem Aftab
Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce in ‘The Two Popes’ IMDb
Review: Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce shine in 'The Two Popes'

The film asks big questions about what type of leader, and man, is needed to helm the Catholic Church

FilmDecember 17, 2019
Kaleem Aftab
Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver in Marriage Story. Wilson Webb / Netflix
'Marriage Story' is the best love story in years - and it's about divorce

Laura Dern, Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson star in this much-lauded new film

FilmDecember 04, 2019
Kaleem Aftab
Elie Kamal shoots in infrared, making the trees a vivid hue Elie Kamal
What Lebanon’s abandoned railways reveal about the country's past

Poetic picture ‘Beirut Terminus’ has premiered at Cairo International Film Festival

FilmNovember 25, 2019
Kaleem Aftab
Muhammad Malas was the director of the first Syrian movie to be screened at the New York Film Festival. Nezar Andary
How Arab issues reverberate through Muhammed Malas's movies

The legendary Syrian director changed Abu Dhabi-based Nezar Andary’s outlook on identity

FilmNovember 23, 2019
Kaleem Aftab
Sami Bouajila and Najla Ben Abdallah in 'Bik Eneich - Un Fils'; the film will screen as part of Ciff's Arab Cinema Competition. Coutesy Jour2Fete
What to expect at this year's Cairo International Film Festival

The revitalised festival, which kicks off its 41st edition tomorrow, is putting the best of Arab cinema in the spotlight

FilmNovember 19, 2019
Kaleem Aftab
Egyptian actor Karim Kassem in a scene from his latest film ‘Sawah’, in which he plays a DJ who makes it to the World Championships.
Egyptian actor Karim Kassem on his new film and breaking stereotypes

The Egyptian actor tells us why he doesn’t want to be cast as a refugee or a terrorist

FilmOctober 13, 2019
Kaleem Aftab
Lina Al Abed talks to people who knew her father in 'Ibrahim: A Fate to Define', a film to uncover what happened to him. Tiff
Why director Lina Al Abed made a film about her father who disappeared

The Palestinian filmmaker speaks about separating fact from fiction in the search for her missing father and why she chose to confront her fears on screen

FilmOctober 01, 2019
Kaleem Aftab
Bushra Rozza attends a screening at the third El Gouna Film Festival with US actor Nate Parker. AFP
For Bushra it's more than just glitz and glamour at El Gouna

'We've been through a lot... we are now on more solid ground,' says the Egyptian singer and actress who is also the festival's chief operating officer

FilmSeptember 29, 2019
Kaleem Aftab
A scene from Mehdi M Barsaoui’s ‘A Son’ La Biennale Di Venezia
‘A Son’ raises the issues of modern-day Tunisia

Mehdi M Barsaoui won an award at the Dubai International Film Festival for a short film, and is now in Venice with his debut feature

FilmSeptember 03, 2019
Kaleem Aftab
Philippines First Lady Imelda Marcos arrives at the Elysee Palace, Paris, on May 26, 1976. AFP.
Imelda Marcos documentary tells a story of 'power, dynasty and history repeating itself'

The story of the former First Lady of the Philippines has been brought to life by American director Lauren Greenfield

FilmSeptember 01, 2019
Kaleem Aftab
‘Khartoum Offside’ tells the story of female footballers who dream of playing in the Women’s World Cup. Courtesy Marwa Zein
Marwa Zein on her new documentary about the Sudanese women's football team

The director twice detained while making ‘Khartoum Offside’ but tells us why she wants to film in the country again soon

FilmJuly 21, 2019
Kaleem Aftab
Nala is a queen only in name, she has no actual power. Courtesy Walt Disney Studios
Why 'The Lion King' fails its female characters

Despite a few modern-day changes, old habits die hard, and The Lion King remains a troubling story that reinforces gender stereotypes and patriarchy

FilmJuly 21, 2019
Kaleem Aftab
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