18th Annual Twin Cities Arab Film Fest

“expand[ing] the forms and conceptual frameworks of Arab and SWANA culture.”

Quinn McClurg

Spanning across five days, the Twin Cities Arab Film Festival (TCAFF) has something for everyone—many films for many aspects of Arab and SWANA existence. Hosted by the woman-led contemporary arts organization, Mizna, at The Main Cinema, TCAFF includes over 14 films and six events, with several panels, workshops, communal meals, and even a “!!RAGE KARAOKE!!” punk art performance.

Though I only saw the screening of Amr Gamal’s “The Burdened,” the objective of Mizna saturated every part of the film: “question[ing] and expand[ing] the forms… of Arab and SWANA culture.” Set five years into the Yemeni Civil War, a couple scrapes through their everyday life within Aden, Yemen. Already struggling to feed their three children, they learn another one is on the way, then wrestle with the financial, cultural, and religious implications of securing an abortion. No detail is spared, be it the couple’s medical bribes or trips to grandmother’s, the husband’s abuse or the innocent joy of their unaware children.

The camera lingers on each shot of everyday life within the city long after the main family leaves the scene—the viewer comes to know Aden through its humming marketplaces, run-down apartments, vivid family homes, and anxious hospital rooms—angles and perspectives unseen entirely to most Western audiences.

These films are anti-colonial sheerly by the fact of embodying humanity and inspiring empathy into otherwise unseen and demonized cultures. Even in the middle of a civil war, there is time for prayer; in rubble, there is still triage, kindness, mutual aid.

These multitudes were embodied viscerally within the aforementioned “Rage Karaoke”—a Palestinian metal band rages through improvisations while volunteers from the audience scream-read print-outs of local anti-Palestinian legislature on stage. It’s all screaming and crying, cheering and dancing, heavy metal and traditional instrumentation—revelry and resistance. Elders, punks, community members, and artists were all brought together for one night in spite of codified, legal discrimination.

TCAFF is more than the sum of its parts, it is the community that it brings together; Mizna specializes in creating these communal spaces for grief and catharsis, harnessing reflection and resistance on-screen, in-print, and in-person. 

Hold space, bear witness, and further education—attend next year.