Underrated Films

hidden gems of the filmmaking world.

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Are You Glad I’m Here (2018)

A millennial American girl befriends a Lebanese housewife and disrupts her ordered life; one night they become accidental partners-in-crime.

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Heaven Without People (2017)

When a large family comes together for the first time in two years over Easter lunch, tensions bubble to the surface in surprising ways as they navigate an unforeseen conflict that threatens to derail their reunion. Older and younger generations clash as each of the family members confront their own political and moral hypocrisies and slowly unravel the ties that bind. 

Arabic: غداء العيد‎, Ghada El Eid

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The Deserted Station (2002)

On a pilgrimage to Mashad from Tehran, a couple's transportation breaks down, far from any major town. The husband, a photographer, seeks help at a nearby village and encounters a teacher who offers to help. Whilst the husband and teacher go off to find a spare part, the wife, who used to be a teacher, takes over the teaching lessons in the village. It is clear that the children live there, in this strange deserted place, without any men, save the teacher and an old signal guard. As the day draws on, the children help to bring a new hope and life into the wife's heart. 

Scripted by Kambuzia Partovi (based on a story by Abbas Kiarostami).

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If You Meant To Kill Me (2014) directed by Widad Shafakoj

In Jordan, a woman threatened to get killed for honor can only be saved if she surrenders and is killed, or if she seeks protection from authorities that can offer her nothing. This is a film that talks about three women who have been imprisoned for their protection in Jordan, why and how they got to prison, and how this -unethical- shelter has changed their lives. All women have been detained under Jordanian laws that breach Jordan's human rights' agreement. Selected experts talk about the legal and humane aspects of this case, along with some reenactments that portray the horror these women lived before, during, and after going to prison. 

Available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl_DPqG1LFw

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Amal (2017) 

Amal is fourteen years old when she goes to Tahrir Square in Cairo during the Arab Spring to showcase. With youthful hubris she goes straight to the danger. This coming of age film follows her in the years that follow, a period in which the fearless Amal seeks her own identity in a country in transition. 

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“Do whatever you want... and have no fear.”

Amal (2017) directed by Mohammad Siam

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Where Is The Friend’s Home? (1987)

An 8 year old boy must return his friend's notebook he took by mistake, lest his friend be punished by expulsion from school.

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Father teaching his son math.

The Council (2014) directed by Yahya Alabdallah 

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The Council (2014)

A journey of three young Palestinians running for the students councils in refugees school in Jordan, from announcing the election till the end of the academic year.

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“Like a turtle. He retreated into his shell.” 

The Turtle’s Rage (2012) directed by Pary El-Qalqili 

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Schildkrötenwut (2012)

When I was 12 years old my father left us to return to Palestine. His dream to build a house and pursue the fight for freedom in Palestine failed. He was expelled by the Israelis. suddenly he was back in Berlin, ringing at our front door. My mother looked at him, did not say a word and let him in. Now he spends his days sitting in the cellar of our small row house. Withdrawn in his turtle shell. My mother lives upstairs. They are not fighting anymore. They try not to cross each other ́s path. Not a sound is to be heard. Only the creaking steps of my mother on the stairs. The whirr of the television. And my nagging questions to my father. The Turtle ́s Rage tells the story of a mysterious man, whose life has been molded by flight, expulsion, life in exile and the failed return to Palestine. A torn biography which was affected tremendously by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The film is composed of a daughter’s search for answers from her father. Answers he cannot give.

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Shéhérazade (2018)

Fresh out of juvenile detention and rejected by his mother, 17-year-old Zach begins living on the streets of France and falls for a young prostitute.

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Private Life (2018)

A couple coping with infertility struggle to keep their marriage going as they navigate through the world of adoption and assisted reproduction.

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E muet (2013)

Nanou's first true love story comes to an abrupt end. Rajwa treads carefully into a monogamous relationship. A five-year documentary portrait of three young women in contemporary Beirut conveyed through words and expressions. An extremely intimate record of the search for the form and foundation of love.

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E muet (2013) directed by Corine Shawi

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Through the Olive Trees (1994)

An Iranian director (Mohammad Ali Keshavarz) acts as go-between when his lead actors won't work together because of cultural differences. This Iranian movie about making movies wavers between a documentary and a fictional drama.

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Little Nicholas (2009)

Nicholas leads a peaceful existence. He has parents who love him, a gang of terrific friends to play with, and no desire for anything to change. But one day, Nicholas overhears a conversation between his parents which leads him to believe that his mother is expecting a child. He panics and imagines the worst: a little brother! Nicholas’ parents will no longer have time for him. To escape this disastrous fate, Nicholas embarks on a full-scale campaign to make himself indispensable to his parents.