When Tupac Shakur spit tracks in the ‘90s about American racism, poverty, social injustice, and life in the hood, he probably had no idea that he would later become one of the most revered cultural icons for thousands of young Palestinians.

Slingshot Hip Hop, the DVD: $25 per copy for personal home use only"Slingshot Hip Hop," a 2008 documentary from the New York-based director, producer and editor Jackie Reem Salloum, follows the burgeoning Palestinian hip hop scene from the mixed (Arab and Jew) cities in Israel to the occupied territories of Gaza and the West Bank. The documentary focuses on the members of the first Palestinian hip hop crew, DAM, who describe how they learn English by translating 2Pac's lyrics into Arabic. [Levantine Cultural Center was the first organization to bring DAM to Southern California for a live performance, back in 2007.]

Love Park: your purchase benefits in part LCC (click image to buy)
Love Park may be for the City of Brotherly Love what cult classic Confederacy of Dunces was to the Big Easy. At first glance, LOVE Park is a timeless coming of age story in which the angst-ridden protagonist struggles to find his way. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is the stage for this modern day Greek tragedy, though at times it might have been the ancient Philadelphia of Asia Minor. The University of Pennsylvania and Temple University are akin to Dunces' Tulane University and the University of Louisiana, and Greek Orthodoxy rather than Catholicism explains the religious zeal and anguish.

Fictional Peter Pappas is the middle son in a Greek-American family ingrained in Old Country ways, yet vested in American pop culture. He lives with his priest father, mother and extended family-a family intent on keeping secrets in the name of tradition and sanctity. Both Peter and the plot itself straddle a ubiquitous midpoint. Details like Peter's July 4th birth date serve to accentuate the central Greek-American theme.

Levantine Cultural Center is pleased to sponsor a new project that builds bridges between Americans and the Middle East through both art and youth.

The Wedding SongWe saw an early screening of the latest film from writer/director Karin Albou (a progressive French Algerian Jewish filmmaker) and highly recommend "The Wedding Song" or "Le Chante des mariés." The two young women playing Nour and Myriam are both excellent, as are Simon Abkarian and Karin Albou herself. —Editor.

Tunis, 1942. Nour and Myriam, 16, have been friends since childhood. They share the same house in a modest neighborhood where Jews and Muslims live in harmony. Each one secretly desires the other girl's life: while Nour regrets that she doesn't go to school like her friend, Myriam dreams of love. She is envious of Nour's engagement to her cousin Khaled, a sort of fantasy of the charming Arabian prince that they both share. (See trailer below.)

Dismantling the Axis of Evil (new)

This program includes a brief review of roles in film and television, followed by a spirited dicussion, and questions from the audience. Panelists include Ahmed Ahmed, comedian and actor, Reza Aslan, author of No God, but god and How to Win a Cosmic War; John Tehranian, attorney and author of Whitewashed: America's Invisible Middle Eastern Minority; Maz Jobrani, actor and comedian ("Axis of Evil Comedy Tour"; "The Interpreter"); and Shiva Rose, actress ("David & Layla," "CSI Miami"), activist and playwright.

Garbage Dreams

Director/Producer: Mai Iskander
Executive Producer: Tiffany Schauer

U.S.A | 80 min.

Garbage Dreams follows three teenage boys born into the trash trade and growing up in the world's largest garbage village, on the outskirts of Cairo. It is the home to 60,000 Zaballeen-Arabic for "garbage people." Far ahead of any modern "Green" initiatives, the Zaballeen survive by recycling 80 percent of the garbage they collect. When their community is suddenly faced with the globalization of its trade, each of the teenage boys is forced to make choices that will impact his future and the survival of his community.

Click here for dates/showtimes and to purchase tix.

United4Iran event at UCLADesmond Tutu and other Nobel Peace Laureates, Iranian Poets and Artists Support July 25th Global Day of Action Protests in Iran Continue - Global Activism Increasing

In Los Angeles a coalition of student organizations, United4Iran.org, Levantine Cultural Center and others are presenting an evening of music, poetry, speeches and solidarity messages on Saturday, July 25, from six to nine pm. Among the presenters/performers are Amnesty International's Banafsheh Akhlaghi, Levantine Cultural Center advisor and author Reza Aslan, international vocalist Sussan Deyhim, actor and comedian Maz Jobrani, vocalists Mamak Khadem and Ziba Shirazi and many others.

Come visit the Levantine Cultural Center booth and pick up your free "Free Iran" tee-shirt, courtesy of American Apparel. Support freedom and democracy for Iranians when you gather for a live concert and multimedia presentation. Let the people of Iran know that we support their human and civil rights.

A press release from United4Iran quotes several prominent leaders and others:

 
The character of Agrin, contemplating the abyss...We watch the young girl walk in bare feet to the razor blade edge of the cliff, and hope she does not fall. The wind moans in our ears, dusty pebbles shift under her apprehensive steps, and her dark eyes search the hollow space behind her. She returns her gaze to the desolate canyon before her, and draws her feet to the precipice sharpened with snow. And no, she does not fall into the careening abyss. She jumps.