America So BeautifulIRAN/AMERICA Then and Now (1979-2009): A Public Conversation and Special Screening of the feature "America So Beautiful" (visit americasobeautiful.com), with a panel discussion featuring writer/director Babak Shokrian, costar Fariborz David Diaan and international vocal star Sussan Deyhim, moderated by author Mark LeVine.Presented by CODEPINK Women for Peace (codepinkalert.org), Levantine Cultural Center (levantinecenter.org) and Sociarts (sociarts.com).
Movie tickets $10, available in advance or at the door, call 310.657.5511 or 310.657.5522.
Palestinian-Lebanese filmmaker Mai MasriMai Masri is a Palestinian-Lebanese female filmmaker.
Mixed Roots Fest: how many of us are the product of parents from different cultures or religions?How many of us are the product of parents from two different cultures, religions or nationalities?
Nadine LabakiNadine Labaki is best known for her film Caramel which she co-wrote, directed, and starred in.
Abdullah al-BaradouniAbdullah Al-Baradouni was a Yemeni writer and poet. Al-Baradouni was born in Zarajat Baradoun in Dhamar, Yemen. When he was six years old he came down with smallpox leaving him blind. Al-Baradouni started writing poetry when he was 13 years old. He published 12 poetry books and six books on topics ranging from politics to folklore to literature. He is considered Yemen's most famous poet. He advocated for democracy and women's writes and wrote poems critical of the government and revolutionaries who overthrew them. Because of his beliefs Al-Baradouni spent time in prison throughout the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Muhammad al-Gharsi is one of the most famous modern Yemeni poets. He is a friend of Ali Abdullah Saleh, the current President of Yemen, and former President of Yemen Arab Republic. Before the unification of Yemen, al-Gharsi was viewed as "an eloquent spokesman for the republican regime."