Cinedans WEB presents the special program: Inevitable Dances.

This WEB special draws attention to a number of films from the Middle East that have chosen dance to express urgent matters. The program consists of the documentary When Arabs Danced  by director Jawad Rhalib (available online in The Netherlands) and five dance shorts by makers from Iran and Lebanon (available online worldwide).

The program will be accompanied by interviews with the Iranian choreographer and filmmaker Tanin Torabi, and a Q&A with director Jawad Rhalib. This WEB special is available for free but we would appreciate your donations. All proceeds will be redirected to the International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk.

With this curated program, Cinedans also wants to draw attention to the current uprising in Iran, which is being put down with a heavy hand. We want to encourage all women, protesters and artists who stand up against the repression of the regime and risk imprisonment or worse.

We invite you to experience this collection of films that offer us insights into the worlds of the makers and their secret or inner struggles for freedom.

Scroll down to dive into the program.

We would appreciate your support!
All proceeds will be redirected to the International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk.
The ICFR’s mission is to advocate for and to act in solidarity with filmmakers facing persecution or severe threats to their personal safety, and will defend their right to continue their work, by mobilising the international film community. 

Freedom is a universal concept. But what if radicals in the name of Allah destroy that freedom? When Arabs Danced evokes the recent history of the Muslim world and the effects of the ideological turnaround on an international group of artists. Do they stubbornly continue their own art form, do they fight for their freedom of expression or does self-censorship seep into their work under the pressure of the outside world or their own community? Starting from a personal story, namely his shame at the belly dancing of his mother, filmmaker Jawad Rhalib searches for answers by following different artists during the creation of new work, from Belgian theatre-makers who struggle with Houllebecq’s Submission to a group of young people from the contemporary Egyptian dance scene.

The Dérive  IR | 2017 | 8’
Directed and choreographed by Tanin Torabi

A dancer moves among the people in an old bazaar in Tehran capturing the responses and reactions. Dance is prohibited in Iran.

In Case of Revolution Break the Glass  LB | 2020 | 5’
Directed by Wafa’a Celine Halawi and Rémie Maksoud

This film follows the journey of a woman’s internal revolution, filmed during the recent Lebanese revolution.

Snakes & Ladders  LB | 2021 | 7’
Directed by Nader Bahsoun Choreographed by Yara Boustany

Snakes & Ladders narrates the inner states of human bodies confronted with the crude reality of the broken city of Beirut.

Bellydance Vogue  FR, LB | 2020 | 5’
Directed and Choreographed by Hadi Moussally

Hadi’s birthday landed on the 3rd of April, 2020, during lockdown, and for the first time he celebrated it all by himself.

In Plain Sight  IR | 2020 | 11’
Directed and choreographed by Tanin Torabi 

Three performers merge in and interact with the flow in a boulevard in Tehran.

We would appreciate your support!
All proceeds will be redirected to the International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk. You can donate here:

We would appreciate your support!
All proceeds will be redirected to the International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk.
You can donate here: