Sun 24th Feb 5.00pm - Ciné lumière

Lebanon / UK / Belgium 1984. With Nabila Zietouni, Rafiq Ali Ahmed, Raja Neham. 93 mins. 12A

Leila and the Wolves draws on Arab oral tradition to explore the collective memory of women and their hidden role in the history of Lebanon and Palestine. Utilizing extraordinary imagery, the film offers a surreal depiction of a time traveler dressed in a white gown traveling through the ages bearing witness to momentous events: the division of Palestine, the role of women in the liberation movement. Poetic and audacious in form, Lebanese-Jewish director Heiny Srour's film was controversial on its release and remains a landmark film from the Arab world.

Still image courtesy of the BFI