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Kaleem Aftab

Kaleem Aftab

Contributor
London
Kaleem is the author of an authorised biography of Spike Lee titled Spike Lee: That’s My Story and I’m Sticking To It. He selects films for the East End Film Festival and gives programming advice to festivals around the globe. He has been working as a freelance journalist specialising in Arab, European and American indie cinema since 1999.
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Best of Enemies: A History of US and Middle East Relations part 2: 1953 - 1984 by David B. and Jean-Pierre Filiu. Courtesy David B. and Jean-Pierre Filiu
Drawn from history

Volume 2 of the graphic novel, which is released on October 6, examines the post-war years from 1953 to 1982 as America became a superpower and the Cold War raged.

October 04, 2014
Shahid Kapoor, left, and Shraddha Kapoor in a scene from Haider, which was shot in Kashmir and faced some disruptions during filming last year. Courtesy UTV Motion Pictures
Actor Shahid Kapoor on what’s to be and not to be in Haider – a Bollywood adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet

The actor Shahid Kapoor and the filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj talk about their new drama Haider, Bollywood's modern-day adaptation of Hamlet that's set in Kashmir.

September 29, 2014
From left, the screenwriter Nilesh Maniyar, the director Shonali Bose and the actress Kalki Koechlin of Margarita, with a Straw at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. Maarten de Boer / Getty Images
Indian actress Kalki Koechlin ‘brilliant’ in role as disabled student in Margarita, with a Straw

Kalki Koechlin shines in this drama about a woman afflicted with celebral palsy who's determined to live life to the full.

September 13, 2014
From left, the actress Quvenzhané Wallis, the director Joan C Gratz, the actress/producer Salma Hayek, the director/writer Roger Allers and Mohammed Saeed attend the Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet premiere at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. Jason Merritt / Getty Images
Salma Hayek-produced Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, an animated film, receives high praise at Toronto Film Festival

Khalil Gibran's The Prophet, which had the audience clapping 20 minutes into the screening at the Toronto Film Festival, will be the closing night gala at the Ajyal Youth Film Festival in Doha later this year.

September 10, 2014
Badia, played by Maria Zreik, and her aunts in a scene from Suha Arraf’s Villa Touma. Courtesy Venice International Film Critics’ Week
Suha Arraf’s Villa Touma offers a world view that’s uniquely Palestinian yet very European

Screening at the Venice Film Festival, Villa Touma begins with the orphaned teenager Badia (Maria Zreik) coming to live with her aunts, Juliette (Nisreen Faour), Violet (Ula Tabari) and Antoinette (Cherien Dabis), three Palestinian Christian sisters who have lost their status due to the 1967 war.

September 02, 2014
Top 10 buzzworthy films at Toronto
Top 10 buzzworthy films at Toronto
August 31, 2014
From left, Alfre Woodard, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong'o, Steve McQueen and Sarah Paulson of 12 Years a Slave, which debuted at the Telluride film festival. Photo by Walter McBride
Toronto International Film Festival takes a stance on films debuting at niche Telluride festival

Does it really matter if you don’t get to launch your film at any of the big festivals – Cannes, Berlin, Venice and Toronto? That depends on the type of film.

August 31, 2014
Set in 1916 Arabia, Theeb tells the story of two brothers living with a Bedouin tribe. Courtesy La Biennale di Venezia
Naji Abu Nowar talks about exploring the Bedouin way of life in his first feature Theeb

Theeb by Naji Abu Nowar, which was developed by Sanad, is set in 1916 Arabia in 1916 and tells the story of two brothers living with a Bedouin tribe in a forgotten corner of the Ottoman Empire.

August 25, 2014
Elia Suleiman. Lionel Cironneau / AP Photo
Elia Suleiman: ‘It doesn’t make me feel good to feel corrupted’

The director, who is serving on the jury at the Venice Film Festival, has revealed that his long-awaited next film is in the works.

August 23, 2014
A successful director, producer, actor and singer, Farhan Akhtar is humble about his achievements. Courtesy Ajay Aggarwal / Hindustan Times via Getty Images
The multi-talented Farhan Akhtar talks about his forthcoming films and new projects

Riding high on the success of his latest film Bhaag Milkha bhaag, the surprisingly unassuming Farhan Akhtar talks about his career in Bollywood, and juggling projects as an actor, producer, singer, filmmaker and social activist.

FilmJuly 20, 2014
Niyar Saikia plays Lakshmi, the central character who is tricked into slavery in Sold. Courtesy Jaya International
How Oscar-winner Emma Thompson got involved with Sold, a film on human trafficking

The Emma Thompson-produced human trafficking drama Sold tells the story of a 13-year-old Nepalese girl who is sold into sexual slavery in India. We talk to the director Jeffrey D Brown about his experiences making the film.

July 07, 2014
John Lloyd Young as Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys. Courtesy Warner Bros, Keith Bernstein / AP Photo
Film review: Jersey Boys

Clint Eastwood gives the film a melancholic tone that’s akin to his Oscar-winning film Million Dollar Baby.

June 18, 2014
A scene from Jerry & Me. Courtesy Open City Docs Fest
Iranian docs festival focuses on female filmmakers

We take a look at the highlights of the Open City Docs Fest London, which is celebrating Cinemadoosti.

June 15, 2014
The actor Shashank Arora in a scene from Titli, an Indian film at Cannes. Courtesy Cannes International Film Festival
First-time director from India in the running for Camera d’Or at Cannes

Kaleem Aftab talks to the director of Titli, a well-received Indian thriller that might just win the young Punjabi the coveted Camera d'Or

May 21, 2014
The actor Frederick Schmidt is reflected in water in a scene from Snow in Paradise. Courtesy Cannes International Film Festival
British film at Cannes on how Islam helped a London gangster find peace

Snow in Paradise is a gritty gangster drama set in London's East End, and based on the life on one of the actors in the film, who found redemption when he converted to Islam.

May 21, 2014
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