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Academy Award-Nominated Film Ajami Set to Captivate Audiences as Part of CinemaNa

Film screening to be hosted by The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi in collaboration with Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi

Press Release

As part of the inaugural  season of CinemaNA, The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi and Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi are presenting the Academy Award-nominated Arab film Ajami on Tuesday, February 6 at 7pm in The Blue Hall at The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi.

Written and directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani, Ajami invites audiences into a world in which two brothers fear assassination; a young refugee working illegally to cover his mother's medical expenses, and a cop fixated on finding his missing brother. As these narratives converge, the film delves into political, social and cultural tensions that lead to tragic consequences.

Running for two hours with English-language subtitles, Ajami is Shakespearean in scope, exploring themes of revenge, loyalty, hope, and despair in the form of a gripping visual drama. The film has won more than 15 awards worldwide, including the Camera d'Or Special Mention at the Cannes Film Festival and a nomination for the 82nd Academy Awards.

Following the screening, Director, Assistant Arts Professor of Film at NYU Abu Dhabi Scandar Copti will hold a Q&A session with the audience in attendance. Copti is known worldwide for his video art projects, which have been exhibited worldwide at venues such as Herzliya Museum, Nachum Gutman Museum, Redding Art Fair 5 and the Oslo Kunstforening Art Gallery. Copti also led the Film and New Media program at NYU Abu Dhabi from 2014 to 2017, where he currently teaches filmmaking while developing his next feature film Happy Holidays.

“We’re excited that CinemaNA, which has presented a thoughtful and stimulating line-up of films curated by NYU Abu Dhabi’s own Scandar Copti, who now showcases his own highly acclaimed and powerful film, Ajami, revealing the depth of talent within our faculty. ”commented Bill Bragin, The Arts Center’s executive artistic director. “This is such a powerful, complex, and entertaining film.”

CinemaNA is a contemporary Arab cinema series presented by the NYUAD Film and New Media Program in partnership with The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi and Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi. The series features celebrated Arab films and renowned directors and producers, in addition to offering discussions with the directors / producers after each screening. Other screening include: The Wanted 18 at Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi on Tuesday Mar 6 @ 7pm

Tickets are now available for all screenings and workshops.  For more information please visit: http://www.nyuad-artscenter.org

The Arts Center at NYUAD is an internationally renowned performing arts center that presents distinguished professional artists from around the world alongside student, faculty, and community productions.

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About NYU Abu Dhabi

NYU Abu Dhabi is the first comprehensive liberal arts and research campus in the Middle East to be operated abroad by a major American research university. NYU Abu Dhabi has integrated a highly selective undergraduate curriculum across the disciplines with a world center for advanced research and scholarship. The university enables its students in the sciences, engineering, social sciences, humanities, and arts to succeed in an increasingly interdependent world and advance cooperation and progress on humanity’s shared challenges. NYU Abu Dhabi’s high-achieving students have come from over 115 countries and speak over 115 languages. Together, NYU's campuses in New York, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai form the backbone of a unique global university, giving faculty and students opportunities to experience varied learning environments and immersion in other cultures at one or more of the numerous study-abroad sites NYU maintains on six continents.