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Middle East/Mediterranean Calendar for June 2004
[To learn about getting events listed, email the Calendar Editor. Send all photos as small jpegs or gifs to Photos.] All programs free unless otherwise noted.
June 1-Sept. 5 —"Arts of Fire," the Islamic Influence on the Italian Renaissance at the Getty CenterThe "Arts of Fire" brings together a wide variety of glass and ceramics from Italy and the Middle East to explore the impact of Islamic influence on Italian technique, as well as decoration and form. Objects on display include bottles, beakers, jars, lamps, and tiles from the Getty Museum’s own collection as well as those of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Centrally situated on the Mediterranean, Italy was at the heart of a lively sea traffic in the late Middle Ages, surrounded by the Islamic lands of Anatolia (present-day Turkey), Palestine, North Africa, and Spain. Sea routes linked East and West, resulting in a meeting of cultures that brought exposure to varied art forms and technologies. At the time, the Islamic world’s power and wealth stimulated a taste for fine things, and its enlightened support for learning provoked great technical and artistic innovations that led to tremendous advancements in mathematics, engineering, chemistry, literature, medicine, astronomy, and art.
The Islamic influence contributed to the development of glassblowing, arguably the single most important innovation in the history of vessel glass manufacture, invented by the Syrian glassmakers of the Roman Empire. The spread of new glass and ceramic technologies was accompanied by a diffusion of Islamic decoration and forms. The arrival in Italy of easily transportable objects such as textiles, carpets, metalwork, and ivories, as well as ceramics and glass, helped popularize motifs and styles from the Islamic world. By the time the golden age of medieval Islam was waning in the 1400s, the Italian Renaissance began to flourish, due in part to the impact of Islamic learning and culture. .Click here and see related events listed below.
June 6 (Sun), 10 a.m-6 p.m.—Arts of Fire Family Festival of Middle East/Italian Cultures in the Getty Center Courtyard
From Persia to Pisa, trace the movement of ideas from east to west with a day of music, dance, and storytelling. Find out how flamenco reveals the Islamic roots of Spanish music. Create your own vessel inspired by the glass and ceramics on display in the exhibition or learn a folk dance from Andalusia or Iran. No reservations necessary.
Explore the cultures of the Middle East and the Mediterranean as we celebrate the exhibition The Arts of Fire: Islamic Influences on the Italian Renaissance.For complete description visit the web site.
June 12 (Sat.), 3:00 p.m. A Discussion on the History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Middle East at the Echo Park Library. Author Amanda Roraback examines the Israeli-Palestininian conflict by looking at the perspectives and history of both sides.
Amanda Roraback, author of the World in a Nutshell series of books including: Afghanistan in a Nutshell, Iraq in a Nutshell and Pakistan in a Nutshell will discuss her latest book, Israel-Palestine in a Nutshell. Two countries, two religions, two histories and two perspectives complicate the most controversial crisis in modern time, the Israel-Palestine conflict. By navigating through some of the most pressing issues à the status of Jerusalem, the refugee problem, Israeli settlements, socioeconomic differences etc.
Amanda Roraback clarifies some of the deep-rooted causes of the conflict. In her presentation, Amanda Roraback examines issues from her book, "Israel/Palestine in a Nutshell" and relates them to contemporary events in the Middle East. By the end of the talk, audiences will have a well-rounded understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and be able to form equally informed arguments on both sides of the controversy. A question/answer session will follow the presentation.
Echo Park Branch of the Los Angeles Public Libary, 1410 W Temple St. 213.250.7808.
June 13 (Sun.), 8:00 p.m.—"Al-Andalus to Jerusalem: Levantine Festival"
John Anson Ford Amphitheater Call 323.461.3673 for Tickets
A concert for peace and coexistence, featuring Arab and Middle Eastern Jewish, Persian and Armenian world music performers: 25 musicians, vocalists and dancers!
This annual concert benefits Levantine Cultural Center's ongoing programming activities in southern California, such as "Iraq: Pluralism, Chaos & Transcedence," "Cairo Diaries With Nora Amin," and other arts salons, concerts, readings and public dialogues.
Al-Andalus features Tarik Banzi on oud and Julie Banzi on flamenco guitar, with their full ensemble, performing an exhilarating mix of North African tarab and ala with Andalusian Sephardic and Gypsy music, nuanced with Persian and Indian influences.
Yair Dalal, an international world music virtuoso on the oud and violin in the Iraqi tradition performs with the Yuval Ron Ensemble, featuring Yegish Manoukian on woodwinds and vocalist Najwa Gibran, for a great synthesis of Arab, Mizrahi and Armenian world music, also featuring dancers Ana Montes and Kimberly Michelle
Tickets $20, $30, $50. Call the Ford now to order your tix: 323.461.3673 or click here.
June 19 (Sat.), 8:00 p.m.—"Strings of Fire" Persian Music with Flamenco GuitarStrings of Fire: Persian Classical Music at the Getty Center's Harold M. Williams Auditorium.
Award-winning and internationally acclaimed santur (hammer dulcimer) master Manoochehr Sadeghi presents an evening of Persian classical music. Complementing the exhibition The Arts of Fire: Islamic Influences on the Italian Renaissance, the concert recreates the exchange of ideas between Persia and Renaissance Europe with a guest performance by master flamenco guitarist Adam del Monte.
Tickets ($20; students/seniors $15) available at the Museum Information Desk or by calling 310.440.7300.Visit the Getty web site.
June 19 (Sat) and June 20 (Sun.), 6:30 & 8:30 p.m.—"Beyond Words," rare Iranian Kurdish Sufi documentary followed by director Q & A
Warning: Due to the graphic nature of this film viewer discretion is strongly advised.
"Beyond Words" is a rare glimpse into the fascinating ceremonies of the Ghaderi (Qaderi) Derwishes of Kurdistan. It was shot over a peri od of 8 years and took 12 years to complete. It has already been the Official Selection of 5 International Film Festivals in the US and Europe.
Salter Auditorium-Beverly Hills High School.
241 Moreno Drive Beverly Hills, California 90212. Click here for map.
All 4 Screenings will be followed By Q&A with director Jahanshah Ardalan.
Tickets: $10. Free Parking.
To get more information please call: 310-927-2727.
The film will also be available for purchase on DVD and VHS at the screenings.
Click here for more info.
June 21/June 23 (Mon.), 2:00 p.m.—"A Thousand Months" at L.A. Film FestivalAlso June 23, (Wed.), 7:15 p.m.
A THOUSAND MONTHS or "Mille mois," a Belgium, France, Morocco prod., 2003, 124 min. in
Arabic with English Subtitles. DIR: Faouzi Bensaïdi, Writer: Faouzi Bensaïdi.
Cast: Fouad Labied, Nezha Rahil, Mohammed MajdA young Moroccan boy, Mehdi, is given the duty of protecting his teacher's chair, a task that proves more difficult than it may sound. This starkly moving debut feature by writer/director Faouzi Bensaïdi deftly modulates between the boy and his village in the Atlas Mountains as they prepare for Ramadan, hope for rain to end the drought, and await news of Mehdi's father, who Mehdi thinks is away in France when actually he has been arrested. This quietly engaging film shifts tones with surprising grace and ease. It touches on the universal themes of personal needs versus the welfare of the community, the collision between a push for change and tradition, and the enduring strength of family.
Visit the L.A. Film Festival online guide. Both screenings held at Laemmele's Sunset 5. Tickets $10.
June 20 (Sun.), 4:45 p.m.—"Another Road Home" documentary at L.A. Film Festival
Also June 23 screens Wed., June 23, at the Directors Guild Theatre at 5:15 p.m.
"An other Road Home" (Italy, Palestine, USA, )2004, 78 min. Color. DIR: Danae Elon. Writer: Danae Elon, Bryan Gunnar Cole. Executive Producer: Stanley K. Sheinbaum, David Drexler, Liselle Mei
When filmmaker Danae Elon was a child growing up in Jerusalem, she had three parents: her mother, her father, and Musa Obeidallah, a Palestinian man who worked for her family. For more than 20 years, Obeidallah devoted himself to Elon, but when her family moved to the States, he stayed behind in the divided region. Over a decade later, Elon undertakes a quest to find the man who once meant so much to her. Beginning in New Jersey, where Obeidallah’s sons now live, Elon arranges a series of intensely emotional reunions, all the while struggling to separate the personal dynamics between her family and Obeidallah’s from the political realities of the unrelenting Arab-Israeli conflict.
Visit the L.A. Film Festival online guide. Sunday at Laemmele's Sunset 5. Tickets $10.
June 23 (Sun.), 8 pm—Kourosh Zolani on Persian Santur
Concert at the West Covina Library. Kourosh Zolani plays the Persian santur, sponsored by LA County & the Professional Musicians Union, Local 47. Library, 1601 West Covina Parkway, W Covina
626.962-3541
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June 29 (Sat.), 7:30 pm—"The Great Water," the new film by Ivo Trajkov
Levantine's sister organization, The Spirit of Sarajevo, which focuses on the diverse southeastern European cultures, from Bosnia to Bulgaria and beyond, invites you and a guest to a special private screening of Macedonian feature film "The Great Water" directed by Ivo Trajkov and photographed by Suki Medencevic. Unique opportunity to see this film before it hits the festival circuit! This film is a historic drama about hardship that WWII orphans had to endure and friendship as their only hope for survival.
"Lem Nikodinoski, a very successful Macedonian politician is rushed to the emergency room. In his near-death experience he is re-experiencing the time of his childhood in the orphanage shortly after W.W.II, a time when he met his best friend and committed an act of betrayal that will haunt him for life."
At the Los Angeles Film School, 6363 Sunset Blvd. Hollywood CA 90068, across from the Cinerama Dome. Please RSVP by 0June 24 at 310 335 5677 or greatwatermovie@yahoo.com. SEATING IS LIMITED!!! Street parking, or in the parking structure on Sunset.
Refreshments will be served after the screening.
July 3 (Sat.), 8:00 pm—Najwa Gibran and Gali Atari Concert with Marvin Goldstein
PeaceWithMusic.org presents internationally acclaimed American pianist Marvin Goldstein, award-winning vocalist from Israel, Gali Atari and the gifted Arabic singer from Toronto, Najwa Gibran, who was a major hit at the June 13 Ford concert, "Al-Andalus to Jerusalem."
Gibran is considered to be one the best Arabic singers in the West and is the lead singer for the Yuval Ron Ensemble. Atari is one of the most well known vocalists in Israel and won the Eurovision award in 1979 for the song “Hallelujah.” Goldstein, of course, has performed professionally for over 40 years and has recorded over 30 CDs.
Also performing will be the International Peace Choir, a children's choir that represents various nations and cultures in the world. The famed Armenian Duduk player, Yegish Manoukian will also perform.
The program will feature Arabic and Israeli music in addition to piano solos of show tunes and other popular music. This will be one of the first times that Arabic music has been accompanied by a piano.
The Peace With Music Foundation sponsors the concert. The mission of the Foundation is to bridge the cultural, religious and political differences of people everywhere through the medium of music.
La Mirada Theater for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd, La Mirada, CA.
Tickets are $40 and $32. Group discounts of 50% are available for groups of 10 or more.
For more information or to order tickets please visit: www.PeaceWithMusic.org or call toll-free 866.648-8637.
July 9 (Fri.), 8:00 pm—Souad Massi and Maria de Barros in "Worldly Women"
Grand Performances presents a free concert featuring "two of the most dynamic female artists currently on the world stage. Maria de Barros steps into the limelight once again, along with Paris-based, Algerian-born Souad Massi, whose passionate French-Arabic lyrics are brilliantly augmented with a unique fusion of Andalusian flamenco, folk-rock, Arabic lutes and other traditional Arab instruments."
At California Plaza, 350 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles 90071. Info 213.687.2159.
July 11 (Sun.), 7:30 pm—"Two Streams in the Desert" with Alberto Mizrahi and L.A. Jewish Symphony
Klezmer, the clarinet-based music of Eastern Europe, meets the haunting melodies of the Sephardic Jews. Russian virtuoso clarinetist Leo Chelyapov plays a U.S. premiere by David Stern. Alberto Mizrahi, the "Sephardic Pavarotti" since Ladino as well as Yiddish selections. Noreen Green conducts the orchestra.
Ford Amphitheatre, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood 90068. Tickets $36, $25, $12 full-time students. Call the Ford Box Office at 323.461.3673. For complete info visit the LAJS web site.
July 31 (Sat.), 8:00 pm—Karsh Kale & Realize and Mercan Dede
Grand Performances presents a free concert. "These extraordinary ensembles pay deep respect to their Indian and Turkish heritage by composing for traditional acoustic instruments and vocal styles whie adding elegrant electronic samples and beats that take the listener on a journey from the past to the future. Kale & his band will play music from his most recent release, "Liberation." Mercan Dede's ensemble exemplifies modern Turkey with electronic samples, the kanun, darbuka, ney and a dervish to make a magical, hypnotic experience."
At California Plaza, 350 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles 90071. Info 213.687.2159.
Special Announcements
Volunteer with Levantine Cultural Center's Programming Committee
Bring your ideas, enthusiasm and support to the Center by participating in a new Programming Committee, that will cooperate with our Board of Directors in creating new arts programs in the weeks and months ahead. To get on the reservation list for the next meeting, email us now!
Board of Directors Seeks Community LeadersLevantine Center's Board of Directors is continually in formation, and welcomes inquiries—we are actively searching for more people with our passion and conviction! The board consists of diverse members of the community who are of Middle Eastern/Mediterranean heritage or who have a strong professional or artistic interest in furthering our mission. As directors, board members represent the organization officially, are responsible for its financial health, and make the priority strategic decisions, with counsel from Advisory Board members where possible. Board members work with activists heading specific committes, including the Film/Video, Literary, Education Performing Arts and Membership Committees.
Our Advisory Board is also in formation. Advisory board members are known professionally in their own communities and offer valuable counsel and services to the organization; they are eligible to attend the organization's annual retreat and receive other benefits.
Please contact us at 323.650.7010.
Submit your calendar listings to our calendar editor now.
To subscribe to our listserve and receive our special updates (which include free ticket giveaways, articles and more), send a message to: info@levantinecenter.org and include Subscribe Me in the subject box. Be sure to give us your first and last name and how you heard about us!To join/support Levantine Cultural Center, simply go to our signup page and fill in the blanks, print and mail; or send your check for $120 annual membership dues (that's just $10 per month! you'll receive many discounts and a pair of free tickets to an upcoming event, a minimum $40 value) to: Levantine Center, 8424A Santa Monica Blvd., N. 789, West Hollywood, CA 90069.
LEVANTINE CULTURAL CENTER
Cultures of the Middle East & Mediterranean
8424A Santa Monica Blvd., N.789, West Hollywood CA 90069
323.650.7010, info@levantinecenter.org
Levantine Center advocates for, educates about, and in general promotes and supports Middle Eastern and Mediterranean contemporary arts and traditional cultures. We present or cosponsor programs of music, literature, art, film/video, publications, new media and more, often from educational and historical perspectives. While acknowledging the value of entertainment, we emphasize scholarship and substance. We are strongly multidisciplinary and non-sectarian, do not embrace any political or religious doctrine, and are committed to the principle of cross-cultural cooperation. We support the strengthening of ties between all cultural, ethnic and religious communities of the Middle East/West Asia/Levant, as well as between all peoples of Middle Eastern descent in diaspora.
See what Levantine Center has been up to and take note of other recent cultural events.
See what Levantine Center was up to during our pre-opening season, late in '01.