This afternoon at 7 pm, Casa Árabe de Madrid is screening the film Retrato de un cierto Oriente (Portrait of a Certain East) based on the novel Tale of a Certain East by Milton Hatoum, released in 2024 and winner of the Golden Columbus at the Huelva Festival. At the end of the screening there will be a colloquium with director Marcelo Gomes and producer Ernesto Soto. Buy your ticket online. Entries are numbered. Film in Arabic and Portuguese, with subtitles in Spanish.
Lebanon, 1949. The country faces an imminent war. Two brothers of the Christian faith, Emilie and Emir, embark on a journey to Brazil in search of better days. During her journey, Emilie falls in love with a Muslim merchant, Omar. Emir suffers uncontrollable jealousy and will use his religious differences to separate them. Before reaching his final destination, during a fight with Omar, Emir is seriously injured in a gunshot accident. The only option for Emilie is to get off the boat and look in an indigenous village in the middle of the jungle for a healer who can save him. When her brother recovers, they finally arrive in Manaus, where Emilie makes a decision that will have tragic consequences. Retrato de un cierto Oriente is a film about memory, passion and prejudice, which tells the saga of Lebanese immigrants in the Amazon jungle.
Marcelo Gomes (born 1963) is a Brazilian screenwriter and director. Ernesto Soto (born 1972) is a journalist, screenwriter and producer.
