Milan will put the spotlight the Middle East during an upcoming African, Asian and Latin American Film Festival, organisers said on Monday.
The 19th edition of the event, which runs from March 23-29, will showcase some 80 movies, shorts, feature films and documentaries from a number of developing countries as well as soap operas and news reports from Middle Eastern countries.
''These films usually don't get screened on regular cinema circuits but they help us understand the point of view of others which is useful in a multi-ethnical city like Milan, said provincial culture councillor Daniela Benelli.
The festival will also feature a series of multi-disciplinary events and meetings with film directors and a tribute to Kazakh director Darezhan Omirbayev.
It will open with a screening of Rachid Bouchareb's London River, whose star Sotigui Kotaye' won best actor award at the recent Berlin Film Festival.
The festival is an evolution of the old African Film Festival of Milan, which opened up to the rest of the developing world in 2003.
More information about the film venues and programme can be found at the festival website, www.festivalcinemaafricano.org, which has an extensive English-language section.
