Companion Encyclopedia of Middle Eastern and North African Film / Edition 1

by Oliver Leaman

Overview

The Companion Encyclopedia of Middle Eastern and North African Film is a unique, one volume work which illuminates a fascinating variety of cinema which is little known outside its own area. The Encyclopedia is divided into nine chapters, each written by a leading scholar in the field. Each chapter covers the history and major issues of film within that area, as well as providing bibliographies of the leading films, directors and actors. The areas covered are: Central Asia, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, The Magreb, Palestine, Turkey. This Encyclopedia will be an invaluable reference tool for students and scholars of Film and Media Studies. It contains more than 60 black and white photographs of featured films, includes references and suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter, and the volume concludes with comprehensive name, film and general indexes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415187039
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	08/23/2001
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	624
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.90(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

Oliver Leaman

Table of Contents

Countries covered include: Central Asia, Eygpt, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, The Maghreb, Palestine, Turkey

Editorial Reviews

'Impressively comprehensive...and well researched.' - Film Comment

'A great part of the literature on cinema in this part of the worldexists only in Arabic or French, this title has no English-language rivals, and hence will be essential for any library wanting up-to-date, thoughtful coberage of cinema in the Middle East and North Africa.' - Choice

This is a useful addition to the growing library on non-Western cinema ... highly recommended for all libraries supporting film studies.'- Library Journal

'Impressively comprehensive...and well researched.' - Film Comment

'A great part of the literature on cinema in this part of the worldexists only in Arabic or French, this title has no English-language rivals, and hence will be essential for any library wanting up-to-date, thoughtful coberage of cinema in the Middle East and North Africa.' - Choice

From the Publisher

Edited by Leaman (philosophy, Univ. of Kentucky), this welcome addition to film reference is divided into nine chapters covering countries throughout North Africa and the Middle East, including Central Asia (the former Soviet republics), Egypt, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, The Maghreb, Palestine, and Turkey. Each chapter is written by a specialist in a particular region and gives the history and major issues of its filmmaking, biographical information on leading directors and actors, and annotated filmographies of significant works. Information varies widely from chapter to chapter, with some detailing audience size and distribution and others focusing on themes. Chapter length also varies significantly, dependent upon the strength of the nation's film industry (e.g., the chapter on Israel's cinema runs 140 pages, while that on Palestine's runs only 15). The transliteration of names and titles is irregular, but this should pose little trouble to most readers. Each chapter concludes with a brief bibliography, and short name, film, and general indexes make up the end matter. Sixty black-and-white photos from select films are also included. This is a useful addition to the growing library on non-Western cinema, which includes Sharon Russell's Guide to African Cinema (Greenwood, 1998), Lizbeth Malkmus and Roy Armes's Arab and African Film Making (o.p.), and Viola Shafik's Arab Cinema (American University in Cairo, 1998). Highly recommended for all libraries supporting film studies. Anthony J. Adam, Prairie View A&M Univ., TX Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal