Sharq 12

Set in an industrial wasteland in the middle of nowhere, East of Noon is a folktale somewhere between The Arabian Nights and Ubu roi, in which a bunch of brilliant youngsters find ways to survive the autocracy of a childish tyrant whose currency is lottery tickets and sugar cubes. The second feature film by an Egyptian artist, this baroque and excessive film stands out within African and Arab cinemas, invoking the spirits of the “new cinemas” of the sixties and seventies. (Cannes Film Festival)