October 11, 2011 | Film, Theatre,

Check out books, music and films related to The Speaker’s Progress!

MUSIC

Souad Massi

With influences ranging from American folk, Spanish flamenco and Arabic lute music, Algerian singer and songwriter Souad Massi transcends language barriers with her versatile voice and virtuoso guitar playing. Be sure to listen to her latest album, Ô Houria.

Amr Diab

As one of the top selling Arab recording artists of all time, Egyptian singer and composer Amr Diab created a new Mediterranean sound with his unique blend of Western and Egyptian rhythms in over 25 hugely popular albums. For a sampling of his catchy dance/pop hits, check out the collection The Very Best of Amr Diab.

Azam Ali

Born in Tehran and raise din India, Azam Ali has one of the most hauntingly beautiful voices on the world music scene today. Her latest album, From Night to the Edge of Day, is a collection of lullabies in various languages of the Middle East accompanied by some of the most beloved instrumentalists from those regions.

FILM

Budrus (2009)

When the Palestinian residents of Budrus learn that the Israeli army plans to build the Separation Barrier through their town, cutting them off from neighboring villages and uprooting their precious olive groves, they decide to organize a groundbreaking nonviolent protest movement in what The New York Times called “a must-see documentary.”

See the cast of The Speaker’s Progress on film:

Previously seen as Queen Margaret in SABAB’s Richard III, actress and director Amal Omran has worked with prominent Syrian and Lebanese film directors in the films Sacrifices, Under the Rooftops and Zainab and the River which won her a Best Actress Award at the Festival des Trois Continents in Nantes, France.

As a professor of acting & directing at the Academy of Dramatic Art in Damascus, actor Fayez Kazak has been seen in a number of films in his native Syria including Verbal Messages, a Cyrano-like story of young love, and the comedy-drama Out of Coverage where he finds himself playing husband to two different wives.

Based in Lebanon, actress Carole Abboud has been seen in leading roles in Mounir Maasry’s Out Father On Earth, Mahmoud Hojjiej’s The Silent Majority and Ghassan Salhab’s Beyrouth Fantômes, a thriller of deception, loyalty and betrayal set against the backdrop of the Lebanese civil war that was an Official Selection Cannes Film Festival in 2002.