NADIA HLIBKA, FILMFEST COORDINATOR
Middle Eastern Studies Association (MESA) Program Booklet
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
NOVEMBER 17 - 20

MESA FilmFest Program Booklet

Rumi Returning (Turkey/USA) 2007 71 min. In English. Directors/Producers: Kell Keams and Cynthia Lukas for Heaven on Earth Creations. Distributor: Heaven on Earth Creations. Print source: Heaven on Earth Creations. Special MESA FilmFest Cineforum with Co-producer Cynthia Lukas.

Does a 13th century Muslim mystic hold a key to world peace? Rumi combines the philosophical greatness of Plato, with the soul force and realization of a Jesus or Buddha, with the literary gifts of a Shakespeare, so says Andrew Harvey. UNESCO has proclaimed Rumi’s 800th birthday year (2007), the International Year of Rumi. Shot on location in Konya, with sublime pictures of Islamic architecture, artistic masterpieces from his environs, and dramatic tableaus of Rumi and dervishes in traditional dress shot at historically accurate locations, the Islamic world of the Middle Ages comes to life, accompanied by calls to worship, classic Sufi music, and current interpretations. This is a special MESA FilmFest event.