"This title is broader than Rebecca Hillauer's 'Encyclopedia of Arab Women Filmmakers' (CH, Jul'06, 43-6241) and complements the' Companion Encyclopedia of Middle Eastern and North African Film', edited by Oliver Leaman (CH, Mar'02, 39-3694). It focuses on Arab filmmakers, so its scope is narrower, topically and geographically, than the Leaman volume. However, this title by Armes (emer., Middlesex Univ., UK) has unique merits: its in-depth coverage of filmmakers (250-plus feature filmmakers and 900 short film and documentary filmmakers); its feature film chronologies for Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen; and its valuable opening essay, 'Filmmaking in Divided Lands.' This essay contextualizes Arab Middle Eastern cinema by reviewing the effect of political developments in the Middle East on cinema in the region. Most importantly, Armes relies heavily on foreign-language sources, especially French ones, so much of the data available in this volume has not previously appeared in English. Armes is a well-established author with a long history in cinema studies (e.g., 'African Filmmaking', CH, Sep'07, 45-0178), and a current specialty in the cinemas of Africa and the Middle East. Given the breadth of sources, depth of subject coverage, and excellence of the author, this volume is a necessary purchase for academic and large public libraries. Summing Up: Essential. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. — Choice"
~C. Hendershott, The New School
"This is a unique resource that is scholarly and comprehensive in its coverage. It will be useful in academic libraries with extensive film collections a well as in larger public libraries with comprehensive film collections."
~American Reference Books Annual
"[Armes] has produced an excellent essay about the interaction of politics and cinema in the Arab world, which is worth consulting by anyone interested in this topic. Further, Armes has created a great resource for the study of Arab documentaries, and the book will become an important work for just this reason."
~MELA Notes
"Given the breadth of sources, depth of subject coverage, and excellence of the author, this volume is a necessary purchase for academic and large public libraries. . . . Essential.April 2011"
~Choice
"Constitutes a 'counter-reading' of received views and assumptions about the absence of Arab cinema in the Middle East."
~Michael T. Martin, Black Film Center/Archive, Indiana University
"Essential for libraries and useful for individual readers who will find essays on subjects rarely treated in English."
~Kevin Dwyer, American University in Cairo
