Film

January 27, 2024

A Land and a Camera

The world is made of stories, and most journalists will discover in their career more stories than they can ever tell, even if they never leave where they were born. We are tragically seeing that today with the young journalists in Gaza. Unlike them, I have had the opportunity to travel much further in pursuit Continue reading

Arab Americans, Arabs, Arts and Culture, Author, Film, Food, Islam/Muslim, Middle East, Saudi Arabia

aramco-world, Aseer, bo-kaap, cape-town, cheese, dugongs, filmmaking, honduras, Jordan, journalism, madaba, majlis-painters, mosques, Tromsø, Writer, Writing
August 14, 2021

Sex/ish in the City

I heard Sex/Life is coming back for a second season. I got to say some things. Continue reading

Arabs, Arts and Culture, Film, Jordan, Middle East, TV

Middle East, Sex and the City, Sex/Life
April 22, 2019

Earth Day & Best of the Fest Connection

The Golden Harvest will have an encore screening at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival as part of the Best of the Fest screenings–Super! Wednesday, April 24 at 4:50 pm at St. Anthony Main: https://prod3.agileticketing.net/websales/pages/info.aspx?evtinfo=436771~36893ed1-b0b9-423c-bbab-90f22d0aeafe&epguid=78d5df86-076b-41eb-9b27-8d9e012642d6& I lived in a house only once in my life. For three years. It was in Minnesota in Continue reading

Arab Americans, Arts and Culture, Film, Food, Greece, Heritage, Italy, Jordan, Middle East, Minnesota, Olive Oil, olive trees, Spain, The Golden Harvest, Uncategorized

Arab female filmmakers, artists, Authors, Film, Food, Greece, Italy, Olive oil, Women, Writing
March 18, 2019

Full House for The Golden Harvest Debut at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival

(March 14, 2019) The Golden Harvest (2019, 85 min) made its debut on March 4, 2019 at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival to a full house. The screening was followed by a lively Q & A that continued onto the pier along the fabulous arthouse area of the city where the majority of the festival Continue reading

Arab Americans, Film, Food, Greece, Italy, Middle East, Olive Oil, olive trees, Palestine, Spain, The Golden Harvest, Thessaloniki International Film Festival

Alia Yunis, Documentary, Film, film festival, Food, Greece, Italy, Mediterranean, Mediterranean Diet, Palestine, Spain, Thessaloniki Internatnional Film Festival, Travel
February 28, 2019

The Schedule for Thessaloniki International Film Festival

We are delighted that The Golden Harvest will make its international debut at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival . Please join us if you can! For more information, visit: https://www.filmfestival.gr/en/movie/movie/11920 TONIA MARKETAKI 04 March 2019 15:30 JOHN CASSAVETES 05 March 2019 12:45 Continue reading

Arab Americans, Arts and Culture, Author, Film, Food, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Middle East, Olive Oil, olive trees, Palestine, Spain, The Golden Harvest, Writing

Culture, Film, film festival, Food, Olive oil, Olive Tree, Oman, Television, Thessaloniki Internatnional Film Festival, Writing
February 25, 2019

The Golden Harvest to Premiere at Thessaloniki International Film Festival

Every filmmaker making a film on her own dreams of it opening at a Top 10 ranked festival. We are delighted thus that The Golden Harvest will make its debut on March 4 at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival in Greece. Not only is it a great festival–it’s in the country with the highest per Continue reading

Arts and Culture, Author, Film, Food, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Middle East, Minnesota, Olive Oil, olive trees, Palestine, Spain, Syria, Uncategorized

Culture, Director, Film, film festival, Food, Producer, Television, Thessaloniki Internatnional Film Festival
August 23, 2014

The Blog Tour: My Writing Process

In which I join other writers in talking about the fun and tortuous process. Continue reading

Arts and Culture, Author, Books, Film, Publishing, Writing
November 24, 2013

Rooftops

An Algerian film by celebrated Algerian director Merzak Allouache called Rooftops was probably my favorite film at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival this year. Of the films I saw, it’s the only one that kept my full attention. Just like rooftops get my full attention in real life, especially in the Mediterranean areas of the Continue reading

Arabs, Arts and Culture, Film, Middle East, Travel

Andalusia, rooptops, voyeurism
July 22, 2013

Go Ahead and Film Me—Nothing Changes

“So what are you here to film?” he asked from his battered bamboo chair, as he exhaled from the stub of the cigarette in his hand, the smoke blending in with the dust sweeping through the camp. He was about 40, and had been sitting in that dark alley his entire life. One of my Continue reading

Abu Dhabi, Arab Americans, Arabs, Arts and Culture, Film, Los Angeles, Middle East, Palestine, Syria

Dreams in Their Eyes, UAE
February 4, 2013

What Film Directors Look Like

As kids, we grow up with clear imagery of what professionals in certain professions look like. In my Sesame Street days, I learned farmers wear overalls with checkered shirts, nannies are British and carry parasols, and professional Arabs wear white robes and headdresses accessorized with grenade belts. These images came to me from film and Continue reading

Arts and Culture, Film, Middle East, Syria

Arab Cinema, Nabil Maleh, Syrian film, Syrian television drama

About Alia

Alia Yunis is a writer, journalist and filmmaker. She is currently producing and directing “The Golden Harvest,” a feature length documentary about how olive oil has shaped the Mediterranean culture, cuisine and history for 6,000 years, through war and peace. Her debut novel, The Night Counter (Random House) has been critically acclaimed by the Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, and several other publications. It was also chosen as a top summer read by the Chicago Tribune and Boston Phoenix. The Boston Globe has called it “wonderfully imaginative…poignant, hilarious.” Alia was born in Chicago and grew up in the U.S., Greece, and the Middle East. She has worked as a filmmaker and journalist in several cities, especially Los Angeles. Her fiction has appeared in several anthologies, including The Robert Olen Butler Best Short Stories collection, and her non-fiction work includes articles for The Los Angeles Times, Saveur, SportsTravel Magazine, and Aramco World. She currently teaches film at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi.