The Dream of Shahrazad

Weaving together music, politics and storytelling, this film explores recent political events in the Middle East through the lens of THE 1001 (or “ARABIAN”) NIGHTS. A charismatic Turkish conductor uses Rimsky-Korsakov's SCHEHERAZADE suite as a tool for political education. A young Lebanese woman makes peace with her past through storytelling. An older visual artist obsessed with THE NIGHTS finds new life through meeting a beautiful young storyteller. Members of a Cairo theatre troupe meet with mothers of martyrs of the Revolution and turn their testimonies into new storytelling performances.