Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival 2008

More than one-third of Middle Eastern Arabs are under the age of 15, and the majority are male. What do we know of these young men? Rarely, if ever, are their individual voices heard in the West, where our perceptions are largely composed of images of angry mobs, marching en masse, hurling rocks or furiously shouting for blood. YOUNG ARABS offers a quiet encounter with a group of young men who, by virtue of their birth, should one day help lead the Middle East into a rapidly shrinking and uncertain world. Such young men are politically aware, personally ambitious, and expected to lead.By presenting an intimate view of this narrow yet extremely influential segment of Arab society – all but invisible to the mind's eye of America – the film shows not only the diversity of Arab culture and opinion, but also what might be in common, and what is decidedly different, for individuals in the Middle East and the West. The film, as such, contributes to a new and more nuanced view of what the future may hold for this region - and for us all.