Lebanese heist film Furies leads winter slate for Middle Eastern cinema

Furies, the debut feature from Beirut-born director Rami Kodeih, has emerged as the standout title in the autumn and winter slate of Middle Eastern films. The movie is a heist thriller that draws directly from the 2019 Lebanese economic crisis, when ordinary citizens robbed banks to retrieve frozen savings.

The narrative centers on Maro, a hairdresser and single mother played by Rym Mroue, and her sister Dalia, a water-truck employee and occasional sex worker played by Maria Nakouzi. After Dalia is diagnosed with uterine cancer, Maro attempts to withdraw their joint funds. A bank manager denies the request, stating the institution is not legally bound to serve clients under such extraordinary circumstances. With no recourse through the justice system, Maro plans a robbery with the help of Sunshine, an elderly former Phalangist fighter, and Hamza, Dalia’s indebted co-worker.

Kodeih, who is based in Los Angeles, captures Beirut as a city defined by loud contradictions. The film depicts a population in a state of perpetual agitation, mixing communal solidarity with sectarian discord. The director details specific elements of daily life, including the food, blaring pop music, and unmaintained architecture. This portrayal offers a cathartic response to the frustration felt by many Lebanese regarding the actions of government-backed banks since the 2019 mass uprising.

The film is not without flaws. The relationship between the two sisters lacks depth, and the final car chase is awkwardly staged. However, the project is considered an ambitious step for Lebanese cinema, which has struggled for seven years to find new energy. Critics have noted that Furies may be the best Arab film of 2026, successfully blending social commentary with the structure of a genre thriller.

Other notable releases in the same period include A Bit of Light from Iranian director Ali Asghari. Set in Tehran in February 2026, the film unfolds over 24 hours just before American and Israeli strikes on the country. It follows Arash, an idealistic physician played by Misagh Zareh, who decides to end his life after the repressive measures taken during the 2025-26 demonstrations. The story uses the impending attack as a comic motif, such as a doorman taping windows to protect against strikes. Asghari’s film contrasts the brutality of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps with the barbarism of the siege, focusing on how Tehran’s middle class finds refuge in art and empathy.

Mohsen Gharaie’s domestic thriller Falling House presents a different take on Iranian reality. The film stars Farhad Aslani as Rachid, a prison guard suspended for taking bribes. His family is forced to evacuate their home due to a municipal redevelopment project. When Rachid learns his daughter Ensi is planning to move to Turkey to model, he locks his family in their home, turning it into a small prison. The resulting cat-and-mouse game highlights the struggles of women battling toxic patriarchy, though the plot is criticized for being overly contrived and unsubtle.

Halkawt Mustafa’s fifth feature, No Paradise If You Are Killed by a Woman, offers an action thriller perspective from an Iraqi-Norwegian director. The film stars Avan Jamal as Vyan, a young Kurdish-Norwegian woman who travels to Iraq in 2014. After the Islamic State captures Mosul and kills her parents, Vyan is kidnapped and sold into slavery. She eventually escapes, joins a Peshmerga unit, and becomes a skilled sniper. The story follows her return to Mosul to save her sister, who has been forced to marry an IS commander. The film positions Vyan against every male aggressor she encounters, restoring agency to a female protagonist in a genre typically dominated by male heroes.

Ashgan El Hamus’s debut feature, Elbaraneya, rounds out the selection with a family drama set in the Egyptian countryside. The film uses a cinema verite style with mostly non-professional actors to create a naturalistic backdrop. It appears to be a documentary at first, but it is a scripted work of fiction. This aesthetic choice grounds the story in a relatable Egyptian reality, a rarity amidst recent censorship. The film exposes the limitations of the director’s craft while providing a grounded look at family dynamics in rural Egypt.

These five films represent a shift in regional cinema, moving away from familiar narratives about poverty and war. Instead, they rework established genres into new hybrids. This approach aims to satisfy local audiences who seek truthful representations of their lives, while also offering international viewers a different perspective than the standard festival fare. The result is a collection of films that prioritize enterprise and emotional immersion over conventional storytelling.