The Arab world in the 1970s: Stage and screen | History

The second in a two-part series looks at the risk-taking Arab cinema and theatre that challenged censorship and forged new cultural forms.

In a two-part series charting the 1970s in the Arab world, we revisit a decade of great change and long-term effects in the Middle East.

Episode two follows huge growth in the region’s creative productions, mainly political cinema and theatre, against a backdrop of important political developments.

This was a decade of creative risk-takers who battled censorship, challenged regimes, broke with stage and screen conventions, and refused to mirror Western styles.

Film critics, playwrights, filmmakers and theatre directors from across the region tell the stories of the most significant productions on screen and stage.

Watch episode one here: The Arab world in the 1970s: Politics