The Dream of Shahrazad

Inhabitants of Turkey, Egypt and Lebanon process the recent political upheaval by telling stories in the tradition of Scheherazade in . An impassioned Turkish conductor, for example, performs Rimsky-Korsakov’s symphonic poem to raise political awareness, while theater makers persuade an Egyptian woman to let them base a play on the story of her murdered son, and a woman from Lebanon starts an activist blog. Filmmaker Francois Verster explores how music and storytelling can serve as a social and political outlet. Scenes of a youth orchestra playing are intercut with various forms of storytelling in the Middle East. Professional comics amuse their audiences with political jokes, while relatives of those who died in the protests find comfort in stories about their loved ones. In Cairo, a visual artist whose work is inspired by meets his own storytelling princess. The film alternates interviews with storytellers and scenes from the classic Arabian fairytale in which the Sultan wants to murder his bride but can’t because he needs to hear how her stories end. This fascinating journey is both a tribute to a centuries-old Middle Eastern tradition and a celebration of the solace it can offer in the wake of contemporary outbreaks of violence.