Movies
Mo is a practicing Muslim still reeling from heartbreak when All-American Kal offers to join him in his nightly Iftars, the traditional meal eaten my Muslims during Ramadan. Meal after meal, the two start to discover they have more in common than meets the eye. Written and directed by Mike Mosallam. DVD
Filmmaker and journalist Assia Boundaoui grew up in an Arab-American neighborhood outside of Chicago and investigates rumors her hometown was under surveillance for decades. Directed by Assia Boundaoui. Kanopy
Explores the lives of the children of Arab immigrants as they navigate life in their tight-knit community and mainstream society. Directed by Sohib Boundaoui. Kanopy
Once a successful Syrian actor, Jihad Abdo has now arrived in Hollywood as a refugee and struggles to reinvent his life and renew his career. Directed by Omar Al Dakheel. Kanopy
Jake, an Arab-American government bureaucrat and Rachel, a Jewish-American doctor, go on a goose chase across the Middle East trying to solve the mysterious death of Rachel's treasure hunting brother. Directed by Amin Matalqa and Annemarie Jacir. DVD
Cyber-security engineer by day and vigilante hacker by night, Elliot (Rami Malek) finds himself at a crossroads when the mysterious leader of an underground hacker group recruits him to destroy the firm he is paid to protect. Directed by Sam Esmail. DVD
Basketball is much more than a game in Fine's stirring documentary about an Iraqi women's basketball team at the American University of Iraq - Sulaimani (AUIS) in Kurdistan. Directed by David Fine. Kanopy
Palestinian American musician Simon Shaheen's mastery of the Arabic oud and violin has brought him international acclaim. This film follows Shaheen in his daily life and documents his performances at Symphony Space in New York City and the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. Directed by Alan Govenar. Kanopy
Music
Check out more Arabic music and Arab American artists like Queen Naija, French Montana, Dick Dale, Tiny Tim, Paul Anka, Stephan Said, and Mohammed Fairouz with your library card on Freegal Music+, an ad-free, unlimited streaming music platform that provides access to millions of songs from 200+ genres. Listen to trending songs, build and explore playlists, or enjoy a classic album. Download up to 5 songs each week.
Bazzi is a R&B-influenced pop singer-songwriter who rose to fame with his viral hit single "Mine." Born Andrew Bazzi to Lebanese-American parents in Canton, Michigan, he would imitate Elvis Presley and Ricky Martin as a child and later learned the acoustic guitar and the oud (a short-neck lute-type instrument used in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia). He has toured with Camilla Cabello and Justin Timberlake, as well as several K-Pop groups. Infinite Dream is his third and latest album.
Layale Chaker is a Lebanese violinist and composer who studied at the National Higher Conservatory of Beirut, the Conservatoire de Paris, and the Royal Academy of Music in London. Layale's musical world lies at the intersection of classical contemporary music, jazz, Arabic music, and improvisation. Her debut album with her ensemble Sarafand, Inner Rhyme, is dedicated to the sounds, rhythms, rhymes, shapes, and forms of Arabic poetry.
DJ Khaled is a Palestinian-American, hip-hop DJ, rapper, and music producer. His musician parents played Arabic music during his childhood and Khaled soon developed an interest in rap and soul music as well. His twelfth studio album, Khaled Khaled (after his legal name) features a wealth of appearances from other artists including, Lil Wayne, Cardi B, H.E.R., Migos, Post Malone, Megan Thee Stallion, DaBaby, Justin Bieber, Drake, Rick Ross, Puff Daddy, Nas, Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, Buju Banton and others. Khaled said that he hopes that the album will be inspiring and motivational for his fans, telling them "don't hold back your greatness, don't let nobody stop the vision, but move with love."
Faouzia is a Moroccan-Canadian singer-songwriter and musician. Born in Morocco, she moved with her family to Canada at a young age. During that time she learned how to play various instruments, and began composing her first songs. “My heritage has played a huge role in my career,” she says. “When I was younger, my parents would play Arabic music. I’d listen to the artists and push myself to practice the trills and runs that they did with their voices. To this day, I still use these trills and runs in my music.” Citizens is her full-length debut, showcasing her wide vocal range on R&B-infused pop.
Mashrou' Leila was a four-piece rock band formed in Beirut, Lebanon in 2008 for a music workshop at the American University of Beirut. The band released four studio albums and an EP. Ibn El Leil is their third full-length album. During their time as a band they caused many controversies due to their satirical lyrics and themes.
Karaa Mayssa is a Lebanese-American singer-songwriter. She studied music at the Conservatory of Beirut and attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston. She accompanied preeminent Arabic composer Simon Shaheen on his tours of the U.S. and Canada. Currently based in the U.S., Maysa performs in nine languages and frequently travels the world with eastern-western fusion performances. With an affinity for rock, she melds the distinct worlds of Arabic song and American classic rock, slipping between languages with ease and delicacy. Hear her stunning performance of Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” in Arabic, from the Grammy-award winning soundtrack to the film, American Hustle.
Latin pop sensation, singer, and songwriter Shakira was born in Colombia and is of Colombian and Lebanese descent. On El Dorado she switches between “percolating electronic rhythms, old-fashioned balladeering, and glassy adult contemporary pop,” sung in Spanish and English.
This album features "musical endeavors, in which artists from the Arab world mixed local and regional influences with musical interests that came from outside the region." Western popular music styles like funk, soul, pop, and rock are mixed with regional styles like Arabic zouk, Algerian coladera, and Lebanese bossa by musicians from Morocco, Algeria, Sudan, Egypt, Lebanon, and Tunisia, circa 1960-80s.
David Yazbek is an American writer, musician, composer, and lyricist. He is half-Lebanese on his father’s side. He has written the music and lyrics for several Broadway musicals including The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, and Tootsie. He also co-wrote the theme song to the Emmy award winning PBS-TV series, Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? The Band's Visit: Original Broadway Cast Recording is the soundtrack to the musical of the same name with music and lyrics by Yazbek. It’s about a group of musicians who came to Israel from Egypt. After winning a Tony for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, Ari’el Stachel said, “I am part of a cast of actors who never believed that they'd be able to portray their own races and we are doing that. And not only that but we're getting messages from kids all over the Middle East thanking us and telling us how transformative our representation is for them.” The Band's Visit won the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album and ten Tony awards.
Frank Zappa was an American musician of Sicilian Greek, Lebanese, and French ancestry. He was a self-taught musician, composer, and bandleader whose work was characterized by nonconformity, improvisation, experimentation, virtuosity, and satire of American culture. Zappa composed in numerous genres and produced almost all of the 60-plus albums that he released with his band the Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. He is considered one of the most innovative and stylistically diverse musicians of his generation. Zappa: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is a three CD set featuring previously released and unreleased Frank Zappa recordings, classical compositions by Edgard Varese and Igor Stravinsky, and 26 Original Score cues composed by John Frizzell for Alex Winter’s 2021 documentary, Zappa.