Alwan for the Arts, in collaboration with 3rd i NY, South Asian Women’s Creative Collective, and Downtown Community Television Center (DCTV), will launch the 2007 New York Arab & South Asian Film Festival, presenting recent features, documentaries, and short films that increase awareness of the creative vitality and sociopolitical realities of North Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and their diasporas. The festival will feature a retrospective of celebrated Tunisian director Nacer Khemir (who will also present a Master class at Columbia), as well as sidebar programs of Palestinian Revolution films, new documentaries from Afghanistan, next generation South Asian short films from the UK; and experimental South Asian shorts. Another notable section of the festival is “War Diaries,” which will introduce the American public to unseen daily experiences of the people of Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon, and Afghanistan, taken from footage donated by cameramen living on the ground. Festival venues include Tribeca Cinemas, DCTV, Alwan for the Arts, Pioneer Theater, and Columbia University. For tickets and information, or to RSVP for the opening party or festival gala, visit www.alwanforthearts.org/filmfestival or call 212-967-4318. General admission for films is $10.