“We’re all about showing that the stereotypes of the Arab world still there in the minds of non-Arabs don’t demonstrate the humour, romance and overarching talent coming from the Middle East,” says Noreen Abu Oun.

She’s one of the guiding lights behind Safar, the festival of popular Arab cinema backed by the Arab British Centre which opens at the ICA in London on September 19.

There’ll be screenings of 13 films — among them six British premieres — director and actor Q&As, discussions on how films are facing up to issues in the Arab world and an exhibition of film memorabilia, Whose Gaze Is It Anyway? 

The Sparrow (Al-Asfour) made in 1972 by legendary Egyptian director Youssef Chahine is one of the festival highlights.

Set shortly before and during the Six Day War in 1967, it follows a young policeman in a small village whose inhabitants are being harassed by a corrupt businessman. 

Originally banned in 1973 in Egypt, in a major about-turn it soon after received the country’s highest cultural award. 

What makes The Sparrow special is how Chahine used the film to depart from mainstream Arab cinema in the early ’70s, emerging as a pioneer for his use of fragmented forms and discontinuous narratives.

Alongside this gem is Sean Gullette’s 2011 feature Traitors, a  film about a lead singer in an all-female punk rock band. 

She needs to make money fast, both for her family and her group, and in Tangier she finds one possible solution — a drug smuggling run over the mountains. 

Having shot to fame as the lead in Darren Aronofsky’s 1998 debut film Pi, Traitors is Gullette’s first foray into directing.

Another premiere is Abdellah Taia’s Salvation Army, based on his autobiographical novel of the same name. 

Taia rapidly came to prominence as a writer before turning to film and in 2006 he became the first openly gay Arab writer and is still the only openly homosexual Moroccan writer or filmmaker around. 

A charged coming-of-age story, it navigates issues of sexuality, racism and political intrigue as the protagonist leaves Morocco to start a new life. 

It’s regarded as a landmark film because it has given Arab cinema its first gay protagonist and it marks Taia’s debut as a director to watch.

The film’s an example of Abu Oun’s hope that the festival will “open doors to new ways of thinking” about the Arab world and it’s why Safar could be well worth a visit if you’re of an inquisitive disposition.

Safar runs at the ICA from September 19-25, details ica.org.uk