The Venice Film Festival, one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world, runs from August 27th to September 7th this year! We’re here to round up all of the films from the Arab world premiering or playing in any and all categories. Unfortunately, there are no films from the Arab world competing for the Golden Lion in the Main Competition, although Mauritanian filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako will be residing on the jury!
So what’s playing at the 81st annual Biennale? Let’s dive in:
All film descriptions and stills are from the La Biennale di Venezia official website.
HORIZONS (Orizzonti)
A category in the Official Selection, Orizzonti runs parallel to the main competition. Two filmmakers of Arab descent has a film in the lineup.
Syrian filmmaker Soudade Kaadan is residing on the Horizons jury! If you didn’t already know, Kaadan was our featured artist at this year’s Arab Women in the Arts showcase, and an AFF alum! We’ve even covered her filmmaking career here.
Film still from Aïcha
Aïcha by Mehdi Barsaoui
Tunisia, France, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Qatar – Narrative Feature
Aya, in her late twenties, feels trapped in her life with her parents in southern Tunisia, seeing no prospects for change. One day, the minivan she commutes in daily between her town and the hotel where she works crashes, leaving her as the sole survivor. Realising this could be her chance for a fresh start, she flees to Tunis under a new identity, but everything is soon jeopardised when she becomes the main witness to a police blunder.
Film still from Happy Holidays
Happy Holidays by Scandar Copti
Palestine, Germany, France, Italy, Qatar – Narrative Feature
Four interconnected characters share their unique realities, highlighting the complexities between genders, generations, and cultures. Rami, a Palestinian from Haifa, is dealing with his Jewish girlfriend’s sudden change of heart about her planned abortion. His mother, Hanan, is facing a financial crisis and becomes entangled in complications while seeking compensation for her daughter’s Fifi accident. Miri is forced to confront her daughter’s depression while also working to undermine her sister’s pregnancy with Rami. Fifi grapples with the guilt of hiding a secret that risks her family’s reputation and her burgeoning relationship with Dr. Walid.
HORIZONS Short Films Competition
Film still from Shadows
Shadows by Rand Beiruty
France, Jordan – Animated Short
At a crowded airport, Ahlam, a 14-year-old mother, is running away from Baghdad, the only place she’s ever known. As she fights the shadows lurking around her, she reflects on her journey to reclaim her life.
HORIZONS Extra (Orizzonti Extra)
Film still from Seeking Heaven For Mr. Rambo
Seeking Heaven For Mr. Rambo by Khaled Mansour
Belgium, Denmark, France, Morocco, Norway, Sweden – Narrative Feature
In a working-class neighbourhood of Cairo, 30-year-old Hassan faces eviction with his mother and his dog, Rambo, as their landlord, Karem, a car mechanic, plans to expand his workshop. When Hassan’s mother decides to sue Karem, he responds with hostility, leading to an attack on Hassan. Unable to defend himself, Hassan is rescued by Rambo, who bites Karem in a sensitive spot in a public display. Determined to restore his dignity, Karem intensifies his harassment, prompting Hassan to embark on a challenging journey across the city to find a safe haven for Rambo. Through this quest, Hassan confronts his deepest fears and rediscovers himself.
Venice Classics
Venice Classics is an Official Selection of restorations of films from various film archives over the past year, as well as documentaries about cinema.
Film still from Maroun Returns to Beirut
Maroun Returns to Beirut by Feyrouz Serhal
Qatar, Lebanon – Narrative Feature
2023 marked the thirtieth anniversary of Maroun Baghdadi’s sudden and tragic death. Maroun was a Lebanese filmmaker who wrote and directed films during the Lebanese civil war and contributed to documentary and fiction filmmaking from 1973 up until his death in 1993. In this film, Feyrouz Serhal embarks on a day trip in Beirut and navigates the city that profoundly shaped Maroun’s journey in life and cinema. Here she encounters individuals who were close to him and who shared his experiences. And as she traverses Maroun’s life and career, the social and political backdrop moves to the foreground. The film reflects on the last fifty years of the history of the country from a present standpoint. Through Maroun’s story, we perceive how cinema can, beautifully and dramatically, portray our stories and discourse our life events.
Final Cut
Final Cut in Venice is a program that provides support to filmmakers from Africa and the Middle East in order to complete their work-in-progress feature films. Five films from the Arab world are being highlighted this year:
Aisha Can’t Fly Away by Morad Mostafa – Egypt, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, France – Narrative Feature
In This Darkness I See You by Nadim Tabet – Lebanon, France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia – Narrative Feature
My Father’s Scent by Mohamed Siam – Egypt, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, France – Narrative Feature
Your Daughter by Sara Shazli – Egypt – Documentary Feature
Those Who Watch Over by Karima Saidi – Belgium, France, Qatar – Documentary Feature
Congratulations to these filmmakers! We’ll surely be keeping an eye out for their complete films in the future.
Independent Sections: Venice Days (Giornate degli Autori)
Venice Days is an Independent Section at the Biennale, similar to Director’s Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival, with the goal of highlighting smaller films, and boosting the profile of newer auteurs.
All film descriptions and stills are taken from the Giornate degli Autori official website.
Film still from Sudan, Remember Us
Sudan, Remember Us by Hind Meddeb
Special Event – France, Tunisia, Qatar – Documentary Feature
Shajane, Maha, Muzamil, and Khattab: all Sudanese in their twenties, politically active and artistically creative. This film is an ensemble effort, the collective portrait of a generation fighting for freedom with their words, poems and chants. Faced with a corrupt army responsible for war crimes in Darfur, Kordofan and the Blue Nile, they could easily have lost heart before they even started. Without the dream guiding them, the power of imagination and the might of poetic discourse, they would not have overthrown the former regime. The filmmaker Hind Meddeb followed these young Sudanese during the sit-in that lasted fifty-seven days outside the Army headquarters in Khartoum, then after they survived the 3th of June 2019 massacre – when the army attacked the sit-in, killing hundreds of people in a few hours, as they protested against the military coup. She continued up to the start of the war that caused death and destruction everywhere, forcing all of them to choose the path of exile.
Independent Sections: International Critics’ Week
Critic’s Week is a parallel section that aims to discover new talents, primarily showcasing debut features. Moroccan director Yasmine Benkiran will serve on the jury!
All film descriptions and stills are taken from the Settimana Internazionale della Critica official website.
Film still from Perfumed With Mint
Perfumed With Mint by Muhammed Hamdy
In Competition – Egypt, France, Tunisia, Qatar – Narrative Feature
Bahaa, a lovesick physician and his old friend Mahdy try to escape the ghosts of their past, running from one abandoned house to another as they are chased relentlessly by shadows.
And that’s the lineup of Arab films at the 2024 Venice Film Festival. We’ll be updating our social medias if any of them win major awards, so keep an eye out, and wait to see if any of them end up at the Arab Film Festival next in October.
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