2024 has been incredibly intense for our communities. It’s been hard for all of us to witness the genocide unfolding in Palestine while staying focused on our mission of sharing the best of Arab Cinema with the widest possible audience. Gathering with you, amongst friends, has kept us going. Thank you for all you do and for your support.
In this post, we want to share with you ten of the most significant AFMI moments in 2024: looking back this has been one of the most challenging yet expansive years in the organization.
Psst: do you know you can watch a lot of our past online conversations on YouTube? Check out this playlist and subscribe to our channel.
Gathering to listen to Palestinian Voices
It’s impossible to overstate the pain of this past year, as the genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza and the West Bank continue. More than ever, it’s important to listen to and to amplify Palestinian Voices. This year we continued our Palestinian Voices series of online and in person screenings, and partnered with various groups across the country to create spaces where people could come together.
A few notable events: An Evening of Palestinian Film with SFFILM, two days of screenings in Oakland, RESISTERE Film Series in Los Angeles, the theatrical premiere of Bye Bye Tiberias in New York City, and supporting screenings of LYD in multiple cities.
Palestinian Voices also featured prominently at this year’s Arab Film Festival, with multiple features (including Opening Night) and short films.
Four Daughters receives an Oscar nomination
This year we supported the theatrical release of Kaouther Ben Hania’s groundbreaking documentary Four Daughters. If you haven’t seen it yet, make sure to catch it, it’s truly a groundbreaking film in its approach to documentary filmmaking and cinematic storytelling.
Four Daughters was Tunisia’s submission to the Oscars and was nominated for the Best Documentary Feature award. While the film didn’t win, Kaouther Ben Hania made history as the first Arab woman to receive two Oscar nominations. Her film The Man Who Sold His Skin was nominated for Best International Feature Film in 2021.
Psst: if you are interested in Arab films at the Oscars, we have a whole blog post about it.
The Teacher wins Best Film at SFFILM
In April The Teacher by Farah Nabulsi screened at the 67th San Francisco International Film Festival, and director Farah Nabulsi attended in person.
AFMI supported The Teacher as a film community partner, and after the screening we hosted a dinner for director Farah Nabulsi and our biggest supporters in the Bay Area. We spent an unforgettable evening together at Freekeh, a Palestinian family-owned restaurant in San Francisco that serves traditional food from the Levantine region.
Supporting Palestinian Filmmakers
Earlier this year we joined forces with Peace is Loud to support Palestinian filmmakers through their expanded pro-bono consulting initiative. In solidarity with Palestine during Israel’s genocide in Gaza, Peace is Loud brought together peers across the film, documentary, and impact sectors to offer pro-bono office hours to Palestinian filmmakers, along with the Peace is Loud Film Impact team.
Serge Bakalian, AFMI‘s Executive Director, joined the group of volunteers as a film expert. Palestinian filmmakers have been able to schedule a pro-bono call with him (depending on availability) to receive advice across a range of filmmaking topics.
Celebrating Arab Women in the Arts
Our yearly celebration of Arab Women in the Arts turned four in 2024, and returned to AFMI bigger and more popular than ever.
This year’s program highlighted identity and our connections to our home or homeland through themes such as food, sustenance, soil and the concept of self reliance. It showcased the innovative and creative work of both established and up-and-coming artists in film, poetry and the visual arts from across the Arab world, the larger SWANA region and the diaspora.
The program highlighted the work of visionary Syrian filmmaker Soudade Kaadan, together with a curated series of short films, and a family screening of Dounia and the Princess of Aleppo
Banat El Hara, which translates to “Women of the Neighborhood” from Arabic, returned for two days as our annual exhibition of mixed media works and part of Arab Women in the Arts. It was organized & curated by Dahlia Dandashi, Rama Duwaji & Karina Dandashi.
We also hosted a Filmmakers & Creators Mixer, and special events showcasing the work of Arab Women in Poetry.
The 2024 edition of Arab Women in the Arts took place in New York, San Francisco and online reaching a wider audience.
All proceeds from the 2024 edition of Arab Women in the Arts were donated to Palestine Legal, an independent organization dedicated to protecting the civil and constitutional rights of people in the US who speak out for Palestinian freedom.
Takalam entered its 7th year
Takalam: Arab Youth Speak Up! is AFMI’s summer program for Arab-American youth aged 13 to 18, in partnership with the Oakland Unified School District’s APISA Program and KDOL Youth Beat.
Started in 2018, the program’s mission is to uplift the voices of our younger generations, to support the achievement and success of newcomer families, and to help develop the leadership of our Arab-American students through storytelling and digital skills.
Each summer a select cohort of participants have the opportunity to create short films to share their experiences and the stories they want to tell.
This year three films produced in the 2024 edition of Takalam screened at the 28th Arab Film Festival.
Dearborn – AFMI’s first fiscally sponsored project
This year we also welcomed Dearborn as our first fiscally sponsored project. And WOW. We cannot share the finished film yet, but had the pleasure of seeing a private screener, it looks so good 🎉
The team behind Dearborn applied for fiscal sponsorship while in pre production and were able to raise the funds needed and complete the half hour sci-fi dramedy pilot.
Showrunner/Writer Leila Bustami is an Arab-American writer/director who grew up between the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates. Currently studying Film and Television at NYU, Leila’s passion lies in crafting comedic Arab-centered stories that explore the fantastical and sci-fi genre. With Dearborn, she wants to “shine a spotlight on an Arab Community in Michigan and highlight the humanity in each character. Oftentimes, the media reinforces negative stereotypes relating to the Arab community, and Dearborn seeks to change that by building accurate representation of Arab culture on screen.”
Stay tuned for announcements of when the film will be released.
Opening Night at the 28th Arab Film Festival
Opening Night at this year’s Arab Film Festival was an incredibly moving experience. For the first time in the history of the festival, we opened with a feature documentary film, Life is Beautiful: A Letter to Gaza by Mohamed Jabaly.
The film is also a powerful reminder of the decades of suffering Palestinians have endured, and continue to suffer under threat of genocide. And it’s also a reminder of the power of humanity and solidarity across cultures.
Life is Beautiful: A Letter to Gaza received a standing ovation.
Alana Hadid, the influential activist, creator and creative director for Watermelon Pictures, joined us in person in San Francisco, alongside other special guests, such as members of our festival jury, and Adam Habib, whose short film Self screened before the main feature.
The evening included powerful performances by Palestinian artist Llunr and Palestinian rapper MC Abdul. By the end of the night, we didn’t want to leave, our hearts were full with sorrow, but also love for our community.
An evening to remember
The 28th Arab Film Festival spanned 11 days and included 41 films from 26 countries. We possibly showed the highest number of regional and national premieres of any of our previous festival editions, and hosted in person screenings, events, and get togethers, alongside a full online program and virtual workshops.
As it would be impossible to mention all the poignant moments from the Arab Film Festival, we would like to highlight a special screening and evening. On Nov. 2, during Hip-Hop History Month, we hosted a special retrospective screening of Slingshot Hip Hop and post screening discussion with director J. Reem Salloum and Suhel Nafar, co-founder of pioneering Palestinian Hip-Hop group DAM and Head of WANA (West Asia, North Africa and the diaspora) at EMPIRE, the leading independent label, distributor, and publisher based in the US.
We were also joined by Indigenous Justice and Danza Azteca de Anahuac for Native American Heritage Month and Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) who led a ceremony to honor the ancestors, collectively mourn, and to remember the thousands of lives killed in the ongoing genocide. The evening shined a spotlight on cross cultural solidarity with the movement for Palestinian Liberation and Self Determination.
The evening was unforgettable.
From Ground Zero is shortlisted for the Oscars
The Centerpiece film of the 28th Arab Film Festival was From Ground Zero, Palestine’s Submission to the 97th Academy Awards. It won the Ruya (Visionary) Award at AFF2024.
From Ground Zero is a compelling project that brings together 22 short films created by talented filmmakers from Gaza. Launched by Rashid Masharawi, a renowned Palestinian filmmaker, the initiative was born against the backdrop of conflict to provide a platform for young artists to express themselves through their craft.
Each film, ranging in length from 3 to 6 minutes, presents a unique perspective on the current reality in Gaza. The project captures the diverse experiences of life in the Palestinian enclave, including the challenges, tragedies and moments of resilience faced by its people. Using a mix of genres including fiction, documentary, docu-fiction, animation and experimental cinema, From Ground Zero presents a rich diversity of stories.
Just a few days ago, it was announced that From Ground Zero has been shortlisted for the Oscars. Our hearts go out to all the Palestinian people and the courageous filmmakers who are doing all they can to speak up.
Several Arab filmmakers were recognized in the Oscars shortlist:
- for Best Documentary Feature
No Other Land
Hollywoodgate - for Best International Feature
From Ground Zero - for Best Live Action Short
An Orange from Jaffa
Thank you for all your support this year. Our team is resting until the new year, to start 2025 with renewed commitment to enhance public understanding of Arab culture and provide insight into the beauty, complexity and diversity intrinsic to the Arab world.
If you would like to support one or all of our programs, please make a donation today.
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