What makes Arab cinema, Arab cinema?

Eman Ibrahim, Cinemayaat’s Editor-in-Chief, wrote an insightful and thought-provoking piece for DAZED MENA. Titled What makes Arab cinema, Arab cinema? , it “explores how music, migration, desire and belonging have come to define Arab cinema.”

Here’s how it begins:

I have an experiment I’d like you to try the next time you encounter a self-proclaimed cinephile in the wild. The kind of cinephile with over 1000 films logged on Letterboxd, with an extensive collection of Criterion Blu-Rays on their living room shelf, who prides themselves on having seen the entire filmographies of even the most obscure European directors. Look that person in the eye and ask, “So what’s your favourite Arab film?”

Intrigued? Read the full piece here.

Cinemayaat is AFMI’s annual online magazine, founded to grow the discourse and profile of classic and contemporary cinema from the Arab world through critical, personal and experimental essays. The first issue focused on The 100 Greatest Arab Films of All Time, as voted by hundreds of professional critics, academics, curators, and select filmmakers.