The International Film Festival Rotterdam starts today, January 30 to February 9, in the titular Netherlands metropolis. The festival’s primary focus is experimental and independent cinema, and continues to highlight auteur-driven international cinema now in its 54th year. There is a great slate of Arab films playing at the IFFR this year, with premieres, screenings of recent 2024 releases, revivals of old classics, and more! Let’s see what’s on the programming docket for the 2025 edition of the festival, several of which may be available for streaming.
Ready to find out more about Arab Films at the 2025 International Film Festival Rotterdam?
All film descriptions and stills courtesy of the IFFR.
Still from East of Noon
East of Noon by Hala Elkoussy – Harbour
In an indistinct time period, an Egyptian theatre company is a front for a network of exploitation that infiltrates every aspect of life. In East-12, an upheaval is underway, led by youngsters determined to free themselves from the grip of fear. The film premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival as part of Director’s Fortnight.
Still from Dead Dog
Dead Dog by Sarah Francis – Harbour
Walid and Aida, husband and wife, are reunited after Walid’s many years spent living abroad. Answers to long-hidden secrets are sought in Sarah Francis’ careful unravelling of an estranged marriage. The film is having it’s premiere at IFFR and will be available On Demand!
Still from Shapes of Normal Human Beings
Shapes of Normal Human Beings by Salim Mrad – Harbour
Three friends take an 8-day road journey to make sense of Lebanon at this moment in time. Each detour in their journey makes for a spectacular experience of co-narration and listening in the face of uncertainty. The film is having it’s premiere at IFFR and will be available On Demand!
Still from Happy Holidays
Happy Holidays by Scandar Copti – Harbour
Four interconnected tales of two families in Haifa, one Palestinian and the other Israeli, deliver a universal cry for personal dignity. Filmmaker Scandar Copti examines the tangled web of deceit that arises from the intersection of state institutions, societal pressures and cultural conventions. The film premiered at the 2024 Venice Film Festival in the HORIZONS section.
Still from Where the Wind Comes From
Where the Wind Comes From by Amel Guellaty – Harbour
When an amazing opportunity for a better life presents itself Alyssa begs her childhood friend Medhi to join her, and he agrees. The two set off on an adventure, but it’s one of twists and turns that will take the naive friends by surprise. The film had it’s world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition, and will be available for streaming!
Still from The Visual Feminist Manifesto
The Visual Feminist Manifesto by Farida Baqi – Bright Future
Expressing desire, pursuing dreams, loving oneself, questioning the oppressive confines of patriarchy. Farida Baqi takes us on a lyrical and emotional journey through the life of a young woman from birth to adulthood in an unnamed Arab city. The film is having it’s premiere at IFFR and will be available On Demand!
Still from My Brother, My Brother
My Brother, My Brother by Saad Dnewar & Abdelrahman Dnewar – Short & Mid-length
Perceiving life as something shared by two. Through a split (dual) narrative, identical twins Omar and Wesam, recount their shared memories: from their time in the womb of their mother to the moment they are tragically separated. Written and directed by twin brothers, Saad and Abdelrahman Dnewar, My Brother, My Brother, combines 2D animation with live-action cinematography to chronicle a deeply affectionate and tender narrative about existing without the other.
Still from Partition
Partition by Diana Allan – Short & Mid-length
Using found footage from the colonial archives of British Mandate Palestine (1917 – 1948) and audio recordings of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Partition brings forth histories that have long existed at the margins. Co-director of the Nakba Archive, Diana Allan, re-photographs colonial found footage on 16mm to powerfully resituate Palestinian presence through story, voice and song.
Still from The Open Door
The Open Door by Henry Barakat – Focus: Through Cinema We Shall Rise!
With a fine-tuned mise-en-scène, theatrical chiaroscuro effects, expressive cross-cutting, heavy symbolism and melodramatic outbursts, Henry Barakat’s The Open Door adapts Latifa al-Zayyat’s iconic coming-of-age novel of the same name about a woman’s political and sexual awakening for the Nasser era (1954–1967).
Still from Where to?
Where to? by Georges Nasser – Focus: Through Cinema We Shall Rise!
Hamid moves abroad for greener pastures, leaving his wife and two sons to fend for themselves. The family survives with great labour and sacrifice, but its hard-earned stability is threatened when the younger son plans to emigrate. A touching neorealist parable around an eternal dilemma.
Are you at IFFR? Don’t miss the Arab Films playing at the 2025 International Film Festival Rotterdam!
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