Watch Arab Films – Special Online Screening Events
This is the first of a three-part series of posts on how to watch Arab films while practicing social distancing. Normally this time of the year you might be here on the Cinemayaat blog reading about the Arab films selected for the Tribeca or Cannes film festivals, or maybe for an update on AFMI's year-round in-person screenings. But due to the outbreak of Coronavirus, most of the world is on "pause" which means festivals, film screenings and theatrical releases have
Arab Films at the Berlinale 2020
Looking for Arab Films at the Berlinale? The 70th Berlin International Film Festival, known also as the Berlinale, begins February 20th in Berlin, Germany. It's known as one of the "Big Three" festivals and is considered highly prestigious. Here is our annual round up of all the Arab films that will be featured in this year's festival! Psst: check out Arab films at the Berlinale 2019 and 2018 if you are looking for more movies to watch. Feature Films Let's
The History of Arab Cinema at the Oscars
The Academy Awards, known colloquially as "The Oscars", is an annual awards ceremony that recognizes achievement in the film industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This year marks the 92nd year of the awards with the first award being presented in 1929. This year's ceremony will take place on Sunday, February 9th. In preparation for this year's ceremony, we have prepared for you a comprehensive history of Arab cinema at the Oscars, broken down by decade.
Yasmina’s Reading List: Books About Arab Cinema
While we always want to encourage you to watch Arab films, sometimes it's good to step away from the screen and grab a book! I wanted to share a few books about Arab cinema as well as the representation of Arab people and culture in film and media that I have on my own reading list this year. Reading these books about Arab cinema can help provide context and a deeper understanding of the history of the industry. Reel Bad
Arab Films at Sundance 2020
In a great start to 2020, we're already seeing some Arab representation at the first film festival of the year with Arab films at Sundance. The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival hosted in Park City, Utah that was founded in 1978. This year's festival runs from January 23rd to February 2nd. It's become the largest independent film festival in the US and is known for showcasing new, up-and-coming talent. This year the festival will be showcasing 3
Imagine What’s Possible – AFMI in 2019
Over 20 years ago, we started the Arab Film Festival to challenge hurtful media stereotypes and provide talented Arab filmmakers with a platform to show a real depiction of the Arab world. And our commitment has continued to grow over the years: we expanded into AFMI to fight bigotry and hate with powerful art and storytelling that foster empathy and understanding of our common humanity, and to support Arab filmmakers in the US. We are still a long way from
AFF2019: The Ten Best Moments
This year's Arab Film Festival was record-breaking. Relive all the excitement through AFF2019 best moments. From sold out shows to filmmakers' Q&A, let's celebrate the best of Arab Cinema together. Photos from Opening Night at the Castro Theatre 1) Historic Turnout for Opening Night The first of AFF2019 best moments was this year's Arab Film Festival's Opening Night in San Francisco - we saw a historic turnout! The crowd at the iconic Castro Theatre came out in droves
Arab Documentary Films at AFF2019
At AFMI, we are no stranger to Arab documentary films. They are a constant staple of our Arab Film Festival as well as our screenings throughout the year. Documentary films are a great tool to capture and share true stories with others. This year we are presenting 13 Arab documentary films of feature length, as well as 12 Arab documentary films in short form. These Arab documentary films cover numerous topics from war and sexism, to soccer and beer brewing.
Queer Lens – LBGTQ+ films at AFF2019
At this year's Arab Film Festival, we will be presenting a total of 5 shorts programs with a range of different themes. We've always found short films to be an incredible way to highlight diverse voices and new talent. This year we are particularly excited to present our inaugural Queer Lens: LBGTQ+ Showcase! This 2 hour program of award-winning films is all about queer Arabs, by queer filmmakers. By virtue of this program we aim to celebrate the multi-dimensional formations
North African Films at the 23rd Arab Film Festival
At this year's Arab Film Festival we will be presenting 17 North African films from 9 different countries! We're so excited by the North African films presence at this year's festival and we're especially excited to be highlighting these North African films from countries we don't often receive submissions from such as Sudan, Libya and Mauritania. Here are all of North African film which will be screening throughout AFF2019. Film still from aKasha From Sudan we will be
