The Arab Film and Media Institute (AFMI) is the first organization of its kind outside the Arab world, a unique ecosystem to find, nurture and develop Arab film…
Letterboxd 50: Highest Rated Arab Feature Films
Stories
Arab Films at Cannes 2023 - Arab Film and Media Institute (AFMI) Cinemayaat: Arab Film Blog
Banat El Hara - Virtual Gallery Exhibbit
Banat El Hara at Arab Women in the Arts Cinemayaat: Arab Film Blog
The Life & Career of Annemarie Jacir
Every year for our annual Arab Women in the Arts showcase, we choose one talented filmmaker as our highlighted artist whose work we discuss, celebrate and showcase as our opening night event. This year’s artist is the incredibly talented Palestinian filmmaker Annemarie Jacir. Her debut feature film, Salt of this Sea, will be opening this year’s showcase in New York City on April 6 at Nitehawk Cinema – Williamsburg. It will also be shown in San Francisco on April 9 at the Roxie Theatre and it will be…
Explore the lineup for the 3rd annual Arab Women in the Arts showcase! Arab Women in the Arts 2023
Submit Your Film to the 27th Arab Film Festival!
It's already March and we are busy planning the 27th edition of the country's largest and oldest festival of Arab films. The best part?
Lists
Queer Arab Films 108 films
Happy #PrideMonth! Features, documentaries and shorts showcasing queer life in the Arab world and its diaspora 🏳️🌈
Check out our…
Over 100 Narrative Feature Films Directed by Arab Women 116 films
A note: there are a few directors here of Amazigh descent, and while some may not directly identify with the…
#AFF2022: The 26th Arab Film Festival 52 films
The Nation’s Oldest and Largest Festival of Arab Films. November 11-20, In-Person and Virtual. NOTE: Not all films playing at…
Arab Film Festival Collab 2022 20 films
The Arab American National Museum (AANM), the Arab Film and Media Institute (AFMI), ArteEast, and Mizna proudly present the Arab…
Arab Women in the Arts 2022 13 films
Arab Women in the Arts is an annual showcase to honor generations of Arab women who have excelled in and…
Animation from the Arab World 21 films
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Announcing the opening night film for our third annual Arab Women in the Arts showcase!
April 6, 7:30PM at the Nighthawk Cinema - Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
We're pleased to announce The Blue Caftan as the opening film of this year's Arab Film Festival! Screening November 11 at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, with director Maryam Touzani in attendance. Get your tickets here!
This new film by Leyla Bouzid will be available April 7-17 through the 2022 Arab Film Fest Collab!
Grab your early bird tickets and see the full lineup of Arab features, documentaries and shorts here: arabfilmfestcollab.org
Ladies and gentlemen, the opening night film for the 25th Arab Film Festival!
November 18 at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco--
Tickets here: aff2021.eventive.org/schedule/opening-night-amira-615e47c92698ae005b5a77b8
Liked reviews
A beautiful & insightful documentary on one of my favorite bands out of Lebanon and about being queer in the Arab world.
It's available to watch for free on The Guardian: www.theguardian.com/world/video/2022/jun/22/one-good-song-can-do-more-than-5000-protests-the-queer-revolution-in-the-middle-east?CMP=share_btn_tw
Letterboxd's Top 50 Arab movies, based on the average weighted rating of all Letterboxd users. In order to get a substantial collection of titles, this list combines both narrative and documentary features. Films should have a minimum of 1,000 users watched to be eligible to enter the list.
Inspired by Official Top 250 Narrative Feature Films as well as Letterboxd 100: Japan and other lists by user Rahat Ahmed.
Appearances on the list per country:
Egypt: 28
Palestine: 6
Syria:
Lebanon:
Algeria, International Productions, Tunisia:
Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Mauritania, Morocco:
Repeat directors:
4 Entries: Youssef Chahine
3 Entries: Daoud Abdel Sayed
2 Entries: Mohamed Khan, Nadine Labaki, Ziad Doueiri, Moustapha Akkad, Marwan Hamed, Jehane Noujaim
Note on our criteria an "Arab" film:
- Primary language is Arabic
- Directed by an Arab, with Arab subjects
- Plot is linked to Arab identity in some way or another
Latest update:
January 11, 2022