Letterboxd — Your life in film

While Arab Americans have long been absent from both silver and small screens, there seems to be more and more exciting shows, stars and creators on the rise in recent years, ready to bring their stories to life. In light of the reveal of this year’s Emmy nominations, let’s take time to celebrate Arab Americans in television!

COSTA BRAVA, LEBANON captures the joys and frustrations of a close-knit family with an intimacy that feels startlingly natural, and sets them against a sharply drawn backdrop of environmental crisis. In the not-so-distant future, the free-spirited Badri family have escaped the toxic pollution and social unrest of Beirut by seeking refuge in an idyllic mountain home. Without warning, the government starts to build a garbage landfill right outside their fence, intruding on their domestic utopia and bringing the trash and…

The short documentary BEIRUT DREAMS IN COLOR directed by Michael Collins (and co-produced by Arab Film Festival alum Sarah Kaskas and her production company Karaaj Films) just became available for free online via The Guardian. It is a film about the Lebanese indie-rock band Mashrou' Leila and about being queer in the Arab world.

It’s June, which means it’s LGBTQ Pride Month! This is a time to celebrate people of all sexual orientations and genders. Here at AFMI, we are of course celebrating by watching movies. People are often surprised to learn that queer Arab films and filmmakers openly exist, but they most certainly do and this misconception makes it all the more important that we acknowledge and celebrate them. To celebrate Pride, we have compiled a list of Arab films that tackle the stories…

This year's Arab Women in the Arts program highlights Lebanese director Randa Chahal Sabbag's work. Her feature film, Civilized People, kickstarts our annual 5 days of celebration of Arab women who have excelled in and revolutionized all forms of artistic expression.

The Arab American National Museum (AANM), the Arab Film and Media Institute (AFMI), ArteEast, and Mizna proudly present the Arab Film Fest Collab (AFFC) from April 7-17, 2022. The AFFC is a collectively produced virtual film festival, screening independent Arab cinema for audiences across the United States.

We are now accepting submissions for the 26th Arab Film Festival! The country's largest and oldest festival of its kind.

AFMI’s Director of Film Programming, Yasmina Tawil, sat down with Hany Abu-Assad to discuss his newest film, Huda’s Salon, which opens in U.S. theaters and online on March 4th.

The history of Sudanese cinema is like that of many other SWANA nations, too long determined by the lasting effects of colonialism, political unrest, and public suppression. Yet, nonetheless, it reveals the resiliency of SWANA societies and the richness of our cultures and experiences. A retracing of the history of Sudanese cinema reveals that Sudanese filmmakers fought government repression both foreign and national. Today it is Sudan’s culture that informs modern day storytelling and technology is developing to support a…

AFMI's Director of Film Programming, Yasmina Tawil, recently sat down with Murad Abu Eisheh, the filmmaker behind the Oscar shortlisted film short film Tala'vision.

After the screening of our Queer Lens program at the 25th Arab Film Festival, our director of film programming, Yasmina Tawil, sat down with two of the participating filmmakers, Reem Jubran and Saleh Saadi, to discuss their work and the representation of LBGTQ+ stories on screen.

Arab Film and Media Institute's Director of Film Programming chats with director Maysoon Pachachi about her newest film OUR RIVER...OUR SKY.

Catch our live conversation with award-winning, Palestinian filmmaker Elia Suleiman, moderated by AFMI's Director of Film Programming Yasmina Tawil. Make sure to catch his four feature films streaming now for free as part of the Elia Suleiman Retrospective, in partnership with the Arab American National Museum, ArteEast, Doha Film Institute and Qatar Museums.