12 years after its latest edition, Le Festival Des Cinémas Arabes is back with richer content. For this summer, the IMA will celebrate the evolution of the Arab cinema industry across the years. Various Arab films have been competing in film competitions at the Cannes Film Festival and the Academy Awards to name a few. And recently, a new era has commenced after theaters in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have opened their doors to the general public.
Under the support of its president Jack Lang, the IMA has brought back film festivities to its center. And for this year’s edition the honorary president is Palestinian actress and director, Hiam Abbass. The film Capharnaüm, by the Lebanese director Nadine Labaki the winner of the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival 2018, is programmed for the opening night.
As for the categories, the festival will showcase fiction and documentaries both in long feature films and short formats. 80 films will be screened (some for the very first time), from more than 10 Arab countries.
Le Festival Des Cinémas Arabes will include one section for the competing categories, a second as a homage to Jean Chamoun’s L’Ombre de la ville, and to Mahmoud Zemmouri’s De Hollywood à Tamanrasset. And a third section that looks at the emerging cinema in Saudi.
Other activities around the festival include: meetings with professionals from the film industry, scenario-writing workshops, a session for the young public, and several film screenings in theaters across Paris and its suburbs.
To select your favorite film and activity, take a look at the festival’s full schedule here, and book your tickets here.