From 28th June to 8th July 2018, Arab cinema was celebrated at the Arab World Institute in Paris at the 1st Arab Film Festival (Festival des Cinémas Arabes), 12 years after the Arab Cinema Biennale (1992-2006) and with representation from 12 Arabic speaking countries.
Following a dynamic opening with the screening of Cannes Jury Prize winning ‘Capharnaüm’ in the presence of Lebanese director Nadine Labaki , over 60 recently produced films (shorts & features; documentaries & fictions) screened alongside retrospectives, tributes (to Jean Chamoun & Mahmoud Zemmouri), and a selected focus on Saudi cinema. Workshops, Q & As and debates encouraged interaction, networking and learning.
This first edition was presided by Jack Lang with Olivier Barlet, Emna Mrabet and Salah Sermini on the selection committee. Two juries united established producers, directors, actors, philosophers and screenwriters across the borders.
During the 10 day festival, Parisians were invited to escape the heatwave into the stunning Jean Nouvel designed Institut du Monde Arabe in the 5th arrondisement by the Seine for a mere six euros per session to cool off in the contemporary, comfortable cinema and dive into the visions of filmmakers from Lebanon, Syrian, Palestine, Iraq, UAE, Algeria, Egypt and beyond.
Love, war, despair and hope played out through family dramas, improbable love stories, poetic shorts and compelling features.
Two personal fiction film favourites that didn’t receive awards were ‘Photocopy’ (pictured above)– a touching unlikely love story by Egyptian director Tamer Ashry and the hilarious short ‘Bolbol’ by Tunisian director Khedija Lemkecher- the story of a bored homebody in a dull marriage, Bolbol, who plunges herself into a new festive life at the downstairs wedding reception hall.
If in Paris next summer, make sure to add this festival to your agenda while it’s is still at a size where the talent are accessible, the cinema spacious and the tickets affordable. And while you’re there, or actually at any time of the year when travelling through Paris, don’t forget to check out the incredible permanent collection and temporary exhibitions at the Institute and enjoy the panoramic view over Paris from the rooftop: https://www.imarabe.org/
FICTION AWARDS
Jury: Faouzi Bensaïdi (president), Fatima Al-Banawi, Jacques Bidou, Amine Bouhafa, Mohamed Hefzy, Salim Kechiouche and Véronique Lange
Short film Award
‘Affabilité’ (Friendliness)- Ahmad Nader (Egypt, 2017)
Land Of Our Fathers – Ulaa Salim (Iraq, 2017)
Best Actress
Zahraa Ghandour in ‘The Journey’- Mohamed Jabarah Al Daradji (Iraq/Qatar/France/Holland/UK, 2017)
Best Actor
The ensemble cast of Le Déjeuner (The Lunch) – Lucien Bourjeily, (Lebanon, 2017)
TV5MONDE Prize for First Feature Film
BENZINE – Sarra Abidi (Tunisia, 2017)
Jury Prize
Le Déjeuner (The Lunch)- Lucien Bourjeily (Lebanon, 2017)
Grand Prize
The Journey – Mohamed Jabarah Al Daradji (Irak/Qatar/France/Holland/UK, 2017)
DOCUMENTARY AWARDS
Jury: Serge Le Péron (president), Samir Abdallah, Hicham Falah, Marie-José Mondzain and Nadine Naous.
Jury Prize (shorts)
La Naissance d’une image (The Birth of an Image) – Firas Khoury (Palestine, 2017)
Sculpting in time de Youssef Nasser (Egypt, 2017);
Train-trains 2 : une dérivation de Rania Stephan (Lebanon, 2017)
Jury Prize (feature length documentary)
‘Des moutons et des hommes’ (Sheep and Men) de Karim Sayad (Algeria/Qatar/France/Switzerland, 2017)
Grand Prize
The Band – Albaqer Jafeer (Iraq/Lebanon, 2017)
