After weeks of deliberation, the editorial team at the Arab Cinema Magazine have finally settled on this year’s list of the 101 creative and corporate talents that are currently shaping the Arab film entertainment industry. The profiles you will read in the following pages have been selected based on their achievements and activities in the twelve months since we published last year’s list in May. Quite a few regulars have returned; but many names are entirely new to this annual who’s who compendium. Drawing up this list is a necessarily subjective exercise. Cinema has always been an exquisite combination of hard-headed commerce and ineffable artistry, of cold calculations and hot instincts, of show and business. As such, numbers alone don’t give you the full picture; if they did, we would only give you the Arab world’s largest media and tech corporations, its most commercially proven filmmakers, its most-followed Insta-influencers, stars and celebrities. But their success depends on an entire ecosystem of enablers, power-brokers, bridge-builders, nurturers, festival-winners, breakthrough discoveries, industry champions and international trumpet-blowers. The contributions of these often-unsung heroes defy numerical computation or data analysis. So read through our selections, hear some precious pearls of wisdom from a chosen few of them, and then let the arguments begin about who we left out!
ARAB CINEMA CENTER | GLOBAL
CAREER HIGHLIGHT(S): The brainchild of MAD Solutions, the ACC has celebrated its 10th anniversary last year as the Arab film industry’s primary focal point and information source in the global marketplace. A non-profit organization, the ACC acts as an umbrella presence at film events to advocate - and, where necessary, agitate - on behalf of Arab cinema and culture worldwide. New co-production opportunities have been forged, new market doorways opened, new ideas discussed and new career paths launched into orbit as a result of ACC’s catalytic influence. This very magazine is one visible expression of that commitment, and so also all the new business avenues that are opening for Arab projects and filmmakers in countries where not so long ago they were invisible.
Welcome to this year’s Golden 101. Drawing our inspiration from the Palme d’Or, the prized golden palm leaf that is awarded by the Cannes jury to the best competition film each year, Arab Cinema Magazine presents its latest survey of those with the Midas touch when it comes to Arab filmmaking. Over the following pages you will see names of the gilded talents and entities that have made the greatest contributions to Arab-language cinema these past twelve months. As always with our Golden 101 list, these names are not ranked, but simply grouped together alongside their immediate peers across avariety of categories. These are the magnificent artists, artisans and power-brokers who have made the biggest difference this past year - and who the rest of world should pay attention to if they have any interest in capitalizing on the world’s fastest growing entertainment region, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). As an additional feature, we invited many of our chosen talents to respond to the same set of questions ranging from the best advice they were ever given to the biggest obstacles that stand in their way. Their answers are golden nuggets of wisdom.
In what has now become an eagerly awaited - and sometimes hotly disputed - annual tradition, Arab Cinema Magazine presents the artists, artisans and power-brokers who have had the biggest impact on Arab-language cinema over the past twelve months. The 101 number is a somewhat arbitrary cut-off, we admit, especially now that the Arab entertainment industry has developed and broadened to such an exciting extent. With the wealth of creative and executive talent on offer, we would easily fill the entire magazine with the names of those you need to know or be in business with. But the numerical cap does at least force a certain editorial rigor, and internal debate about who should make the final cut. As in previous editions, all these names are not ranked, but rather grouped together alongside their immediate peers in various categories. Regular readers of the GOLDEN 101 will also notice something different this year: several of the entries are accompanied by a quick-fire Question & Answer session with those who made this year’s Hot List. Apart from making this a more fun read, these Q&As also serve to lend some personality to individual names and faces who would otherwise remain just a collection of corporate bios. In doing so, we learned that the dream job that many on this list would have wanted had they not become successful in cinema was to be an airline pilot. Who knew? And with that revelation, please buckle up and enjoy this year’s flight across the Arab world of cinema change-makers.
ARAB CINEMA CENTER | GLOBAL
CAREER HIGHLIGHT(S) : The brainchild of MAD Solutions (see above), the ACC was created eight years ago as an umbrella presence at film events to advocate - and where necessary agitate - on behalf of arab cinema and culture the world over. New co-production opportunities have been forged, new market doorways opened, and new talented career paths launched into orbit. This very magazine is one visible expression of that commitment, and so also are all the new avenues that are opening for Arab projects and filmmakers in countries where not so long ago they were invisible.
Drawing our inspiration from the Palme d’Or, the prized Golden Palm Leaf that is awarded by the Cannes jury to the best competition film each year, the Arab Cinema Centre is presenting its latest survey of those with the Midas touch when it comes to Arab filmmaking. Over the following pages you will see names of the golden one hundred and one talents and entities that the filmmaking world needs to know based on our latest assessment of recent dealings in Arab cinema. It is important to note that these names are not ranked, but rather grouped together alongside their immediate peers in various categories. And just to be clear, these names were all prioritized for their recent contributions to Arab-language cinema, rather than their sway over the television or digital media business. But since so much of cinema now overlaps with the business of streaming platforms, it should come as no surprise to see a large contingent of those who are equally at home on the mobile, small, large and supersized IMAX screens. Cinema is becoming platform-agnostic and so too, clearly are its flourishing artists, artisans and power-brokers.
The brainchild of MAD Solutions (see above), the ACC was created eight years ago as an umbrella presence at film events to advocate – and where necessary agitate - on behalf of Arab cinema and culture the world over. New co-production opportunities have been forged, new market doorways opened, and new talented career paths launched into orbit. This very magazine is one visible expression of that commitment, and so too are all the new avenues that are opening for Arab projects and filmmakers in countries where not so long ago, they were invisible.
In what has become an annual tradition, the Arab Cinema Centre is unveiling here its latest survey of those currently seen as having the greatest international influence on Arab filmmaking. The Golden 101 lists the names of individuals, companies and institutions who have made the most significant waves over these past two years—and are most likely to keep doing so in the year ahead. This longer-than-usual qualifying period reflects the COVID-enforced interruptions of the past 18 months—a prolonged hiatus that also explains the absence of some of the more regular names in film sales from our previous lists. Their presence at film markets have not been quite as keenly felt as in previous years. They will surely return in greater force next year.
Over the following pages you will see names of the golden one hundred and one talents and entities that the filmmaking world needs to know based on our latest assessment of recent dealings in Arab cinema. This year’s entries come from thirteen different Arab countries as well as seven non-Arab countries that help knit the ecosystem together. While Egypt continues to dominate in numerical terms, Saudi Arabia has a noticeably much bigger presence now.
Once again, this annual parade of those who matter in the Arab film industry is being released to coincide with the Cannes Film Festival. You’ll see that these not names are not ranked, but rather they are ordered alphabetically by first names and grouped together alongside their immediate peers in various categories. More than ever, hard choices had to be made: with Arab talents being increasingly recognized around the world, we were unable find room to include several Arab filmmakers and actors who have burst onto the scene of late, including: the two Venice winning actors, Morocco’s Khansa Batma (ZANKA CONTACT) and Syria’s Yahya Mahayni (THE MAN WHO SOLD HIS SKIN); the filmmakers Jimmy Kerouz of Lebanon (BROKEN KEYS) and Mayye Zahed of Egypt (LIFT LIKE A GIRL); and the likes of British-born STAR WARS actor Amir El-Masry and Tunisian acting star Dhafer L’Abidine, who has just made his directorial debut with the film GHODWA. No doubt their names will start appearing on future lists.
And just to be clear, these names were all chosen for their recent contributions to Arab-language cinema, rather than their sway over the television or digital media business. But since so much of cinema now overlaps with the business of streaming platforms, it should come as no surprise to see a large contingent of those who traverse the big, the small and mobile screens. Cinema is becoming platform-agnostic and so too, clearly are its flourishing artists, artisans and power-brokers.
The brainchild of MAD Solutions (see above), the ACC was created seven years ago as an umbrella presence at film events to advocate – and where necessary agitate - on behalf of Arab cinema and culture the world over. New co-production opportunities have been forged; new market doorways opened; and new talented career paths launched into orbit. This very magazine is one visible expression of that commitment, and so also are all the new avenues that are opening for Arab projects and filmmakers in countries where not so long ago they were invisible.
What better time and place than Cannes, the annual parade of cinema’s superpowers, to reveal who in the Arab film industry has mattered most in the past twelve months? So here it is, our second GOLDEN 101. Over the following pages you will see names of the hundred talents and entities – plus one extra thrown in for good measure at the end – that the world really needs to know based on our assessment of their recent business history in Arab film. They are not ranked, please note, but ordered alphabetically by first names and grouped together alongside their immediate peers. And just to be clear, the names were all chosen for their recent contributions to Arab-language cinema. Inevitably, more of more of the Arab world’s top talents are being poached by the streaming giants. We recognize this overlap but we have tried to focus on those who matter in the context of the Cannes Film Festival. This also means that the emergent powers from Arab television and digital media will have to wait for future editions when we take measure of their particular contributions to Arab storytelling. Let the debates begin!
The brainchild of MAD Solutions (see above), the ACC was created five years as an umbrella presence at film events to advocate and where necessary agitate - on behalf of Arab cinema and culture the world over. This very magazine is one visible expression of that commitment, and so also are all the new avenues that are opening for Arab projects and filmmakers in countries where not so long ago they were invisible (read the special tribute in this issue).
What better time and place than Cannes, the annual parade of cinema’s superpowers, to reveal who in the Arab film industry has mattered most in the past twelve months? So here it is, our inaugural CANNES 100. Over the following pages you will see names of the golden hundred talents and entities – plus one extra thrown in for good measure at the end – that the world really needs to know based on our assessment of their recent business history in Arab film. They are not ranked, please note, but ordered alphabetically by first names and grouped together alongside their immediate peers. And just to be clear, for those wondering why someone like Algerian-born Sofia Boutella is not on the list just as she is making a splash on the Croisette with FAHRENHEIT 451, the names were all chosen for their recent contributions to Arab-language cinema. This also means that the emergent powers from Arab television and digital media will have to wait for future editions when we take measure of their particular contributions to Arab storytelling. Let the debates begin!
The 100 Most Important Names in the Arab Film Industry includes industry professionals that either represent themselves or entities they work for. The names were all chosen for their contributions to Arab-language cinema in the past twelve months, which is why Arab names who participated in international films/TV series are not on the list. They are ordered alphabetically by first names and grouped together alongside their immediate peers.
The brainchild of MAD Solutions (see above), the ACC was created as an umbrella presence at film events to advocate – and where necessary agitate - on behalf of Arab cinema and culture the world over. This very magazine is one visible expression of that commitment, and so also are all the new avenues that are opening for Arab projects and filmmakers in countries where not so long ago they were invisible.
