Continuing its tradition of celebrating excellence in Arab cinema, the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) has announced the nominees for the ninth edition of its annual Critics Awards for Arab Films.
Leading the pack with five nominations each this year are four films: THANK YOU FOR BANKING WITH US!; EVERYBODY LOVES TOUDA; GHOST TRAIL and SEEKING HAVEN FOR MR. RAMBO. Following close behind them, with four nominations, is: AÏCHA.
Several other films also had multiple nominations including: THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE; TO A LAND UNKNOWN; VOY! VOY! VOY! and NORAH.
This year’s winners will be revealed during a ceremony held on May 17th as part of the Cannes Film Festival. The event is organized in collaboration with MAD Solutions and the International Emerging Film Talent Association (IEFTA), and attendance is by invitation only.
The Critics Awards for Arab Films have become a prestigious and anticipated highlight of the festival calendar. The 2025 edition marks another milestone in the award’s legacy, with a record-breaking 281 jury members from 75 countries voting on the standout Arab films of the past year. Nominees were selected from films that premiered outside the Arab world in the 2024 calendar year.
This year’s nominations span across a range of categories, including Best Feature Film, Best Documentary, Best Short Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, and Best Music, showcasing the depth and diversity of the storytelling craft and from across the Arab region.
Here’s the final list of nominees:
Best Feature Film
Best Director
Best Screenplay
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Cinematography
Best Editing
Best Music
Best Documentary
Best Short Film
About the Critics Awards for Arab Films:
The first Critics Awards for Arab Films was held on the margins of the 70th Cannes Film Festival and is an annual event held in partnership with Festival Scope that honors the best Arab productions of the previous year with awards in the following categories: Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Documentary, Best Short, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, and Best Music.
With the ninth edition of the Critics Awards for Arab Films, the ACC reaffirms its mission to celebrate and empower Arab filmmakers, ensuring their stories resonate on an international scale. As the center enters its next decade, it continues to be a driving force behind the ever-evolving and dynamic Arab film industry.
For the past decade, the ACC has been at the forefront of championing and nurturing up-and-coming directors who dare to explore revolutionary film genres. With a steadfast commitment to fostering creativity and innovation, the center has become a pivotal force in the Arab film industry. By providing invaluable guidance, mentorship, and resources, the ACC empowers emerging filmmakers to push boundaries, challenge conventions, and bring their unique visions to life.
About the Arab Cinema Center:
Organized by MAD Solutions in 2015, the ACC is a nonprofit organization registered in Berlin and is an international promotional platform for Arab cinema, providing the Arab filmmaking industry with a professional window to connect with its counterparts from all over the world through a number of events that it organizes.
The ACC also provides networking opportunities with representatives of companies and institutions specialized in co-production and international distribution, among others. The ACC's activities vary between film markets, stands, and pavilions, networking sessions and one-on-one meetings bringing together Arab and foreign filmmakers, welcome parties, as well as meetings with international organizations and festivals, and the issuance of the Arab Cinema Magazine to be distributed at the leading international film festivals and markets.
Furthermore, a newsletter subscription is now available on the ACC's website, allowing users to obtain digital copies of the Arab Cinema Magazine, as well as news on the ACC's activities, notifications of application dates for grants, festivals and offers from educational and training institutions, updates on Arab films participating at festivals, exclusive news on the Arab Cinema LAB, and highlights from the ACC's partners and their future projects.
The ACC also launched an English-language Arab Cinema Guide, available on its website, which is a comprehensive cinematic guide that provides a variety of tools presented collectively for the first time to offer information on Arab cinema to filmmakers inside and outside the Arab world. It also aims to facilitate filmmakers' access to international markets and help film industry representatives easily identify Arab film productions.
