During the 74th Cannes Film Festival, Arab Cinema Center (ACC) announced its 5th Critic Awards For Arab Films.This year, the international jury panel encompasses 160 film critics from 63 countries. The jurors reviewed the Arab films produced in 2020 at the digital platform of Festival Scope, ACC's partner.
Deborah Young, Manager of the Critics Awards for Arab Films, commented on that saying “Although last year was hard on everyone, the Arab Cinema managed to provide high-quality fiction and documentary films; making it hard to pick the nominees for this year’s Critics Awards for Arab Films. Congratulations to everyone who made it this year, and thanks to all the critics on the jury panel, for their efforts.”
"This year’s edition witnessed fierce competition among nominees that were quite outstanding. What’s also remarkable about this edition is that Palestine had the greatest share, winning four awards out of a total of six. This indicates the great progress that the Palestinian cinema has seen during the recent years,” commented Co-founders of ACC, Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab.
And the Winners Are:
Best Documentary
Lift Like A Girl | Directed by Mayye Zayed | Egypt
Best Actress
Hiam Abbas | Gaza Mon Amour | Palestine
Best Actor:
Ali Suliman | 200 Meters | Palestine
Best Screenplay:
Kaouther ben Hania | The Man Who Sold His Skin | Tunisia
Best Director:
Ameen Nayfeh | 200 METERS | Palestine
Best Feature Film
Gaza Mon Amour| Directed by Arab Nasser - Tarzan Nasser | Palestine
The first edition of the Critics Awards for Arab Films was held during the 70th Cannes Film Festival. The awards are given to the best Arab film productions every year in the following categories: Best Feature Film, Best Documentary Film, Best Director, Best Writer, Best Actress and Best Actor. For the first time in the history of Arab cinema, this year, the jury committee brought together 160 of the most prominent Arab and international film critics from 63 countries from all over the world.
The final list of the nominees for the Critics Awards for Arab Films were selected according to the following criteria: the films must have been premiered at international film festivals outside of the Arab world during 2020, and at least one of the production companies must be Arab (regardless of the size of its contribution to the production of the film), in addition, the films must be feature-length films (fiction or documentary).
The Arab Cinema Center (ACC), founded in 2015 by MAD Solutions, is a non-profit organization incorporated in Amsterdam. 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,pavilions, networking sessions, one-on-one meetings bringing together Arab and foreign filmmakers, welcome parties, and meetings with international organizations and festivals. Also, the activities include the issuance of the Arab Cinema Magazine to be distributed at the leading international film festivals and markets.
Furthermore, 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 Arab Cinema Center has launched the Arab Cinema Directory in English on its website, which is a comprehensive cinema directory based on a collection of tools that are being provided together for the first time. It aims to provide knowledge on Arab cinema to filmmakers both inside and outside the Arab world and allow access to Arab filmmakers and cinematographers. It also makes it easier for representatives of the world film business to recognise Arab cinema projects.
