EFP, ACC reveals final 3 nominees for Arab Critics' Awards for European Films

The winning film will be announced at the upcoming sixth edition of the Gouna Film Festival.

European Film Promotion (EFP) and the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) just revealed the final three nominees for the fifth edition of the Arab Critics' Awards for European Films following the completion of the jury's viewing of 25 films from as many European countries included in the initial list of nominated films, which were viewed on the platform of the awards’ digital partner Festival Scope.

Due to the postponement of this year's edition of the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF), which hosted the awards ceremony in previous years, the announcement of the winning film will take place during the sixth edition of the Gouna Film Festival, which is scheduled to run from December 14th to the 21st.

The final list of nominated films for the Arab Critics' Awards for European Films based on the highest percentage of votes is as follows:

1. Lost Country (Serbia) by Vladimir Perišić — winner of the Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award at the Cannes Film Festival and the Best Actor Award at the Sarajevo Film Festival
2. Fallen Leaves (Finland) by Aki Kaurismäki — winner of the Jury Prize at the 76th Cannes Film Festival
3. Io Capitano (Italy) by Matteo Garrone — winner of four awards at the Venice International Film Festival, including the Silver Lion Award for Best Director, La Pellicola d'Oro Award for Best Production Design, and the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Rising Actor.

When reached for comment on the fifth edition of the Arab Critics' Awards for European Films, Co-founders of the ACC Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab said, “We are proud of what the Critics' Awards have presented over the past years and appreciate the collaboration with the CIFF during the first four editions of the award. We are also pleased to collaborate with the GFF to announce the winning film of this year’s award during the festival’s sixth edition.”

In a joint statement, Executive Director and Co-founder of the GFF Amr Mansi and  critic and programmer at the festival Andrew Mohsen, expressed the same enthusiasm for hosting the fifth edition of the Arab Critics' Awards for European Films at the highly-anticipated sixth edition of the GFF.

The Arab Critics' Awards for European Films aims to promote European cinema in the Arab World and attract the attention of distributors and decision-makers in the Arab film industry to outstanding European films. It also highlights prominent Arab critics and their significant role in revealing different perspectives and exchanging cultural specificities between societies. 

The jury for this year's Arab Critics' Awards for European Films consists of 76 critics from 15 Arab countries.