While carrying out its wide-ranging activities at the 75th Venice International Film Festival, the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) has released the newest issue of its Arab Cinema Magazine. The new issue is set to accompany the ACC to international film festivals until the end of the year, including the Toronto Film Festival, Malmö Film Festival, Carthage Film Festival, Cairo International Film Festival and the Mar del Plata International Film Festival, in addition to the International Film Festival Rotterdam held in early 2019, among others.
The 9th issue dedicated an entire section to the history of the Tunisian film industry casting light on the Centre National du Cinéma et de l'Image (CNCI) and its role in transforming the Tunisian film industry since its creation in 2011 through its various activities that include supporting national film festivals, such as the Carthage Film Festival (JCC) and the Manarat Mediterranean Film Festival, in addition to developing the Creative Digital Lab (CDL), the Gaming Lab and La Cinémathèque Tunisienne (Cinémathèque Tunisia), which encompasses an extensive archive preserving Tunisia's film heritage.
The new issue also featured articles about Tunisian stars who took the international circuit by storm, popular films shot in Tunisia, and an overview of Tunisia's film co-productions.
In his introductory statement to the new issue, Film expert Colin Brown, Managing Partner and Director of International Operations at MAD Solutions, and the magazine's Editorial Director, said, "For proof look no further than Tunisia, one of the focuses of this 9th edition of Arab Cinema Magazine. Before being abruptly toppled by the Jasmine Revolution, Tunisia's dictatorial President Ben Ali tried to project an image to the rest of the world of a tolerant society and a beacon of modernism, secularism and freedom in the Arab world... Since then, of course, Tunisian films have been far more overtly political as post-Revolution filmmakers dare to examine their country's recent past or hold up a questioning mirror to current claims of being the most liberal and progressive country in North Africa. This is as it should be, particularly now that the world's journalistic media is being attacked from all sides for the veracity of their reporting."
Maher Diab, Creative Director and Co-founder of MAD Solutions and the Arab Cinema Center (ACC), comments, "This issue is very special to me. Tunisia is among the top Arab countries that enjoy a booming film industry, and on a personal level, I love Tunisian films a lot. I really enjoyed working on this issue as it made me take a deeper look into the Tunisian film industry."
MAD 3arabi (Arab Flow), the newly born festival, is among the topics addressed in the new issue of the magazine. It is a unique festival experience that aims to introduce the Arab culture and focus on the film and TV industry, flowing Arab entertainment and culture onto European shores, and also providing an extension for Arab filmmakers and content creators in the entertainment industry to reach new shores.
The ninth issue also featured the upcoming activities of the 40th Cairo International Film Festival, including the Cairo Industry Days as its new umbrella for hosting film discussions, networking sessions, meetings, workshops, and masterclasses, opening partnership opportunities between Arab talents and regional and international key industry professionals.
Introducing a new approach to Arab media, the Arab Cinema Magazine published a discussion between an Arab actress and an actor without a moderator. The discussion was between Jordanian actress Saba Mubarak and Egyptian actor Ahmed Malek, who together shared thoughts on acting and filmmaking.
The new issue also dedicated a section to a roundtable with three top festival directors. The directors are Orestis Andreadakis, Artistic Director of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival; Carlo Chatrian,
Artistic Director of the Locarno Film Festival; and Elias Khlat, Founder and Director of the Tripoli Film Festival. They talked about their experience running their film festivals and the challenges they face.
Organized by MAD Solutions in 2015, the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) is an international promotional platform for Arab cinema as it provides the filmmaking industry with a professional window to connect with their 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 market main wings, introduction and networking sessions for 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, 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 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 comprises a variety of tools presented collectively for the first time to offer information on Arab cinema to filmmakers inside and outside of the Arab world. It also aims to facilitate filmmakers' access to international markets and help film industry representatives to easily identify Arab film productions.
