A year after the release of its first issue at the 69th Cannes International Film Festival, the Arab Cinema Magazine comes back to the festival in its 70th edition (May 17-28, 2017), where the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) releases its fifth issue. The magazine comes as part of the Center's 2017 plan of promoting Arab cinema at more than 20 international film festivals and markets.
The new issue of the Arab Cinema Magazine offers interesting articles about the Cannes Film Festival including, the Arab filmmakers' presence at the current edition of the festival, candid Arab moments at the festival since it started, besides the major turning points in the history of the festival. Together with the Cannes festival, the issue focuses on the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF), the second oldest film festival in Europe, and the Locarno Film Festival, which also celebrates its 70th edition this year and the Arab filmmakers' presence at its previous editions. This issue presents upcoming important Arab film projects in different production stages that are set to be released soon.
Film expert Colin Brown, Managing Partner and Director of International Operations at MAD Solutions, and also the magazine's Editorial Director, casts light on the role of Arab women in the Arab filmmaking industry in his introductory statement of the new issue, saying, "Flip through the pages of this special Cannes edition of the Arab Cinema Center magazine and you will see that women are so often the driving force behind Arab cinema - even if some, such as Saudi filmmaker Haifaa al-Mansour, are still not allowed to steer an actual car-wheel. And that trajectory of increasing self-expression continues this year at Cannes with BEAUTY AND THE DOGS, the hot-button film from Tunisia's Kaouther Ben Hania that has been selected for Un Certain Regard."
The fifth issue also provides details on the Critics Awards initiative, presented by the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) to the best Arab film productions every year in the following categories: Best Film, Best Director, Best Writer, Best Actress, and Best Actor. The jury members are 24 of the best Arab and international critics who come from 15 countries from all over the world for an event that happens for the first time in the history of Arab Cinema. The awards shall be announced in a ceremony that will take place at this edition of the Cannes Film Festival.
The Arab Cinema Center (ACC), organized by MAD Solutions for the third year, 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. ACC also provides networking opportunities with representatives of companies and institutions specialized in co-production and international distribution, among others. The Center'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.
Since the beginning of 2017, the ACC has made seven stops at international festivals and markets. The festivals attended are the International Film Festival of Rotterdam (IFFR), Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), Beirut Cinema Platform (BCP) held within the Beirut Cinema Days, Istanbul Film Festival, Tripoli Film Festival, the 34th WIPO SCCR in Geneva, and its latest stop is going to be at the Cannes Film Festival.
