And among the short films are works from Arab, Iranian, Israeli and MENA filmmakers from the diaspora.

'The Crown' actor and Unicef Egypt Ambassador wore a complete look by the French Maison on the Croisette.

"L'Oeil d'or" award went to two women-led projects, one by Tunisian Oscar-nominated filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, the other by Moroccan helmer Asmae El Moudir.

Other highlights of the festival include a one-hour version of the theater production 'Jews. In Their Own Words', created by Guardian journalist Jonathan Freedland, the world premiere of 'Wham!', an intimate celebration of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley’s enduring friendship and the preview of 'Evacuation', a searing three-part TV series charting the 2021 evacuation of Kabul.

This year, the theme of the festival 'A journey through space and time' maps the Region across a new axis, showcasing films which traverse territories and historical periods.

Along with Vanity Fair Europe they honored Saudi talents Mila Al Zahrani and Fatima AlBanawi, Indian actress Sara Ali Khan, Nigerian writer, director and producer Jade Osiberu, British-Lebanese actress Razane Jammal and Egyptian model Tara Emad at this year's RSIFF Women’s Stories Gala.

The title marks two firsts -- it is Mohamed Kordofani's first feature film and the first film from Sudan ever to be presented in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival.

These include three project in the official Competition, including films by Qumra Masters Nuri Bilge Ceylan and Jessica Hausner.

After all was said and done, some old MIME favorites like Nawaf Al Janahi's 'Somewhere in Time' and new discoveries like the Saudi entry to the 2023 Oscar race 'Raven Song' and the Ithra produced 'Valley Road' walked away with prizes at this year's SFF.

The thrilling program for Shubbak Festival 2023 has been announced, celebrating the seventh edition of London’s largest festival of contemporary Arab arts and cultures, with further events across the UK -- from Friday 23rd June to Sunday 9th July 2023.

From March 1st and ongoing until July 15th 2023, the Résidence of the Festival de Cannes hosts 6 directors who have received personalized support in the writing of their screenplay for their first or second feature film. They will be on the Croisette from May 16th to May 22nd.

Founded by Maykel Bakhoum and Abraam A. Mikhael, the second edition of the promising Hollywood Arab Film Festival took place at the AMC theater in Universal City Walk, Hollywood from April 26th to April 29th. Writer, director and editor Sabine El Gemayel wrote about the event exclusively for MIME.

British Iraqi writer Zahra Shikara studies the role of comedy in Saudi cinema, and more specifically at the 9th Saudi Film Festival, supported by Ithra and housed inside the iconic building in the Kingdom's Eastern Province.

And some great world cinema filmmakers have been unveiled, including American director Damien Chazelle who will preside over the Venezia 80 main competition jury.

Quiet and steady, the event has been going on since 2008, sometimes regrouping to come back stronger and better, and the 9th edition of SFF is proof that cinema in Saudi Arabia is here to stay.

And Nagihan Haliloğlu brings her insider's view into the long-running Turkish festival, complete with a sense of the atmosphere on the ground in a country that has suffered through deeply traumatic events, and yet still finds a way to go on loving cinema.

Among those, just announced, are accompanying and endorsing a project participating in the Cannes Film Market’s Fantastic 7 initiative and supporting this year’s ‘Festivals Mixer’ networking event.

The films, from an array of filmmakers worldwide, include Iranian, Egyptian and a groundbreaking Moroccan student projects as well as a film co-directed by Polish helmer Damian Kocur, and an Indonesian short by Khozy Rizal.

But also Robert Rodriguez's trippy sci-fi 'Hypnotic', starring Ben Affleck, which will screen in their Midnight Screening section.

Nothing is commonplace or stereotypical in Pascale Bourgaux's stunningly shot documentary about the children born of a religious conflict in the Region who were left behind -- yet for some Yazidi mothers, also found again.

Rounding out the jury are Hungarian screenwriter and director Ildikó Enyedi, who will serve as Jury President, Canadian actress and director Charlotte Le Bon and French actress Karidja Touré.

Hint: this year's poster is all about a phenomenal woman, French icon Catherine Deneuve.

And they include films from Tunisia, Lebanon, India, Pakistan and beyond.

The Saudi Film Festival is an annual non-profit cultural event organized by the Cinema Association with its strategic partner Ithra, and sponsored by the Film Commission -- and this year's edition will take place from May 4th to the 11th.

La Semaine de la Critique, the parallel selection of the Festival de Cannes dedicated to first and second films just announced its lineup, and they include a MENA gem, along with this coming-of-age genre film you won't want to miss!

The Cairo International Film Festival has announced opening submission in all categories for creators who are wishing to participate in activities of its 45th edition, which will be held from 15 to 24 November 2023 once again at the Egyptian Opera House.

With the first Tunisian film In Competition in more than fifty years, and the first ever Sudanese title included in the festival's Official Selection, this is already looking like a stellar year for cinema from the MENA on the Croisette.

The Western, shot in the south of Spain, sports costumes designed by Saint Laurent's creative director Anthony Vaccarello, who is also associate producer on the project.

This year's program includes the opening night film by Muhammad Abdul Quayum 'The Golden Wings of Watercocks', 'Holy Conspiracy' starring Naseeruddin Shah and a conversation with award-winning director Kaushik Ganguly, whose latest film closes the five-day event.

The film stars Johnny Depp and will be released the same day, May 16th, in French theaters.

The ninth edition of the Saudi Film Festival, which is set to take place from May 4 to May 11 in Dammam, will be honoring Saudi filmmaker Saleh Al-Fawzan and Bahraini writer Amin Saleh.

The Cairo Film Festival president and actor will receive a special tribute during the opening ceremony of the festival, and will also present a masterclass for the Swedish city's audience.

The actor and his adventurer alter ego return to the Festival de Cannes for the world premiere of 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny', directed by James Mangold.

Held yearly in the Swedish city of Malmö, the festival kicks off its 13th edition with Palestinian director Maha Haj's Cannes winner.

And trade outlet Deadline implies the film will be premiering at the Cannes Film Festival.

The event will mark the return of the filmmaker to the Official Selection of the Festival de Cannes for the first time since the presentation of 'After Hours' in 1986.

The festival joins Human Rights Film Festival Berlin and Festival de Cine y Derechos Humanos de Vieques as new members are announced by Human Rights Film Network for 2023.

The Swiss festival of non-fiction works will see an extensive program this year complemented by the presence of three outstanding filmmakers: Argentinian filmmaker Lucrecia Martel (Guest of Honor) alongside Italian Director Alice Rohrwacher (Special Guest) and Swiss Director Jean-Stéphane Bron (Atelier).

This year's Festival de Cannes will be held from May 16 to 27 and Östlund will now hand out the Palme d'Or, after having received two of them himself during past editions.

The soulful, deeply insightful film by Gaby and Michel Zarazir will screen at the festival in Austin, Texas as part of their Narrative Shorts Program 2, starting on March 11th.

On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the birth of the late Massimo Troisi, Martone puts together a documentary homage to a man who changed the landscape of Italian cinema and also influenced filmmakers from the MENA with his groundbreaking vision and irreverent works of art.

The Yemeni film, which screened in the Panorama section and won the Amnesty International Film Award at this year's Berlin Film Festival, is a groundbreaking oeuvre which transcends the already strong power of cinema.

Complete with an anti-conformist, against type performance by its leading man Simon Baker, the film delves into the everyday racism experienced by the indigenous community Down Under and Nagihan Haliloğlu caught up with filmmaker Ivan Sen for a quickfire round on his latest work, which screened in Competition in Berlin.

German-Turkish filmmaker İlker Çatak’s 'The Teachers‘ Lounge' (Das Lehrerzimmer) has just won the Europa Cinemas Label as Best European film in the Panorama section at this year's Berlinale, and Nagihan Haliloğlu catches up with the filmmaker for an interview you won't want to miss.

The American actor may have said something during the press conference about his good friend Julian Sands, also featured in the film Malkovich is promoting at this year's Berlinale, but during our interview the tragedy of the actor who has gone missing felt like a looming presence, unspoken and indescribable.

'The Teachers' Lounge' ('Das Lehrerzimmer') by Turkish-German filmmaker İlker Çatak proves "an excellent commentary on how liberals will be defeated by people with stronger convictions because they are always open to hear the other point of view," as Nagihan Haliloğlu writes.

Rebecca Miller crafts a film about the power of romance, and in the process entertains and makes us laugh -- at the events unfolding before us on the big screen, but more brilliantly, at ourselves.

The Red Sea International Film Festival (Red Sea IFF) has confirmed the third edition will take place from 30 November - 9 December 2023 in Jeddah, nestled on the eastern shore of the Red Sea.

Among the film personalities from the MENA serving on this year's juries in Berlin is Iranian-born actress Golshifteh Farahani, joining the Competition jury president Kristen Stewart, along with 'Souad' filmmaker Ayten Amin who is on the GWFF Best First Feature Award jury, and Israeli producer Danna Stern who will be on the Berlinale Series Award Jury.

Currently screening at the Sundance Film Festival, the episodic series created by the Brooklyn-born actress and writer is intelligent, fun, entertaining and wonderfully informative -- and we can't wait to watch it on an international streaming service!

'A Cooler Climate' turned out to be one of the most magical films screening at this year's Cairo International Film Festival, which had quite an impressive line up. And catching up with Gardner afterward, to talk about "Jim", as he calls Ivory, and their work style, proved a personal highlight.

While the lack of representation of films from the MENA is disappointing, there are some titles that caught our attention.

And a program to celebrate Berlin's arthouse cinema culture, as well as a date for the upcoming press conference announcing all the line up is confirmed.

And they include a few MENA-centric gems in Forum and Forum Expanded.

Among them, the biopic 'Golda' by Guy Nattiv, starring Helen Mirren, Camille Cottin, Liev Schreiber and the short 'Back' by Yazan Rabee will screen at the German festival slated to kick off on February 16th.

The romantic comedy by director and screenwriter Rebecca Miller boasts a cast of international stars that includes Peter Dinklage, Marisa Tomei, Joanna Kulig, Brian d’Arcy James and Anne Hathaway.

With his latest short, the Jordanian, Germany-based filmmaker proves once again that he can tackle women's stories perfectly, while also bringing a special sensitivity to them -- all the while gently educating audiences. And, last but not least, making great cinema in the process!

With a healthy selection of MENA-infused stories, and one film by and about phenomenal woman Bethann Hardison, this year's Sundance Film Festival, under the new direction of Eugene Hernandez for 2024's edition, has clearly outdone itself.

From its first images 'The Island of Forgiveness' envelops the viewer into a world far away, in times gone by. It possesses the perfect balance of nostalgia and forward thinking, to create a masterpiece that is both historically correct but also fantastically mesmerizing to watch.

The upcoming film stars a new generation of talented German actors like Louis Hofmann, Alexander Fehling, Lilith Stangenberg and Tom Xander, as well as the wonderful Geraldine Chaplin and the handsome Julian Sands.

Along with a poster clearly celebrating audiences as well as a return to watching cinema in big movie theaters surrounded by people, Berlinale also announced a series of line-ups that are simply awe inspiring.

The 9th edition will be held at Ithra Center in Dhahran, Eastern Province from 4 to 11 May 2023.

The 73rd edition of the Berlinale will take place, in person and at full speed, from February 16-26. 2023.

In his feature debut, Kuwaiti-born Zeyad (Z) Alhusaini manages the impossible -- he creates a blockbuster for the Arab world which premiered at this year's Red Sea International Film Festival where it deservedly received the coveted Film AlUla Audience Award for Best Saudi Film.

"There are flavorings of Roy Andersson and Wes Anderson with more than a whiff of Wojciech Has," writes Jay Weissberg in his review of the feature directorial debut by Mohamed Al-Salman -- this year's Saudi submission to the Oscars.

The American actor, screenwriter and director, not to mention all around fashionista, will preside over the 73rd edition of the festival, to be held from the 16th to the 26th of February, 2023.

There are also two shorts supported by Ithra Film Productions being screened, and Ithra’s Creative Solutions program will showcase its immersive digital technologies.

Thirty years after Lee's film 'Malcolm X' was the first ever international production to film in Mecca, the filmmaker returned to Saudi Arabia, to bring his film full circle and inspire film lovers in the Kingdom.

While the festival has moved away from the historic al-Balad neighborhood, in favor of the glitz of the Ritz Carlton, the evening still managed to sparkle and awe with dozens of stars from Hollywood, Bollywood and Arabwood attending the opening ceremony.

Beautiful, legendary, iconic -- there aren't enough words in the dictionary to describe Egyptian megastar Yousra and she'll be the recipient of the top honorary award in Jeddah.

Before the film received one more award, this time at the Cairo International Film Festival, MIME sat down with the Polish filmmaker to talk cinema, inspiration and what constitutes the best soundtrack of all to him in a film.

The renowned Italian-Algerian director will participate in an intimate In-Conversation ahead of a special screening of his latest film, the cannibal love story 'Bones and All' at this year’s edition of the Jeddah-based festival.

Legendary American film director, producer, and screenwriter, Oliver Stone will preside over the Festival’s Red Sea: Features Competition Jury, with some familiar names from the MENA region joining him.

It was a great time for Arab cinema at this year's Cairo International Film Festival, but also groundbreaking independent world cinema -- and awards night proved it.

The special homage of the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival will be devoted to American director, producer and screenwriter Steven Spielberg, who will also be presented with an Honorary Golden Bear for lifetime achievement.

The Red Sea International Film Festival (Red Sea IFF) announced today that the legendary Indian actor and producer Shah Rukh Khan will receive an Honorary Award to recognize his exceptional contribution to the film industry, during the opening ceremony of the festival’s second edition in Jeddah, on the Eastern shore of the Red Sea.

In typical James Ivory style, which we have come to know and love in the beautiful films he has been a part of throughout his career, much of the story of this moving documentary is written between the lines.

The film world premiered at the 44th Cairo International Film Festival and instantly became a must-watch for any and all, providing a road map for finding the way to bring together our ultra divided, hyper chaotic world.

Presented by Egyptian TV personality Jasmine Taha Zaki, the opening ceremony of the 44th Cairo International Film Festival was followed by the MENA premiere of Steven Spielberg's 'The Fabelmans' and a lavish party in Uptown Cairo.

Steven Spielberg's latest is an ode to the magic of the movies in his own life and the film kicked off this year's Cairo International Film Festival on Sunday evening.

Sixteen of the most highly-anticipated films of the year make up the Arab and International Spectacular sections of the Festival.

The second edition selection of the Red Sea Shorts in Competition presents thirteen films from Myanmar, Iran, Mongolia, China, Ghana, Indonesia and beyond.

The inaugural Qisah International Film Festival (QIFF) is slated to take place between 9th-12th November in London and will bring an assortment of films from across the Muslim world.

The Red Sea International Film Festival announced today that acclaimed British director Guy Ritchie will receive an Honorary Award to recognize his exceptional contribution to the film industry at the opening ceremony of the second edition.

The festival will open in Beirut on Friday, 4th November with the French film 'Annette' by Leos Carax, starring Marion Cotillard and Adam Driver, and will run through the 20th of this month, moving around Lebanon to reach the widest audience.

A few of our personal favorites, like Venice titles 'Nezouh', 'Dirty Difficult Dangerous', 'The Last Queen' and 'The Banshees of Intisherin', as well as 'Harka' and others from Cannes, 'A Gaza Weekend' from TIFF and the Saudi submission to this year's Oscar race 'Raven Song' are included in the initial announcement, with American filmmaker Oliver Stone set to preside over the competition jury.

Among those participating this year are next projects by Egyptian-American director Lotfy Nathan, Palestinian documentarian Mahdi Fleifel, Iraqi-Italian filmmaker Haider Rashid and Syrian-Palestinian helmer Ameer Fakher Eldin -- but also the talented wonder women Sofia Djama from Algeria and Sara Mesfer from Saudi Arabia.

Every Fall, the festival held inside the Institut Français' iconic Ciné Lumière, lights up London with French favorites and new discoveries.

With a line up of films from Tunisia, Morocco, Syria, Iran, Algeria, Turkey and beyond, as well as the 6th edition of MedMeeting, with a section curated by film programmer, writer and producer Paolo Bertolin, the Med Film Festival in Rome is set for a landmark year.

The festival, which further champions independent cinema through their Raindance Discovery Award at the BIFAs, runs from October 26th to November 5th in London.

Among some of the tried and true talents are Emirati pioneering filmmaker Ali Mostafa and Jordanian producer and director Tariq Rimawi with his latest 'Zoo'.

While fulfilling a tried and true formula of "city person comes to rehabilitate the country," Turkish filmmaker Selcen Ergun delivers a fresh film set in a wintry village and Nagihan Haliloğlu reviews it for MIME.

Plus the whole line up and program for the upcoming 44th edition of the Egyptian festival was just announced, featuring several gems from the Region.

As the festival announced a first slate of films in the lineup of the upcoming edition, an impressive selection of the country's own Arab filmmakers of tomorrow is featured in their New Saudi/New Cinema Shorts selection.

The highly anticipated return of the Moroccan festival, the first full edition in two years, will also feature the latest work by James Gray, Maha Haj, Tarik Saleh and Yasmine Benkiran.

The Turkish selection at this year's festival featured "several films that treated the subject of the city-country divide that has been a big theme since the early days of Turkish cinema," as Naghihan Haliloğlu writes from Antalya.

The festival at the end of October will showcase 70 movies from 25 countries with cast & crew from the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, Europe and USA in attendance to light up the red carpets and premieres, as Dubai hosts the first film festival after five years.

Kawase will lead the International Competition Jury of the 44th Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF), which will run from 13 to 22 November this year.

With James Ivory's latest, a doc on his life-changing trip to Afghanistan, and MENA gems like Firas Khoury's 'Alam' and Mounia Meddour’s 'Houria' the festival's new management is off to a great start.

The festival's Audience Award went to the Jordanian 'Daughters of Abdulrahman', with Houman Seyyedi's 2022 Venice Orizzonti winner 'World War III' winning the festival's extraordinarily awarded "Middle East Now Special Mention."