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

Danish film 'Norwegian Offspring' and South Korean short 'Hole' are awarded first and second prize respectively, with Morocco's Zineb Wakrim rounding out the winners of the Festival de Cannes La Cinef selection.

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!

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

Among the 15 participating projects in this 9th edition are Jordan's 'Inshallah A Boy' which won Final Cut in Venice, the latest from Egyptian director Tamer Ashry and 'Cotton Queen' by Suzannah Mirghani.

The American Film Institute (AFI) program is a year-long directing workshop that educates traditionally underrepresented narrative filmmakers through the production cycle of a short film, providing hands-on instruction led by industry experts.

The Venice sidebar's mission is "to draft a map of the cinema of the future by choosing seven debut features from all over the world," and this year the line up includes the woman-centric debut feature from Morocco's Yasmine Benkiran as well as Kazakh-born Alex Schaad's psychological thriller 'Skin Deep'.

The latest, all virtual edition of the Doha Film Institute's annual talent incubator brings fresh storytelling perspectives with feature projects from Qatar and across the world.

Titled 'Akoon', the Arabic word for "being", Aref's short film showcases joie de vivre as Egyptian women take up the space they deserve through dance.

To date, the Red Sea Fund has supported 97 unique projects to help bring films to global audiences and now has opened call for submissions for post-production, the first of four cycles of funding support for 2022.

Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s 'Flee', the animated real-life story of a Afghanistan refugee’s hidden past, won Best International Independent Film

After 4 days of panels, pitching, screenings, training sessions, one-to-one consultations and meetings, the awards were announced and among them are projects from Asmae El Moudir, Amin Sidi-Boumédiène and Laïla Marrakchi.

Displaying both an array of talent and outstanding production quality, this year's 'Made in Qatar' programme made us yearn to watch more of the work of these outstanding filmmakers, who hail from as far as the US, Algeria, Lebanon, Sudan and of course, Qatar.

The ninth edition of the Ajyal Film Festival presented by the Doha Film Institute (DFI), taking place from 7 to 13 November, will feature an inspirational line up of 54 short films from emerging and accomplished directors.

Line-up includes the first ever Qatari and Yemeni film selected for the official shorts film competition in Locarno and Venice respectively.

The Red Sea International Film Festival, which is set to take place from 6-15 December in Jeddah, today announced its first slate of shorts that will be showcased at the Festival’s inaugural edition.

Shaima Al-Tamimi made history at the Venice Film Festival this year, where she presented her project -- the first film by a Yemeni filmmaker in the Orizzonti competition.

Manju plays the titular role in the film, which is hailed as a family drama

Ten films supported by the Doha Film Institute (DFI) have been selected to screen at the 2021 Venice International Film Festival, from 1 to 11 September 2021 -- a diverse line up which includes six works from the Arab world as well as the first ever Yemeni film selected for the official shorts film competition.

After unveiling seven Egyptian films which will screen during their upcoming 5th edition, El Gouna Film Festival announced an exciting partnership with Filmlab: Palestine, Cinephilia Productions and Drosos Foundation for the 2nd Edition of Sunbird Stories.

The first feature of Ukrainian born Syrian filmmaker Ameer Fakher Eldin, starring Palestinian legend Mohammad Bakri, as well as from Egypt's Dina Amer are in Competition at Giornate degli Autori, plus Oscar-nominated Kaouther Ben Hania contributes to the iconic series "Miu Miu Women's Tales".

The delight of the film is young Rayan Sarlak who brims with charm and energy

Director Omar El Zohairy keeps the comedy engagingly wry and offbeat, and while initially it seems to be surreal comedic fare it also heads into darker territory

Among the 6 work-in-progress films chosen for the 9th edition of Final Cut in Venice, there are fiction films from Tunisia and Iraq/Palestine, as well as a documentary from Morocco, with two of them benefiting from the support of the Doha Film Institute.

And SWANA titles are featured prominently in both initiatives!

A magical feminist fable that relishes its links to Arabic folklore and poetry

On the eve of the opening of this year's Festival de Cannes, the Red Sea Film Festival presents films by Saudi auteurs during a one-night special event at the Arab World Institute, organized with their partners at the Franco-Saudi Friendship Association Generation 2030

The visually stunning feminist parable set in a dystopian landscape and written/directed by the Saudi filmmaker opens in select theaters in Los Angeles and NYC on July 9.

Holding its full in-theatre edition from June 22-28 ShortFest is designated by AMPAS, BAFTA, BIFA and the Goya Awards as an award-qualifying festival and it is one of the most acclaimed short film showcases in the world.

Among the 32 Arab and international projects selected, 14 are directed by women, including the feature debut from Oscar-nominated Farah Nabulsi and a documentary on Palestinian actress Hiam Abbass.

The highly anticipated first feature by Lebanese filmmaker Ely Dagher and 'Hit the Road' by Panah Panahi - imprisoned Iranian filmmaker Jafar's son - are among the titles just announced in the Cannes sidebar which runs from July 7-17

There are no US filmmakers in the line-up this year, but there is several MENA-connected films, with the section closing with Tunisian director Leyla Bouzid’s new film 'A Tale of Love and Desire' ('Une histoire d’amour et de désir')

The Doha Film Institute will present 14 films from the Arab world, including eight Made in Qatar films to complement Qatar being honoured as ‘Guest Country’ at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Philistine Films' beloved producer Ossama Bawardi shares with MIME his journey to LA to attend the 93rd Academy Awards ceremony with an Oscar-nominated short

'The Present' by Farah Nabulsi is up for a Best Live Action Short Film Oscar

The film is about a Latinx family on the run from a corrupt state who take refuge in a safe house with an evil past

In total the festival’s programme is made up of 41% of the films directed by women, while 31 films are debut films

The star is set to make his directorial debut with the film which recently started shooting in Tunis

Chilling new film dwells on dark secrets