The Arab Film Festival arranges a special showcase titled 'Arab Women Film Days'

The Arab Film Festival has arranged a special showcase titled 'Arab Women Film Days' which will run on May 26-27.

The event is designed as an introduction to the main festival scheduled to kick off in September and will exhibit three distinctive films, including an award-winning Jordanian drama, 'Daughters of Abdul-Rahman'.

Festival director Roush Abdelfattah said that Arab Film Festival has planned the Arab Women Film Days as a prelude to the main event which will take place from September 5-10, 2023.

This year, the festival is shining a spotlight on women in Arab cinema.

Three different films will be presented at LantarenVenster in Rotterdam, followed by discussions and a publication, collectively illuminating the position of women in contemporary Arab cinema.

Three films will be exhibited during Arab Women Film Days. 

The first film is 'Daughters of Abdelrahman', directed by Zaid Abu Hamdan, explores the narrative of four diverse sisters who reconnect while searching for their missing father in patriarchal Jordan.

The film is based on the director's mother's life, who was unable to achieve her dreams.

Another film, 'Curfew' by the Egyptian Amir Ramses, is a touching drama focusing on a mother and daughter revealing hidden emotions and family secrets during a quarantine in Egypt.

Finally, 'The Women in Block J', by Moroccan filmmaker Mohamed Nadif, pays tribute to women from various social backgrounds who bond through the shared experience of mental illness and offer each other unique support.
 

Arab Women Film Days will be carried forward into the main Arab Film Festival in September, where two additional themes will be explored.

One theme will offer a diverse film programme on Iraq, providing an updated perspective of the country 20 years post-invasion.

The second theme honours the centenary of Sayed Darwish (1892-1923), a pivotal figure in modern Arabic music. Special compositions inspired by Darwish's work will be performed by the Doelen Ensemble during the opening.