The Arab Cinema Center (ACC) has revealed the final list of nominees for the eighth edition of the Critics Awards for Arab Films, whose winners will be revealed at a special ceremony on May 18th at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
This year’s nominees, which were chosen from among all Arab films that were produced and premiered outside of the Arab World during the 2023 calendar year only, will be voted on by an unprecedented jury committee of 209 critics from 72 countries across the globe.
This year’s event will see the addition of one more juried category — Best Short Film — to join the existing categories for Best Feature Film, Best Documentary, Best Director, Best Scriptwriter, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, and Best Music.
Commenting on the fast-approaching awards, Deborah Young, Manager of the Critics Awards for Arab Films, said, “Another year, another Critics Awards for Arab Films that’s bigger than the last one! For the eighth version of this most auspicious event, we’re celebrating films from all over the region, including Sudan, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Yemen, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon, along with an exciting Arab story from France this time around as well!”
“As usual, these films are the cream of the crop and have done the rounds in the festival circuit throughout last year, and some of them are still going strong this year. For this year’s edition, we’re also adding yet another category, Best Short Film, as part of our constant desire to cover all of the bases and talents of the pan-Arab cinema industry. Once again, I’d like to extend my gratitude to our jury members for the time and effort they’ve dedicated to these awards, and we look forward to working with them again next year,” she added.
Sharing in the excitement, ACC Co-Founders Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab expressed how “endlessly humbled and overjoyed” they are by the success that the Critics Awards for Arab Films has achieved and the attention it has drawn to Arab cinema.
“We are even happier to announce the inclusion of the long-awaited Best Short Film Award, which is long overdue, but better late than never, as they say. It is our hope that with every edition of these awards that we’ll be able to expand their scope until they encompass every profession of this industry we hold dear and go to great lengths to champion,” they added.
The final list of nominees is:
Best Feature Film
GOODBYE JULIA | Mohamed Kordofani | Sudan
INSHALLAH A BOY | Amjad Al-Rasheed |Jordan
HAJJAN | Abu Bakr Shawky| Saudi Arabia
THE TEACHER | Farah Nabulsi | Palestine
THE BURDENED | Amr Gamal | Yemen
Best Director
Mohamed Kordofani | GOODBYE JULIA | Sudan
Kaouther Ben Hania | FOUR DAUGHTERS | Tunisia
Karim Bensalah | SIX FEET OVER | France
Asmae ElMoudir | THE MOTHER OF ALL LIES | Morocco
Amjad Al-Rasheed | INSHALLAH A BOY | Jordan
Best Screenplay
Mohamed Kordofani | GOODBYE JULIA | Sudan
Amr Gamal, Mazen Refaat | THE BURDENED | Yemen
Kamal Al-Azrak | HOUNDS | Morocco
Delphine Agut, Rula Nasser, Amjad Al-Rasheed | INSHALLAH A BOY | Jordan
Omar Shama, Mufarrij Almajfel, Abu Bakr Shawky | HAJJAN | Saudi Arabia
Best Actress
Mouna Hawa | INSHALLAH A BOY | Jordan
Eiman Yousif | GOODBYE JULIA | Sudan
Hend Sabry | KIRA & EL GIN | Egypt
Hend Sabry | FOUR DAUGHTERS | Tunisia
Adwa Bader | NAGA | Saudi Arabia
Best Actor
Ibrahim Al-Hasawi | HAJJAN | Saudi Arabia
Majd Mastoura | FOUR DAUGHTERS | Tunisia
Ayoub Elaid | HOUNDS | Morocco
Saleh Bakri | THE TEACHER | Palestine
Nazar Goma | GOODBYE JULIA | Sudan
Best Documentary
FOUR DAUGHTERS | Kaouther Ben Hania | Tunisia
THE MOTHER OF ALL LIES | Asmae ElMoudir | Morocco
Q | Jude Chehab | Lebanon
UNDER THE SKY OF DAMASCUS | Talal Derki, Heba Khaled, Ali Wajeeh | Syria
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL | Mohamed Jabaly | Palestine
Best Short Film
I PROMISE YOU PARADISE | Morad Mostafa | Egypt
LES CHENILLES | Noel Keserwany, Michelle Keserwany | Lebanon
THE RED SEA MAKES ME WANNA CRY | Faris Alrjoob | Jordan
SEA SALT | Leila Basma | Lebanon
THE KEY | Rakan Mayasi | Palestine
Best Music
Amine Bouhafa | HAJJAN | Saudi Arabia
Amine Bouhafa | FOUR DAUGHTERS | Tunisia
Mazen Hamid | GOODBYE JULIA | Sudan
Omar Fadel | NAGA | Saudi Arabia
Alex Baranowski | THE TEACHER | Palestine
Best Cinematography
Farouk Laâridh | FOUR DAUGHTERS | Tunisia
Kanamé Onoyama | INSHALLAH A BOY | Jordan
Gilles Porte | THE TEACHER | Palestine
Gerry Vasbenter | HAJJAN | Saudi Arabia
Ahmad Al Morsy | KIRA & EL GIN | Egypt
Best Editing
Ahmed Hafez | INSHALLAH A BOY | Jordan
Heba Othman | GOODBYE JULIA | Sudan
Fahd Ahmed | Q | Lebanon
Sarah Peczek | HAJJAN | Saudi Arabia
Qutaiba Barhamji | FOUR DAUGHTERS | Tunisia
The first Critics Awards for Arab Films was held on the margins of the 70th Cannes Film Festival. The final list of the nominees for the Critics Awards for Arab Films was curated according to the following criteria: The films must have premiered at international film festivals outside of the Arab World during 2023, at least one of the production companies must be Arab (regardless of the size of its contribution to the production of the film).
The ACC is a nonprofit organization registered in Amsterdam and is an international promotional platform for Arab cinema, providing the Arab filmmaking industry with a professional window to connect with its 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 markets, stands, and pavilions, networking sessions and one-on-one meetings bringing together 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, a 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's 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 provides a variety of tools presented collectively for the first time to offer information on Arab cinema to filmmakers inside and outside the Arab world. It also aims to facilitate filmmakers' access to international markets and help film industry representatives easily identify Arab film productions.
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