The most prominent film critics choose ACC award winners

CAIRO – 29 January 2019: A total of 76 film critics from all over the world started viewing Arab feature and documentary films produced in 2018 to nominate films and filmmakers for the third Annual Critics Awards, organized by the Arab Cinema Center (ACC).

The winners will be announced during the next edition of the Cannes Film Festival.

Film analyst Alaa Karkouti, managing partner of the Arab Cinema Center (ACC), told Egypt Today, "We couldn’t be more proud that the Annual Critics Awards now brings highly-regarded names from all over the world together each year. We are very pleased that this has become a main annual occasion for celebrating the Arab film industry."

Film critic Ahmed Shawky, manager of the Critics Awards, told Egypt Today, “The Annual Critics Awards initiative is taking bigger steps toward supporting Arab films everywhere. With each passing year, more important critics from different countries join the jury, which guarantees that the best Arab films will be featured in international media."

Shawky explained that 76 film critics from 33 countries is a huge number that indicates the value of this independent initiative.

"We can’t thank each and every single film critic enough for agreeing to give us their time and effort to be part of the jury."

Published by the Arab Cinema Center (ACC), the new issue of the Arab Cinema Magazine will feature an entire section covering everything about the third Annual Critics Awards and the film critics.

The first Annual Critics Awards was held on the side-lines of the 70th Cannes Film Festival.

The awards are given to the best Arab film productions every year in the following categories: Best Feature Film, Best Documentary Film, Best Director, Best Writer, Best Actress and Best Actor.

For the first time in the history of Arab cinema, the jury brings together 76 of the most prominent Arab and international film critics from 33 countries from all over the world this year.

The final nominees for the Critics Awards are selected according to the following criteria: the films must have premiered at international film festivals outside of the Arab world during 2018, and at least one of the production companies must be Arab (regardless of the size of its contribution to the production of the film).

In addition, the films must be feature-length films (fiction or documentary).

ET presents the list of film critics appointed for nominating and selecting the winners of the Annual Critics Awards (in alphabetical order): Abdel karim Ouakrim from Morocco, Abdelkrim Kadri from Algeria, Abdul Sattar Naji from Kuwait, Ahmed Shawky from Egypt, Ali Wajeeh from Syria, Alin TAŞÇIYAN from Turkey, Amal El Gamal from Egypt, Amber Wilkinson from UK, Ana Maria Bahiana from Brazil-USA, Andrew Mohsen from Egypt, Ásgeir H Ingólfsson from Iceland-Czech Republic, Bojidar Stefanov Manov from Bulgaria, Carmen Gray from New Zealand-UK, Chris Newbould from UK-UAE, Deborah Young from USA, Djia Mambu from Belgium, Dragan Rubeša from Croatia, Emad el-Nouwairy from Kuwait, Erfan Rashid from Iraq-Italy, Essam Zakaria from Egypt, Fionnuala Halligan from UK, Gautaman Bhaskaran from India, Giona A. Nazzaro from Switzerland, Hammadi Gueroum from Morocco, Harri Römpötti from Finland, Hassan Haddad from Bahrain, Hassouna Mansouri from Tunisia, Hauvick Habéchian from Lebanon, Houda Ibrahim from Lebanon-France, Husam Asi from Palestine-UK, Ibrahim Alariss from Lebanon, Ibrahim Haj Abdi from Syria, Ida Madsen Hestman from Norway, Ikbal Zalila from Tunisia, Jay Weissberg from USA, Jim Quilty from Canada- Beirut, Kadhum Saloom from Iraq, Kais Kassem from Iraq-Sweden, Kaleem Aftab from UK, Khaled Mahmoud from Egypt, Khalid Ali from Sudan-UK, Khalil Demmoun from Morocco, Kiva Reardon from Canada, Lamia Guiga from Tunisia, Magdy Eltayeb from Egypt, Mahmoud Mahdy from Egypt, Massimo Lechi from Italy, Mohamed Atef from Egypt, Mohamed Benaziz from Morocco, Mohammed Bougalleb from Tunisia, Mohammed Chouika from Morocco, Mohamed Hashem from Egypt, Mohammed Rouda from Lebanon, Nabil Hadji from Algeria, Nadim Jarjoura from Lebanon, Nageh Hassan from Jordan, Narjes Torchani from Tunisia, Ola Kamel Al-Sheikh from Palestine-UAE, Ola Shafey from Egypt, Olivier Barlet from France, Ossama Abdel Fattah from Egypt, Pamela Biénzobas from Chile-France, Pamela Hutchinson from UK, Peter Stuart Robinson from UK-Canada, Pragya Mishra from UK, Rachid Naim from Morocco, Ramy Abdel Razek from Egypt, Rasha Hosny from Egypt, Rja Sair Al-Mtyry from Saudi Arabia, Ronnit Hasson from Sweden, Safaa Jibara al-saleh from Iraq- UK, Sydney J. Levine from USA, Tarek Ben Chaabane from Tunisia, Tarek el-Shinnawi from Egypt, Youssef Cherif Rizkallah from Egypt, and Ziad Khuzai from Iraq.

The Arab Cinema Center (ACC) celebrates the fifth anniversary since its inception in 2015. ACC is a non-profit organization registered in Amsterdam and an international promotional platform for Arab cinema.