Dubai International Film Festival presents: Best of Arab Cinema

The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) recently celebrated its tenth anniversary. It always takes place in December in Dubai (UEA) and shows recent films from the Arab world, Africa and Asia in different categories. Since being founded in 2004, it has established itself as a crucial platform for Arab filmmakers and developed into the most important market for the film industry in the Middle East. Last year, the DIFF released a publication entitled "Cinema of Passion – 100 Greatest Arab Films". The "best of" list was compiled on the basis of a survey of largely Arab specialists (filmmakers, actors, critics, cinephiles). The DIFF now presents eight of the top 10 at Arsenal. From different countries of the Arab world (Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia, Palestine) and spanning the decades, most have rarely been shown on the big screen in Germany. They include the early works of such significant directors as Youssef Chahine and Mohammad Malas (which have since become classics), as well as a milestone in film history THE MUMMY (1969) and contemporary sociocritical auteur films with different forms - a cross-section of Arab cinema, representing important contributions to world cinema.

We are very pleased that this program could be realized thanks to the generous support of the DIFF, and that the Lebanese filmmaker Ziad Doueiri will be at the opening.