A Collective Profile on Arab Horror Films and a Special List of Top 50 Arab Screenwriters Coming up in the Latest Edition of the Arab Cinema Magazine

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From Venice then All the Way to Toronto!

A Collective Profile on Arab Horror Films and a Special List of Top 50 Arab Screenwriters Coming up in the Latest Edition of the Arab Cinema Magazine


While touring international film events and prestigious festival markets, the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) releases its new edition of the Arab Cinema Magazine at the 76th Venice International Film Festival, and then travels all the way to the 44th Toronto International Film Festival.

The new issue of the Arab Cinema Magazine will feature a list of Top 50 Arab Screenwriters in the past few years, in addition to a huge section about the history and the future of the horror genre in Arab Cinema.

In his introductory statement to the new issue, Film expert Colin Brown, Managing Partner and Director of International Operations at MAD Solutions, and the magazine's Editorial Director, said, "We have also highlighted 50 of the leading Arab writers for the screen in this issue, knowing that their talents are a rare and precious resource across the entire region that needs nurturing in as many storytelling varietals as possible. This bedrock of homegrown talent is crucial to ending so many of Arab cinema's current curses."

Maher Diab, Art Director and Co-founder of MAD Solutions and the Arab Cinema Center (ACC), says, "In this issue, we thought it's time to create more specialized lists. Our very special list came out to spotlight key Arab names in the screenwriting scene. We plan to cast light on the different fields of the Arab film industry in our upcoming issues."

Among the topics covered in the 12th issue of the magazine is the Arab Critics' Awards For European Films, the latest initiative by the Arab Cinema Center in collaboration with the European Film Promotion. The jury committee will reveal its awards to European films and filmmakers during the Cairo International Film Festival this November.

The new issue also dedicated a special section to the late film critic Youssef Cherif Rizkallah, Artistic Director of the Cairo International Film Festival, who passed away this year.In 2018,the ACC announced Rizkallah as the first winner of its Achievement Award for Film Critics in recognition of his tremendous influence and significant contribution to the industry throughout his extensive career.

The 12th Arab Cinema Magazine also covers the Arab presence at the Locarno, Venice and Toronto film festivals. Moreover, it includes what the marketing and distribution company, MAD Solutions, has achieved in the past 10 years in numbers, as well as the achievements of the Arab Cinema Center in the past five years.

Organized by MAD Solutions, the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) celebrates its fifth year since its inception in 2015. A nonprofit organization registered in Amsterdam, the ACC is an international promotional platform for Arab cinema as it provides the filmmaking industry with a professional window to connect with their 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 market main wings, introduction and networking sessions for 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, 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 comprises a variety of tools presented collectively for the first time to offer information on Arab cinema to filmmakers inside and outside of the Arab world. It also aims to facilitate filmmakers' access to international markets and help film industry representatives to easily identify Arab film productions.

The Arab Cinema Center announced the launch of the new festival MAD 3ARABI (Arab Flow) in Prague, Czech Republic. The festival aims to introduce the Arab culture and focus on the film and TV industry, flowing Arab entertainment and culture onto European shores, and also providing an extension for Arab filmmakers and content creators in the entertainment industry to reach new shores.