ACC Releases the 11th Edition of Arab Cinema Magazine

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Highlighting the Most Seminal Arab Cinema Moments at Cannes Film Festival and Revealsthe 2nd Golden Cannes 101

ACC Releases the 11th Edition of Arab Cinema Magazine


While launching its activities at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival for the fifth year in a row, the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) showcased the 72 Watershed Moments for Arab Cinema at La Croisette in its new issue of the Arab Cinema Magazine. The 72 moments varied between awards won by Arab filmmakers and films, Arab jury members, along with defining moments on the red carpet and many others. The 11th edition of the magazine also launches the second edition of its celebrated The Golden Cannes 101; a concise list of the most influential global Arab industry names.

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, "It's a double celebration for us. MAD Solutions has enjoyed ten full years as a catalytic force for Arab independent cinema. The Arab Cinema Centre, one of MAD's many trailblazing initiatives during that busy decade - and the birth mother of this very magazine - is also blowing out the candles on its own fifth year. That both milestones should coincide with this year's 60th anniversary of the Cannes Marché du Film is even more icing on the birthday cake. Where better than the world's oldest film market to raise a glass to longevity, to reflect back on how much has been achieved so far and to project forward on how our storytelling climate can be sustained and enriched further in the decades to come."

Maher Diab, Art Director and Co-founder of MAD Solutions and the Arab Cinema Center (ACC), says, "We founded the Arab Cinema Center five years ago with an aim to promote Arab cinema internationally, and with each year we realize how big the responsibility is, which we are still enjoying until now and looking forward to more of it in the future. In this new issue, we celebrate those years, in addition to the tenth anniversary of MAD Solutions. This issue also casts light on a previous prosperous year for the Arab film industry through The Golden Cannes 101 of the most influential Arab industry names."

The 11th issue of the magazine includes two sections highlighting the ACC's achievements in the past five years, as well as the 10 successful years for MAD Solutions.

The new issue also offers the list of nominees for the 3rd edition of the Annual Critics Awards, whose winners will be announced on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival. The winners were selected by 75 film critics from 34 countries from all over the world. The critics viewed Arab feature and documentary films produced in 2018 on Festival Scope, one of the ACC's partners. This issue also includes two sections about film critics Ibrahim Al Ariss and Deborah Young, who were announced as winners of the Achievement Award for Film Critics and will receive their awards at a ceremony held on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival. The section also features an article written by Ibrahim Al Ariss.

Celebrating the Arab names and organizations that influenced and supported the Arab film industry last year, the new issue features The Golden Cannes 101: Global Arab Industry Names Who Matter in a Nutshell.

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 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.