While attending the 70th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) for the sixth year in a row, the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) released the new issue of its Arab Cinema Magazine, which includes the Arab Cinema 2019 Yearbook.

“As you will also read in this edition, Arab Cinema reached unprecedented heights in 2019, commercially speaking, and is set to climb higher still in the coming years as Saudi Arabia realizes its economic potential and Arab filmmaking nations collaborate more on larger-scale genre-driven features and series. But should any of these talent-building foundations be threatened in the name of short-term expediency and quick profits, then all this growth will have been built on nothing more than sand,” says Film Expert Colin Brown, Managing Partner and Director of International Operations at MAD Solutions, and the magazine’s editorial director, in his introductory statement to the new issue.

"This is our sixth consecutive year at Berlinale, where the Arab Cinema Center first launched. That makes Berlinale very special to us. In the new issue, we celebrate the success of Chiraz Latiri, former General Director of the Centre National du Cinema et de l'Image (CNCI), by selecting her to receive the Arab Cinema Personality of The Year award, which she will receive during a special reception at the 70th Berlinale,” said Maher Diab, Art Director and Co-founder of MAD Solutions and the Arab Cinema Center (ACC).

The 13th issue of the Arab Cinema Magazine celebrates the 70th edition of Berlinale by featuring an image of a bear on its cover. The magazine also includes an article about the Arab Presence at Berlinale 2020.
On the occasion of selecting Chiraz Latiri to receive the Arab Cinema Personality of The Year award, this issue features an interview with Latiri, former General Director of the Centre National du Cinema et de l'Image (CNCI), highlighting her impressive career and valuable contribution in developing Tunisia’s film industry. It’s worth mentioning that Latiri has been appointed as the Tunisian Minister of Culture a few days after announcing her as the winner of the award.

The 13th issue dedicates an entire section to the 4th edition of the Critics’ Awards For Arab Films, which has been joined by 67 new critics, reaching the total of 142 film critics from 57 countries. The issue also features the ACC’s globe-spinning activities in 2019, along with its partners’ latest activities, including special sections for the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) as well as the newly-joined partners, El Gouna Film Festival (GFF) and Misr International Films (MIF).

Organized by MAD Solutions in 2015, the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) is 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 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, 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.