Directed by Ahmed Abdallah, Microphone sits in the 95th place among the 100 Most Important Arab Films listed in Cinema of Passion: Dubai International Film Festival List for the 100 Most Important Arab Films book. Released by Dubai International Film Festival and supported by the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (DCAA), the book is considered the first reference book of its kind in the Arab world.

Written and directed by Ahmed Abdallah, Microphone is co-produced by Film Clinic and Khaled Abol Naga who plays the leading role in it. The film premiered in Egyptian theaters in January 26th, 2011, coinciding with the Egyptian revolution. Starring Hani Adel, Yousra El Lozy, and Menna Shalabi, Microphone is about independent music bands and the underground art scene in the city of Alexandria, and the launching of a new yet mysterious artistic genre that expressed itself clearly during January 25th revolution.

In 2010, Microphone won the Best Arabic-language Film Award from Cairo International Film Festival, and in the same month it received the Tanit d'Or prize at the 23rd Carthage Film Festival. The film also grossed the Best Editing Award in the 6th Dubai International Film Festival and was part of the Official Competition at Toronto International Film Festival. Microphone has also participated in many other international festivals including Vancouver International Film Festival and BFI London International Film Festival.

The list included Chadi Abdel Salam's The Mummy in the first place and in the second place was Cairo Station by Youssef Chahin whose film The Land came in the fourth position. As for the third position it went to Chronicle of the Years of Fire by Algerian director Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina, and Moufida Tlatli's The Silence of the Palaces, which witnessed Hend Sabry's acting debut, ranked the fifth on the list.

The list was compiled with input from over 475 of the region's and international most prominent film critics, writers, novelists, academics, and other arts professionals. The book was released at a special event hosted on Wednesday 6th November at the Dubai International Film Festival offices.

Edited by Film Critic Ziad Abdullah, the book is accompanied by a critical and historical approach to Arab cinema and an analytical study for the list according to Arab epistemological, sociological, and political order. In addition, the book also carries a scholarly and critical treatment of each film on the list by 20 prominent Arab film critics in English and Arabic, including historical data, information on the productions, and background on the key creatives that made the films possible.

Ahmed Abdallah started his career as a Film Editor in several films, the most distinctive of which is Ain Shams. In 2010, he presented his directorial debut Heliopolis, which tells the story of a group of people living in Heliopolis, after which he presented Microphone. Both films were screened in Toronto International Film Festival. Rags and Tatters is Ahmed Abdallah's latest directorial effort this year which has participated in several international film festivals including Abu Dhabi Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival, and Toronto International Film Festival where the film had its world premiere.