Sherif Nakhla's Les Petits Chats has landed a triumphant world premiere at the Arabian Sights Film Festival for contemporary Arab cinema in Washington DC (16-25 October). The Egyptian documentary captivated the audiences and won raves from film critics and cinema lovers, with much of praise directed at the director the film's helmer.

Arabian Sights Film Festival is operating under the jurisdiction of the Washington DC Film Festival which takes place in every April annually.

Les Petits Chats' two screenings on Friday and Saturday have been packed out that the 'full-house' signs were raised. The screenings were followed by panel discussions where Sherif Nakhla answered all the eager audiences' questions.

Directed by Sherif Nakhla and co-produced with Wael Omar of The Producers, the film is named after the legendary band Les Petits Chats of the cherished era of the 60s and 70s. The six members, who are now major celebrities and musicians, are reunited to perform one last time in a night to remember in spring 2010. Les Petits Chats film is an insight into the lives of the former band-mates during their glory days, answers the questions evoked within each one of them by tracking their present lives and life choices since their breakup in the 80s. The film showcases interviews with major celebrities and cinema stars at that time and nowadays including: Ezzat Abu Oaf, Omar Khairat, Sobhy Bedeir, Samir Sabri, and Mohamed Salmawy.

Boasting an extensive record in Visual Arts and Writing, Sherif Nakhla has been known for his remarkable talent as an artist, musician and singer in rock bands for 10 years. In 2006, Nakhla presented his directorial debut Miraculum, a short documentary that was selected in more than 26 film festivals worldwide. He also worked as a TV producer, theatre director, cinematographer and a reporter for the English language newspaper Al Ahram Weekly.

This installment of Arabian Sights festival showcases a line-up of 12 films from 6 Arab countries. Sherin Gharib, Festival Director of Arabian Sights, has remarked that 50% of the festival audiences are Americans; a number that stands as a testimony to the role played by the festival in opening a window for western culture on Arabian communities and their unusual aspects away from the stereotyped images.