The Arab Cinema Center (ACC) continues to use all its tools to support the filmmaking industry in the Arab world with its different aspects. This time, the ACC seeks to celebrate the efforts done by film critics through its The Achievement Award for Film Critics. The award aims to honor one of the Arab or foreign film critics annually at the Cannes Film Festival, starting from its upcoming edition in May, 2018.

Film Analyst Alaa Karkouti, Co-founder of the ACC and CEO and Co-founder of MAD Solutions, revealed details about the award in a statement, saying, "There is no accurate enumeration of film critics around the world, but we assume that there is more than 1,000 film critics that are active outside their countries. Despite their significant role in the film industry, we at the Arab Cinema Center don't find enough or continuous attention to the works and contributions done by modern-day film critics around the world. Therefore, we are announcing this award to celebrate one of the Arab or foreign film critics during the ACC's 2nd Annual Critics Awards ceremony at the Cannes Film Festival. Through The Achievement Award for Film Critics we seek to cast light on one of the film critics' achievements from all over the world annually by publishing a detailed article about them in the Arab Cinema Magazine's upcoming issue that will be released at the Cannes Film Festival, in addition to the ACC's website."

During this year's Cannes Film Festival, the ACC will turn up the heat on its wide range of activities, as in addition to the Achievement Award for Film Critics, there are two more exciting activities:
The Annual Critics Awards | Thanks to a deal with the digital platform Festival Scope, a partner of the Arab Cinema Center (ACC), 62 film critics from 28 countries from all over the world are currently able to screen Arab feature and documentary films produced in 2017 to vote for the winners of the 2nd Annual Critics Awards in the categories of: Best Film (feature and documentary), Best Director, Best Writer, Best Actress and Best Actor. The winners are going to be announced during the festival.
The Top 50 Influential Names in the Arab Film Industry | This is an article in the Arab Cinema Magazine's upcoming issue that is going to be released at the Cannes Film Festival. It will feature the results of a poll that brings together the largest number of active professional filmmakers from across the Arab countries.
By making its next stop at the Cannes Film Festival, the ACC will be marking its sixth stop in 2018, after closing its successful activities at each of the Berlin International Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam - IFFR, along with the Málaga Film Festival, Beirut Cinema Platform (BCP) and the Tripoli Film Festival, which are going to be held during the next two months. The ACC aims to attend more than 20 international film festivals and markets annually.

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