In cooperation with the Venice Production Bridge, the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) held a reception at the 74th Venice International Film Festival, which witnessed the attendance of the ACC's partners together with a large number of the festival's guests including international filmmakers.

The current edition of the Venice International Film Festival is witnessing a wide range of activities by the ACC,where it cooperated with the Venice Production Bridge in organizing a panel discussion on Friday, September 1, for two hours, under the title of: How the Arab World Can Be the New China of International Cinema, especially of European Cinema. The discussion was moderated by Film Analyst Alaa Karkouti, Maniging Partner of the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) and CEO of MAD Solutions, and was attended by some of the top names in the Arab and international film industry such as Pritesh Depala, Executive Director of Phars Film, Sebastien Chesneau, Founder of Cercamon, Jordanian Actress and Producer Saba Mubarak, Founder of Pan East Media, Maya De Freige, Founder of Fondation Liban Cinéma (FLC), and Actress and Acting Coach Marwa Gabriel, Founder of STARZ Studio.

Within its activities at the festival, the ACC released the sixth issue of its Arab Cinema Magazine that highlights the presence of Arab celebrities at the most important upcoming film festivals in 2017, along with a guide, the first of its kind in the Arab film industry, to the Arab films nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, a list of the Arab films that won the annual Critics Awards, a cinematic look to the refugee crisis, along with a round-table discussion with three directors of key international film festivals.

For the third consecutive year, MAD Solutions, the company that organizes the Arab Cinema Center (ACC), is offering its award to one of the Arab film projects at the 5th Venice Final Cut that is held for three days (September 3-5) on the sidelines of the Venice International Film Festival. The winning film project will win marketing and distribution services across the Arab world.

The ACC is accompanied by 10 partners to the 74th Venice International Film Festival and they are (in alphabetical order): Arab Cinema Week (USA), Arab Radio & Television (ART) (Saudi Arabia), AXE Pictures (USA, Morocco, Saudi Arabia), Film Clinic (Egypt), MAD Solutions (Egypt, UAE), Movie Pigs (USA), Pan East Media (Jordan), Rotana Group (Saudi Arabia), STARZ Studio (Egypt) and The Producers (Egypt).

The 2nd Venice Production Bridge (August 31 - September 5) focuses in particular on the presentation and exchange of original projects for films and works in progress, so as to foster their development and production.

About the Arab Cinema Center (ACC):

The Arab Cinema Center (ACC), which operates for the third year, organized by MAD Solutions, is an international promotional platform for Arab cinema that 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 Center'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.

Since the beginning of 2017, the ACC has made ten stops at international festivals and markets. The festivals attended are the International Film Festival of Rotterdam (IFFR), Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), Beirut Cinema Platform (BCP) held within the Beirut Cinema Days, Istanbul Film Festival, Tripoli Film Festival, the 34th WIPO SCCR in Geneva, Cannes Film Festival, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Eurasia International Film Festival, and the Locarno International Film Festival.